My first vase contains the diminutive, but electric blue, King Tut’s Blue Sweet Pea. If you believe the legends (and I don’t) it was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. I can’t think why he would have wanted this little pea in the afterlife, as it is tiny and the peas are toxic if eaten in quantity. Anyway, there is an edible pea which is also supposed to have been found in his tomb. Perhaps he was just very fond of peas. My lovely friend, Janet gave me my seeds years ago and every year I sow a few because I wouldn’t want to be without it. It isn’t scented, but never mind it is very pretty. I love the dark blue veining and the pink flush at its heart.
Lathyrus sativus var.azureus
I chose some more blues to put in my lovely blue glass vase.
I thought I would show it inside, using flash as well, as the colours seem to be a bit washed out in the shots in the garden.
For silvery foliage I used the blue glaucous- leaved Berberis temolacia, Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ and the silvery Santolina chamaecyparissus ‘Lemon Queen’.
I used two different Eryngiums, one of them is Eryngium bourgatii and the other is my precious Eryngium bourgatii ‘Picos Blue’.
The flowers are Cupid’s dart, Catanache caerulea which is easy from seed and very useful for flower arrangements.
Catanache caerulea with Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’
I have Larkspur which reseeds itself every year in blue and white, as does the peach-leaved Campanula persicifolia, also in this picture.
Solanum crispum
In the above picture we have Solanum crispum and a few flowers of the little Campanula carpatica. Below, with the Campanula which has a purple centre, there is a blue flowered piece of the trailing Convolvulus sabatius.
Campanula carpatica and Convolvulus sabatius
I also used some spikes of Veronica gentianoides ‘Blue Streak’ which is easy from seed.
It is amazing how many of the flowers we call blue are not blue at all, but more violet. But still I am very fond of all these shades of blue or violet. Call them what you like, they are very pretty. Any day now, the Agapanthus will be out and then we will have as much true blue as we like.
Thank you Cathy at Ramblinginthegarden for hosting as usual. Cathy is very serene, all in white this week. I am off to have a look and to see all the other posts of ‘In a Vase on Monday’.
Chloris
Perfect vase to sing the blues! You ar eright, of course, that most of them aren’t really blue but perhaps the Larkspur is – mine was an amazing blue.
Oh yes, Larkspur is a lovely true blue and so is Eryngium ‘ Picos Blue’.
Very nice blues! I have never seen most of those flowers, we did have Larkspur further north and Evolvulous is a perennial here if you have that in the UK?
The only perennial convolvulus here are the pernicious weeds which we call bindweed. And they are an awful bind. Oh, and the lovely silver leaved Convolvulus cneorum is perennial with a bit of luck.
Evolvulus, people call it Blue Daze, mostly used as an annual? Surely this has made it across the pond, there’s a cultivar called Blue My Mind!
Oh Evolvulus, I thought you had made a typo. No I haven’ t come across it, but I just googled it and it looks gorgeous. True blue flowers are so rare.
I love this post! What a treat – beauty and information!
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it.
Oh my goodness. That first one with the blue Sweet Peas is … dreamy. Of course, they’re both beautiful, but that Sweet Pea cultivar is magical. And your arrangement does it justice in a simple vase. Sigh.
The Sweet pea is a delight but it is very small. No other sweet pea is as blue as this though.
I had high hopes for sweet peas this year, as I found a selection reputed to be the best for hot summer areas (Heirloom Sweet Peas from Renee’s Garden), but even our spring was hot and though early vines were strong they withered before blooming.
The variety in your mixed vase adds to its success. Periwinkle was my grandmother’s favorite color so it always catches my eye. The blue/purple mix adds a special sparkle to the garden, don’t you think?
I love Sweet peas but they don’ t last very long in a vase. I find they need lots of water to do well so I can imagine they would fry in the heat.
I love blues and mauve and silver in the garden.
Blue is my favorite color for everything!! I love the name/idea of the King Tut sweet pea and now I want to have it for the name as well as the color. 🙂 I’ve found it online (Territorial Seed Company) and have bookmarked it for next spring’s seed order; thanks! 🙂
I would probably love solanum flowers if the plant wasn’t a horrible noxious weed-vine hereabouts *sigh*
I am not mad on Solanum, it is too potatoey for my liking. But it is useful for flower arrangements. Blue is one of my favourite colours in the garden and in July there is plenty about.
Oh my gosh yes, it’s almost impossible to get rid of the thing here. We have Solanum dulcamara hereabouts, which will take over an entire planting bed if given half a chance.
Love the blue theme this week, so gorgeous in your cobalt vase. The sweet peas are a real treasure, do you save the seed from year to year?
Thank you Eliza. Yes I have been saving and resowing the sweet pea seeds for years now.
