Summer is slowly approaching, and if you’re American, you know what that means: Memorial Day picnics, Fourth of July barbeques, and Labor Day pool parties.
One of my favorite parts about the summer is the outdoor festivities because they are the perfect excuse to gather with friends and family, and after many seasons of cancelled vacations and celebrations, I’m looking forward to them now more than ever!
Summertime is also the perfect excuse to update your garden display, and what better way to celebrate than with patriotic flowers? Whether you have a flower bed that needs a makeover or planters that need a design or color change, these red white and blue flowers will have your guests talking for weeks to come.
What flowers are blue in color?
From roses to petunias, there are a plethora of red flowers for your garden, and white flowers are also pretty easy to come by. But natural blue flowers? Not so much.
In fact, true-blue blooms don’t even exist! Plants can’t naturally create a blue color pigment, so the shades that we see on plants like cornflowers are actually just an effect of the light reacting with pigment from plant material that causes them to appear blue. Crazy, right?
However, there are still a few options to complete your patriotic garden display.
1. Butterfly bush
When planted in full sun and excellently drained soil, these beautiful blooms will last until the first frost and look perfect in your garden during the summer holidays.
In fact, this is the perfect time of year to plant them. While they are quite a hardy plant, these perennials need some time to establish their roots before braving the winter cold.
Butterfly bush grow to about 2 feet tall and does well in pots as well as ground landscapes. As the name suggests, hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies love this flower, so you’ll attract plenty of pollinators to your garden.
However, you should exercise caution as this plant is considered invasive in some US states, so be sure to choose a sterile variety from your nursery. Proven Winners Buddleia Pugster Blue flowers won’t disrupt other plants in your garden, and their blue tones will surely stand out in your patriotic display.
There is also variety of Pugster White flowers, but if you really want your landscape to pop, try planting a different flower for each color. This will add some texture and make your garden really stand out amongst the neighbors.
Want more curb appeal? Try these flower pot arrangement ideas!
2. Bachelor’s buttons
Also called cornflowers, these common annuals look like tiny blue carnations, and their lightly fragrant essence are a lovely compliment to outdoor gardens. Best kept on a rooftop or sunny patio, these blue plants love full sunlight and require warmer temperatures for optimal blooms.
Blue Boy is an heirloom variety that features thistle-shaped flowers in a striking shade of blue, making it an excellent addition to your garden.
Have a rooftop but you’re not sure how to cultivate it? You need our guide to growing plants on a terrace!
3. Hydrangea
Known for their striking flowers, these shrubs add beauty to any garden.
Their colors range from pink to blue, including shades of lavender, violet, and purple. Some varieties also bloom in white, orange, and yellow. If you want to grow these perennials in your blue flower garden, acidic soils with a pH of less than 5.5 produce blue flowers. To make your soil more acidic, add compost or an acidifying liquid feed to the flower bed.
Bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla) is among the most popular types of this common flower, but depending on the specific type, the light and water conditions may vary slightly. Bigleaf’s namesake large leaves are prone to wilting, so they enjoy full sun during the morning but prefer a shady afternoon.
What flower is red and white?
In order to best showcase your your patriotic spirit during this years cook-out, you’ll need to plant some red and white flowers in your blue flower garden. Here are some great additions to make your landscape pop like a firework.
1. Impatiens
If your garden is located in a shady area, impatiens come in an array of colors – including red and white – so they’re another great choice for a red white and blue flower garden.
Memorial Day is the perfect time for planting these popular annual flowers and they bloom very quickly, so your patriotic color scheme should be ready just in time for Fourth of July.
These plants work well in containers but they may need daily watering, especially in the dog days of summer when temperatures are in the 80s or higher. If you find your flowers getting too leggy after a few months of flowering, you can encourage more blooms by using sterile gardening scissors to cut off the top one-third of vegetation.
Looking for plants with something special? Try these lucky plants that not only improve the air you breathe, but also offer youth, wealth, and happiness!
2. Petunias
One of the most popular choices, these flowers produce spectacular blooms and last until the first frost. Some gardeners choose to use them in front yards for borders and groundcover, but they look just as great in a hanging basket or window box.
These annuals come in many different colors and patterns, so the options for color schemes are endless. They don’t tolerate shade very well, so place them in a sunny spot to avoid spindly flowers. Although they are a heat-loving plant, spreading petunias and flowers grown in containers will need more frequent watering.
Similar to impatiens, petunias tend to get a bit leggy in the late summer. It’s good practice to prune their shoots back to about half their length if you want your plant to flower through the fall.
If taking a pair of scissors to your plant makes you nervous, our guide to pruning leggy plants and flowers will be more than helpful.
Final thoughts
After two years of sitting out the Fourth of July barbeque in fear of catching a virus, it’s time to enjoy some much needed summer fun. If you’re hosting this year’s holiday party, these red white and blue flowers will compliment your American flag well and add tons of curb appeal to your garden throughout spring and summer.
Even if you’re not planning to host, many of these flowers grow well in plant pots, hanging baskets, and window boxes, so they’re still worth considering if you need a pop of color inside the home. Check out our guide for more colorful planter decor ideas!
In fact, growing plants in containers instead of the ground can have tons of benefits for you and your plants. Container plants are less likely to suffer from weeds, pests, and other ailments than in-ground plants. And after all, why waste any unnecessary energy bending over a bed when you can grow beautiful flowers in a planter?
Our planters, made from lightweight yet durable fiberglass, are perfect for planting trees, bushes, and simple flower displays both indoors and outdoors.
For a container that is long-lasting, durable, and resistant to changes in the season, visit our shop to browse our wide selection of fiberglass planters in different sizes and colors.
