9 Blue Hardy Annual Flowers for Bees

9 Blue hardy annual flowers for bees to give you a cheap way to achieve garden to enjoy over the spring and summer months as these can all be grown from seed. s

There are a surprising number of blue flowered annuals and it occurred to me that it is a simple way for those gardeners in rental accommodation to have a pollinator friendly garden. It’s also useful for those who have moved to a new garden and are desperate to do some gardening whilst they dutifully wait a whole year before major changes. But there’s more on growing them further on, let’s see our selection.

9 Blue HardyAnnual Flowers for Bees – and first, the list

Borago officinalis, Borage, star flower
Centaurea cyanus, Cornflower
Felicia amelloides
Ipomea tricolour, Morning glory
Lathyrus odoratus, Sweet pea
Nemophila insignis
Nigella damascena. Love-in-a-mist
Papaver somniferum, opium poppy
Phacelia tanacetifolia

Now, obviously, some of the above plants have varieties with a range of flower colours, so I will be suggesting some particular ones for you to look out for. There will be other blue flowered ones, particularly as new varieties are introduced.

The key things to remember when looking for a specific flower colour are : –

when buying seeds do not go by the variety name only; ‘blue’ can cover a colour range from off white to purple as well as actual blue
when visiting gardens during the flowering period, and you see a good one, look for labels or ask gardeners what the plant is. Take a photo as well to help remind you

And now a bit more about each of the 9 Blue hardy annual flowers in our list.

Borago officinalis, Borage, star flower

Borage earns its place in many a herb garden and veggie patch due to its bee and pollinator attractions. The flowers are edible and look pretty on a glass of homemade lemonade or a salad. Interestingly, the foliage has a slight cucumber scent. However, it can be a bit floppy in the mixed border and the hairy leaves may irritate those with sensitive hands. That said, prop it up with a small cane and enjoy watching the bees flock to it. It should easily self-seed.

Centaurea cyanus, Cornflower

The annual cornflower is a British and European native, and was a common sight in cornfields. That wild plant is the species, which is a good blue and a natural bee magnet. But you could grow Centaurea cyanus ‘Blue ball’ alongside it as this has a double flower, adding textural interest to your scheme. The flowers are edible and it should self-seed.

Felicia amelloides

Felicia amelloides are blue flowered daisies, hence their common name of kingfisher daisy. The daisy-like blooms are borne over lightly aromatic foliage. Native to South Africa, Felicia are hardy in southern and sheltered areas but may need to be sown under cover or later in the season in cooler areas as theyre not reliably frost hardy. Felicia amelloides ‘Pretty Blue’ has sky blue petals.

Ipomea tricolour, Morning glory

Ipomea is a climber with heart-shaped leaves. The trumpet flowers unfurl like an umbrella in the morning – hence the name. Individual flowers only last a day, but there will be plenty more to follow. Morning glory is related to bindweed, which may put some of you off this plant, if bindweed is a major problem in your garden. Ipomea tricolour ‘Heavenly blue’ has sky blue blooms with a white throat; Ipomea ‘Blue Ensign’ is slightly darker. NB do not eat.

Lathyrus odoratus, Sweet pea

Another climber, sweet peas are grown for their scent and these two varieties are both good as cut flowers. Lathyrus odoratus ‘King Size Navy Blue’ has an intense fragrance and large, dark navy-purple blooms. Very distinctive. Lathyrus odoratus ‘Our Harry’ is a Spencer type, with a strong scent and lavender blue flowers. Named for the oldest seed packer at Plants of Distinction Nursery, a portion of the packet price goes to a local charity.

Nemophila insignis

Nemophila insignis ‘Baby Blue Eyes’ is a dwarf plant ideal for containers and rock gardens. It’s also happy in dappled shade, so could fill a pot under a tree where not much is growing. Which is useful when you’re short-term renting and don’t want to splash out on lots of soil improvement. As a member of the Boraginaceae the foliage may be a skin irritant.