Blue has always been a favourite colour but not in the garden until recently. I like blue flowers with feathery or grey foliage. xx
If you like blue feathery flowers, then look out for Eryngium alpinum, it is absolutely gorgeous.
The sweet pea is entrancing…my seed wish list is increasing. The Blue and Silver arrangement is inspiring.
It is a dear little pea but unfortunately not fragrant. Would you like some seeds?
Maybe in the afterlife, poisoning isn’t a risk? 😉 I do love that blue sweet pea – and all your blues and violets. I also have Solanum in my vase this week. I’ve never used Artemisia in a vase but I’ll have to copy your example one day.
I love the way you have used Solanum as a highlight in your arrangement this week Kris. Artemesia and silvery Santolina are both great in vases, specially with blue flowers.
What an amazing shade of blue that sweet pea is, quite unlike any other – and a gorgeous stoneware vase too. And such a lovely selection of ‘blues’ in your glass vase – the eryngium are real stars and even the foliage is just the right shade to offset all the blooms. Thanks for sharing, Chloris
Indeed, no other pea is quite this shade of blue. The flowers are only tiny but they are very pretty. Eryngiums are fabulous, I would like to collect some more different ones. They are long lasting in a vase too.
I have several echinops but no eryngiums although I have tried them and they obviously cleared off for some reason…
I heard a nursery man recommending Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ as it doesn’t need sandy soils/drainage like some others. Not tried it (yet) on our heavy clay …
If sandy soil is normally recommended then perhaps they don’t like our lovely ‘loam’ – so thanks for that suggestion
Those sweet peas are magnificent…as is your blue vase! I love all the ‘blue’ flowers…wonderful variety!
Thank you Donna. I love blue flowers and it is fun to bring all the different shades together in a vase.
All this blue feels refreshing. Everything is pretty (as always!) but I especailly like the Campanula carpatica.
I love all Campanulas. All those pretty bells are irresistible.
Beautiful blue schemes today Liz. I saw a collection of Eryngiums last weekend. The bees go mad for them don’t they? Lucky you having so many lovely blue flowers.
Bees do love Eryngiums and so do I., Next year I would like to get more. Eryngium alpinum is another beauty.
Lovely blues! The sweet peas are charmers, just wonderful. Also I like your use of the various blues against the silvery foliage.
Thank you Susie. Those little sweet peas are a delight. I have lots of silvery foliage, it is particularly lovely with blue.
Stunning as always! You sing the blues beautifully!
Thank you Peter. I love blues in the garden , specialy in July.
great vase!
Thank you and thank you for commenting.
I found your blog when I read your post on trendy prairie gardens. Not a design for Suffolk,or for Nashville,Tennessee either. They are exactly what Russell Page meant by” brightly colored hay”. There is something anti-human about them. No shade. No place to sit. They look like carpet.
Your sweet pea is lovely. We cannot grow sweet peas here . Too hot. Any plant that lives here has to survive steam heating.
Thank you for visiting my blog. I always remember that phrase’ brightly coloured hay’. A garden does need shape, form and texture. This ‘ new wave’ gardening doesn’ t use shrubs and trees at all. It is a very artificial landscape here.
I am off to visit your blog now.
All in blue ! Nice 🙂
Thank you Christiane, they are my favourite colours.
Beautiful inspiring blues, love them!
So do I. Do you have much blue in the garden at the moment Anca?
blue is my most favourite colour too, and you are so right that it comes in many shades. The soft Convovulus foliage works really well with the Campanula – an idea I may well steal for a future arrangement!
Beautiful vase. Apart from my Agapanthus, which are due to burst any day now as well, I don’t have much blue in the garden. I love those Sweet peas. Another variation to put on the want list
Your blues make me happy! I didn’t know there were blue sweet peas.
It’s really lovely. The grey foliage lifts the blues so well. Larkspur is one of my favourites. I am off to check out that Berberis now ….
I love blue sweet peas! The veining- I agree makes those appealing:-) Playing catch-up:-) been busy this summer with changes, but had some time to stop by and see what you were doing. So pretty!
King Tut’s blue sweet peas??? Allegedly found in his tomb? What fascinating stuff…real or not I totally get why he wanted them, because they are so darned pretty! I’d want them too! What a flower to cart off to the afterlife…I’d go for them and the Larkspur, I do have a soft for them, such a beautiful cottage garden plant that no-one seems to grow anymore….
A beautiful vase, one of my favourites so far, and there have been many, I just LOVE blue flowers!xxx
What a disappointment about the peas, of course they’re pretty none the less. Nice story though!
I’m sure the potato vine appreciates a vase appearance this week. It gives it an air of respectability and the color blends perfectly with the blue and grey shades.