Plants for foliage: blue and white
Plant combinations can be used to create specific atmospheres or themes. Blues and whites exude calm and relaxation. A sustainable planting combination makes it easier to create a full and attractive border that is more resilient to climatic challenges
Quick facts
- Cool colours can create a calming relaxing atmosphere in a garden
- Choosing colours from the same side of the colour spectrum will compliment each other
- Repeat planting and a simpler colour choice can be used in either formal or informal garden styles
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The planting plan
This planting design provides a range of plants that, once established, will provide a variety of interest throughout the year.
Foliage interest with a blue and white theme
Choosing plants with a blue and white theme
Leaf adaptations allow plants to withstand heat and drought well. The thick leathery leaves of the Ceanothus and Olearia, and the hairy foliage of the Geranium, reduce the water lost from the foliage.
Several of these plants will also attract vital pollinators to your garden, helping to improve biodiversity.
The Bistorta and Ajuga create groundcover, which suppresses weed growth and helps to cover the soil. This cover reduces soil erosion and the loss of water from the soil surface by evaporation. Using an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost, while the plants establish can help to provide the same benefits.
1 - Ceanothus ‘Concha’
2 - Symphiotrichum turbinellum Lindl
3 - Osmanthus delavayi
4 - Eryngium giganteum ‘Silver Ghost’
5 - Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’
6 - Nepeta x faassenii ‘Purrsian Blue’ PBR
7 - Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’
2 – Symphiotrichum turbinellum is a bushy herbaceous perennial with narrow, dark leaves and open sprays of orange-centred, lavender-blue daisies 2cm across.
3 – Osmanthus delavayi is a dense, slow-growing, medium-sized evergreen shrub with rounded dark green leaves and many small, highly scented white flowers in spring, followed by small, blue-black berries in autumn.
4 – Eryngium giganteum ‘Silver Ghost’ is a branching biennial with cone-like heads of blue flowers, surrounded by spiny, silvery-white bracts.
5 – Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ is a bushy deciduous shrub with very large (up to 25cm across), spherical heads of white flowers in summer.
6 – Nepeta x faassenii ‘Purrsian Blue’ PBR is a compact perennial with greyish-green, toothed, aromatic leaves clothing the stems, and upright spikes of small, densely packed blue flowers in summer and autumn.
7 – Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a clump-forming perennial with three-lobed, toothed green leaves offsetting large, semi-double, pure white flowers with golden yellow stamens, held on strong stems from summer to autumn.
About plants with a blue and white theme
By using plants that are also well suited to the planting situation, the plants tend to be stronger and more naturally resistant to pests and disease. Once the plants are established, this will reduce the need for extra inputs that less well-adapted plants would need, such as excessive water and fertiliser.
Growing plants with a blue and white theme
AGM plants tend to be more naturally resistant to pests and disease and, once established, will reduce the need for extra inputs that weaker-growing plants would need, such as excessive water and fertiliser.
A simple planting plan helps create depth, interest and good coverage in a border.
Why choose a sustainable planting combination
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