(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y253/nonrancher/BalloonFlandConeflowerJuly13.jpg)
Balloon flowers with coneflowers.
I would say my Hosta but I do not know its name wot a shame.
Cornflowers, especially against a background of biscuit coloured grasses.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/164.shtml
Hard call, but I think it has to be Borage for me, closely followed by Salvia. :)
G x
Quote from: landimad on July 13, 2009, 20:52:42
I would say my Hosta but I do not know its name wot a shame.
That means YOU get to name it, doesn't it??
borrage and morning glory heavenly blue :D
Blue bells in the spring and the blue comfrey I have in the front garden.
This alpine which i can't remember the name of - very delicate and flowers in spring.
:D borage and cornflowers/ shades x
A really good blue hydrangea - I detour on my twice-daily journey at the moment to see one which is poking through a fence (the spondon side of the asda roundabout, for anyone in the derby area.)
Surprise, surprise - Mine is a Hosta - called HOSTA ENTERPRISE ;D
Agapanthus
[attachment=1]
Morning Glory... heavenly blue... although the perennial flax runs it close :)
Chicory. The wild cornflower. Mecanopsis, mine flowered for the first time this year.
This just reads like a list of my favourite flowers. And you want me to choose only 1 :o
I think, if I could get it to grow it would be morning glory but I adore cornflowers and the agapanthus in the garden this year is the best I've seen it (9 flowers - that's a record!). So maybe I should stick with the agapanthus ;)
1066
Nigella! Not the domestic godess version..
(http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/gallery/9323_14_07_09_8_22_18.JPG)
http://fc00.deviantart.com/fs26/f/2008/155/4/5/The_blue_Flowers_by_kaborge.jpg
just pulled this of the net dont know what it is but is this a Lush flower or what ?
great photo BarridaleNick !
Quote from: 1066 on July 14, 2009, 08:03:06
This just reads like a list of my favourite flowers. And you want me to choose only 1 :o
I think, if I could get it to grow it would be morning glory but I adore cornflowers and the agapanthus in the garden this year is the best I've seen it (9 flowers - that's a record!). So maybe I should stick with the agapanthus ;)
1066
Landimad, Toadspawn and 1066 all mentioned cornflowers. For some reason I can't ever get them growing, even with a purchased plant which barely bloomed and died. Yet the wild variety grows by the roadside here. What is your secret for keeping cornflowers happy?
I did as well! I sow a packet every year on my wild flower patch, some in the autumn the rest in the spring.
Some years I get lots of flowers but others very few if any! Apart from deadheading I do nothing else.
any of the borage family - borage, alkanet, Viper's Bugloss ;D what a name. Was tremendously impressed with blue pimpernel, completely the wrong colour, but probably a diabolical weed like our one
Anchusa azurea 'dropmore'......tall and beautiful, and the bees love it! ;D
http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/chilternseeds/211/moreinfo/d/anchusa+azurea+dropmore/pid/31513492
phacelia ,or is that lavender colour, if it is, I agree agapanthus and borage ;D
What about karyopteris (sp?). I've had very limited success- never is perennial for me- but love that deep blue. The Heavenly Blue Morning Glory is also a favorite.
Quote from: BarriedaleNick on July 14, 2009, 08:22:45
Nigella! Not the domestic godess version..
(http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/gallery/9323_14_07_09_8_22_18.JPG)
What a beautiful photo! Can we have details of your camera please?
Delphinium. :)
Might have to get some of that Anchusa Deb... very naughty sneaking a link to the Chiltern Seeds cat.... ::)
Quote from: BarriedaleNick on July 14, 2009, 08:22:45
Nigella! Not the domestic godess version..
(http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/gallery/9323_14_07_09_8_22_18.JPG)
Snap! Closely followed by cornflower.
Be careful witht the Nigella... I didn't discourage it one year and had half a plot of it... :-[
The Anchusa is now on my wanted list !!!
Quote from: saddad on July 15, 2009, 07:54:07
Be careful witht the Nigella... I didn't discourage it one year and had half a plot of it... :-[
Yep I threw a pcket of seeds at a border about ten years ago and they come back every year - good job I like em!
Quote from: Squash64 on July 15, 2009, 06:49:35
Quote from: BarriedaleNick on July 14, 2009, 08:22:45
Nigella! Not the domestic godess version..
What a beautiful photo! Can we have details of your camera please?
Thanks Squash64 - it was taken with a Canon G5 which was a great camera but long out of production - I use a Nikon D90 now
Honeywort - major purpurascens cerinthe... one of the bees favourites too
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/images/large_db_pics/large/cerinthe_major_purpurascens.jpg)
Delphinuim 'Black knight' its soooooooo deep and blue :D
bluebells in the spring
then nigellas, corn flowers and borage during the summer.
Quote from: flowerofshona2007 on July 15, 2009, 10:09:15
Delphinuim 'Black knight' its soooooooo deep and blue :D
You got some? Got any seeds? Can I have a few? ;)
Well, if you don't ask you don't get. :-[
Quote from: saddad on July 15, 2009, 07:54:07
Be careful witht the Nigella... I didn't discourage it one year and had half a plot of it... :-[
And your problem is....? ;D
Actually I have a much bigger problem with borage taking over!
I'd forgotten about cerinthe- love its translucent colour.
