Van Dycks

Spring was lovely, with its usual costume of yellows, purples, greens, and whites. Then a few pinks sneaked in - some rosy trumpeted daffodils and columbine, a few drifts of pink alliums - and then masses of roses - heirloom plants that give one glorious show and then sit back, exhausted.

But then I started noticing something that had never happened before in my gardens. Blue. Lots of blue! Glorious, beautiful and bounteous blue!

I hadn't planned it that way and it could be that Nature would dictate a different sequence of bloom times in other years. But this year it chose to follow spring with a rhapsody in blue.

First there were the irises - a few tall bearded ones that I've had forever, and some newer Siberian irises, including my favorite - a two-toned blue number with the odd name of 'Steve', which paired up gloriously with 'Sky Wings'

Then Geranium 'Brookside' started to flower - and to do something else I hadn't noticed last year when it was young - and that was to start acting like a vine scrambling among the hostas (some with blue leaves.)

Then came larkspurs, delphiniums, aconitum and salvias. The larkspurs were bright blue annuals that I was trying for the first time and will continue to grow - the flowers much looser and informal than those of its perennial cousin, the delphiniums. The Delphinium belladonna 'Volkerfrieden' were a deep, gentian blue with a hint of lavender at the throat. And then there was Delphinium belladonna in a gorgeous sky blue to brighten things up.

The Salvia nemerosa 'May Night' was a deep violet blue, which echoed the purpled shadings of the delphinium, while the monkshood (aconitum) was more metallic, like tempered steel.

And the Veronica started blooming early - 'Sunny Border Blue' sending up spikes of blue violet flowers in masses. And my columbine , which I let go to seed each year just to see what I get obliged by sending up deep, almost navy blue and white flowers that were absolutely gorgeous.

And don't forget vines. Clematis 'Blue Light' will bring touches of blue to unexpected places all over the garden if you allow it to ramble at will rather than the usual method of growing it on a trellis. Amaze people by letting it ramble through a rose bush - at first glance they will think you have found the true blue rose!

It is easy for blues to clash if you're not careful - so I was surprised that all of the flowers seemed to complement each other so well. In some cases the silvery foliage of Perovskia (Russian sage) mediated between two blues that had the potential to clash; lavender and artemisia are other silvery foliaged plants that are great for mediating potential color clashes.

Other blues were separated my white peonies, or Veronica gentianoides 'Alba' which has larger blossoms than most of its relatives, and which blooms for ages if deadheaded. And white calla lilies are gorgeous with almost everything.

Another favorite mixers with blue plants are those that bloom in yellow - from the soft, pale yellow of Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' to the bright golds and yellows of some of the early blooming daylilies like 'Stella d'Oro' and 'Black Eyed Stella' . My own current favorite is a pure yellow miniature daylily called 'Happy Returns' - which is exactly what it does - bloom and then bloom again. If you like soft, go for the pale yellows, but if you prefer something more dramatic - go for the gold.

And don't forget hostas - in shadier areas the gold and chartreuse ones can light up the blue flowers by providing great contrast.

Or be even more daring and mix those blues with oranges. You don't have to go whole hog with California citrus colors - apricots and peach colors work very well with blues and purples. But the Oriental poppy 'Prince of Orange' will provide your garden with a really spectacular burst of color that will make the blues seem even bluer. 'Flame' calla lilies would complement the blues of Salvias beautifully, both in color and in contrasting textures.

One great thing about using blue flowers in the late spring and early summer is that they attract hummingbirds. That's right - those little flying jewels do like colors other than red. In fact, by instinct they know that the flowers that offer them the most nectar at this time of year are the blue ones. Later in the summer, they go for red - but use blue flowers to attract them even earlier.

Blue is the color of contentment, of peacefulness, of summer skies - people in blue rooms often report a feeling of serenity. Your garden is a room of a different kind - but it too can influence your mood. So plan ahead this year and get some plants that will give you.