Nigella damascena, Love-in-a-mist

The common name for Nigella – Love-in-a-mist – evokes the delicate, frothy foliage that creates a mist around the flowers. Nigella ‘Miss Jekyll’ has attractive sky blue, semi-double flowers; Nigella ‘Deep Blue’ also has semi-double flowers, with very attractive green and crimson seed heads. And the seedheads are really interesting and a decorative feature in their own right, much admired by flower arrangers. Nigella will self-seed and the seeds are edible (use where you would poppy seeds).

Papaver somniferum, opium poppy

One of the things that gives me pleasure in a garden, is seeing annual poppies blooming en masse in a previously empty border. Or carrying out their guerilla gardening technique of sneaking in between other plants. And this deeply coloured bloom is certainly worth the space for the drama it creätes. Papaver somniferum ‘Hungarian blue’ has deep violet blooms. And, like all opium poppies, the seeds are edible and the seedheads extend the interest in the border providing an architectural backdrop to herbaceous perennials.

Phacelia tanacetifolia

Also known as fiddleneck, this violet-blue flowered annual can be grown as an ornamental and cut flower or as a green manure crop to improve your soil. This latter attribute is very useful when your new garden needs new borders creating and the soil is dire. A member of the Boraginaceae the foliage may be a skin irritant. Another easy self-seeder.

Sowing and Growing Your 9 Blue Hardy Annual Flowers for Bees

Why only hardy annuals? As we said at the start, sowing hardy annuals in pots or into available spaces between shrubs in the borders is a good way to garden without commitment beyond the season.

And because I want to make this as easy as possible, these can all be sown directly into the ground. Or into the pots where they’ll stay and flower if you are container gardening.

Sowing Seeds

Alternatively, if you have the space, you could start off some of the flowers in seed module trays. This is also one way of sowing successionally in small batches from March to June, thereby extending the flowering season. Some of the plants, for example Lathyrus and Nemophila, can be sown later in the summer for earlier flowers. Keep the seedlings frost free. Whilst Phacelia can be sown directly into the ground to over winter as a green manure crop.

When sowing annual flower seeds directly into the borders, it’s a good idea to mark them in some way. This prevents you from pulling up the seedlings in error, thinking they’re weeds! For example: –

mark out a shape such as a circle, figure if 8 or arc in the earth and sow seeds into that
mix seeds with horticultural sand which will show pale against the soil

To help prevent birds from eating the seeds, foxes, dogs and cats from digging them up cover the newly sown seeds with a bit of netting or a criss-cross of twine attached to short sticks.

Garden Teacher Tip for Container Gardening

When you grow all your plants in pots, space can often be an issue. Why not try sowing a few hardy annual seeds in the pots where you have spring flowering bulbs? As the bulb foliage dies down and needs to be cut off, the annual flowers will have at the least developed pretty foliage and may even be flowering.

Garden Teacher Tip – Self-seeding plants

Although many of the above will self-seed they will not all come ‘true’, ie be the same as the parents. This variation in subsequent generations is –

often a result of cross-pollination between varieties
or because a ‘sport’ or other naturally occurring genetic mutation has affected colour or petals

But it all adds to the anticipation and excitement of gardening!

For more on seed sowing and seed collecting, see the blog links below.

Growing On Your Blue Flowering Plants

These beauties aren’t called hardy annuals for nothing! They’re pretty easy maintenance. Keep garden pests from nibbling too many of them by as you would any young plants and check the soil is moist enough for their needs.

Feeding

They will be hungry, and the nutrients in potting compost will only last about 6 weeks, so either –

incorporate slow release fertiliser into containers and where you sow the seeds
or feed fortnightly with an organic feed to encourage lots of blooms

Watering

Depends on the weather we have as to how much watering may be needed! Using olla and mini reservoirs (homemade or bought) reduces your watering chore and gives the plants moisture where it’s needed – at the roots. Felicia is drought tolerant, and I’ve found Nigella to be as well.

Deadheading

More important for some of our 9 blue flowers than for others. Regularly cutting sweet peas for the house is deadheading of course! But snipping off the blooms from the plants such as Felicia and Nemophila before they have chance to set seed will encourage more flowers to form.

Poppies and Nigella have decorative seedheads so it’s less of an issue, especially if you’ve successionally sown seeds. You can easily have them flowering from late April through to August this way. And have the seedheads to enjoy at the same time.

9 Blue Hardy Annual Flowers for Bees – and finally

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