Blue is my favourite colour in the garden and here are some plants from mine. :) :) :)
Fabulous photos and colours Sabretooth!
Thank you very much ;) no colour enhancement used. Only resized them.
:)
I love blue flowers and my garden is full of them so I couldn't choose....but don't forget clematis and hardy geranium.
I used to have a lovely blue clematis in my old garden, it was an early one so the flowers were even more appreciated.
I only have agapanthus in the garden this year, but looking at this thread feels like looking at a shoping list for next year!
here's a pic of my agapanthus
Ours are just trying to open in the rain... :)
Quote from: saddad on July 17, 2009, 17:58:09
Ours are just trying to open in the rain... :)
Same here.
Here are my favourites this year so far.
(http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/georgie_girl15/Blue%20flowers%202009/th_P4120010.jpg) (http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/georgie_girl15/Blue%20flowers%202009/?action=view¤t=4ea4af6a.pbw)
G x
I grow Cardoons because my husband likes to eat them, so the flower is a bonus.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c333/Aragona/2006_0806july060004a.jpg)
squash64 - what a lovely pic - I was going to add artichoke myself but I always thought of them as purple!
(http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/gallery/9323_17_05_09_12_06_50.JPG)
They are stunning down our plot as they are grown in huge numbers..
Quote from: BarriedaleNick on July 18, 2009, 07:36:00
squash64 - what a lovely pic - I was going to add artichoke myself but I always thought of them as purple!
They are stunning down our plot as they are grown in huge numbers..
Thanks, yours is beautiful - I like the bee!
I hesitated too because they are probably not a true blue but purple as you say.
You say you have huge numbers on your site - do you have huge numbers of Italians too? ;D
squash64 - How did you guess?! ;D
Yep we have a good few Italians - most in their 70s, smoke like chimmneys and they grow great stuff including loads of artichokes!
Quote from: Squash64 on July 18, 2009, 06:54:33
I grow Cardoons because my husband likes to eat them, so the flower is a bonus.
I'd be interested in how you prepare cardoons having never eaten one here. Can they be grown from seed and are they perennial?
Are cardoons and artichokes the same?
Quote from: GrannieAnnie on July 18, 2009, 16:24:59
I'd be interested in how you prepare cardoons having never eaten one here. Can they be grown from seed and are they perennial?
I don't know how English people would cook them, but what we do is to scrape the stems to remove the fibres, cut them into pieces and then steam them. I drizzle olive oil on them with a little salt and black pepper. It is only the stems that we eat, not the flower heads like artichokes.
I grew mine from seed and yes, they are perennial. Only problem with them is that they grow into massive plants so you need plenty of room.
I had some seed from Emma Jane a couple of years ago and this year they are about 15ft high. Shall need step ladders to look at the flowers. I know that the victorians used to eat them. Should imagine they taste like chard and i don't like that
Quote from: caroline7758 on July 18, 2009, 16:28:09
Are cardoons and artichokes the same?
They are members of the same family, Cynara. Artichokes are much less spiny than cardoons which is probably why we eat only the stems of cardoons. I think that when they are in flower they look pretty much the same. Last year we sold cardoon flowers at our Summer Fayre because they are very popular with flower arrangers. The bees love them too. :)
Quote from: shirlton on July 18, 2009, 17:58:38
I had some seed from Emma Jane a couple of years ago and this year they are about 15ft high. Shall need step ladders to look at the flowers. I know that the victorians used to eat them. Should imagine they taste like chard and i don't like that
It's a bit difficult to define the taste, to me it is a bit 'smokey'. My sister in law steams them like I do, but then dips them in egg and flour and fries them. They are really nice like that, but heavy on the calories. :(
I've never tried eating them, but I believe you're supposed to blanch the stems then boil it. English cooking is really boring!
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on July 18, 2009, 19:39:06
I've never tried eating them, but I believe you're supposed to blanch the stems then boil it. English cooking is really boring!
Yes, blanching is the English (boring) way :) I've never heard of Italians doing it though.
Agapanthus now out. :)
G x
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/georgie_girl15/Garden%20July%2009/P7180002.jpg)
][im(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/angleshades/borageflower-1.jpg)g
my favourite/ shades x :)
Angle Shades - beautiful but I have to fess up and ask what is it?
1066
Lovely photo Shades, I really like it when the subject is in focus and the background is blurred.
Is it Borage?
At first I thought it was some sort of tropical flower but looking again it does look like borage. I just wish that it grew higher so that we can see the beauty of it
That sounds as though cardoons are going to be worth eating after all; so far, I've treated it as an ornamental. Do other people not blanch them at all?
Mine are a bit mini since they didn't do well last year and I thought it was because I'd moved them and put them under the hedge, and I moved them again. I now think it was the effect of having been moved plus the waterlogging so I'm going to leave them and let them turn into triffids.
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on July 19, 2009, 21:10:17
Mine are a bit mini since they didn't do well last year and I thought it was because I'd moved them and put them under the hedge, and I moved them again. I now think it was the effect of having been moved plus the waterlogging so I'm going to leave them and let them turn into triffids.
My husband would say you like to move plants to keep them from getting over-confident!
:) 1066, Squash64 and Shilton, yes it is Borage, thanks for your comments / shades x