Thursday, May 20, 2010

Bulbs and Color questions?

1. I have crocus, lilly, blue bearded iris, huacinth, tulips, narcissus, and elephant ear bulbs. What else is there that would like nice in with these?





2. I want some blue flowers that are really pretty, but there aren't alot. What are some blue flowers?





3. Do elephant ears bloom? I saw one in somebodys yard and there was a yellow calla lily type flower coming up out of it.








I live in zone 6.

Bulbs and Color questions?
In my zone 6b garden, I grow larkspur, which are about as blue as you can get. An annual which self-seeds, it is about 3' tall, and looks very much like the perennial delphinium without the difficulty in growing it.They come up in the fall and stay green all winter, to bloom in early summer. They can also be planted in the spring, and will bloom the same year.





Balloon flower, platycodon, comes in both dwarf and tall, is an easy perennial that comes back every year and is a beautiful soft blue. Best purchased in growing plants.





Tritellia, a pretty blue flowering spring bulb with flowers like little blue stars is wonderful with all the other spring flowering bulbs.





There are many other blue flowers: hardy geranium Johnson's Blue; Monkshood; Siberian Iris Ceasar's Brother; Virginia Bluebells that bloom early in the spring and would be lovely with your spring flowering bulbs; veronica; Stokesia; annual Bachelor's buttons; perovskia; ground cover vinca minor; bronze beauty ajuga, and many more.





Look at the spring VanBourgendein catalog for ideas at


http://www.dutchbulbs.com/





In my garden crocuses and other bulbs share space with vinca minor and other ground covers, blooming under azaleas, in hosta beds (before the hostas come up), and there are many other plants that bloom with the bulbs, including hellebores; early violets, yellow, blue, white and speckled; ajuga; celandine poppies; columbines; bleeding heart (dicenta); Virginia bluebells; Jacob's ladder and all kinds of ferns. Later, with late daffodils and tulips, I have daisies, early daylilies, stachys, larkspur and lot of other early summer bloomers.





I plant all kinds of early and late bulbs mixed in beds and through my woods so that I have some blooming from late January through May, and then the lilies and daylilies take over.





Yes, Elephant ears do bloom, they have a bloom very much like a calla lily, or more like a spathyphullum or caladium.


Here;s a photo in this site:


http://www.emilycompost.com/elephant_ear...





Good luck with your garden!
Reply:1) Daffodils, violets, cyclamen candy tuft, creeping phloxs and miniature roses would mix well if your climate is right. Miniature roses will do better when the weather is warmer.





2) The best blue flower I can come up with is forget-me-nots. They are easy to grow from seed and last a long time. I also have giant blue lobelia but that is a late summer bloomer.





3) Yes elephant ears bloom and you saw the bloom.
Reply:I would add some Stella dailies they come in yellow white and red. I would also use bee balm or blue bonnet flowers for blue color. No elephant ears do not bloom. It could of been of been a Caledonia plant looks like elephant ears from distance but blooms.
Reply:true blue delphinium... what a brilliant blue !you can try bluebonnet seeds from wildflower farms in johnson city texas too( from texas..YAY! hi texas i miss you! :X) i have bought seeds there... my husband plants forget me nots and had great luck with these starting by seed indoors and they are also very blue... and you can also try the blue variety of bachelor buttons they are small and cute and make nice cutflowers
Reply:try scilla bulbs, they,ll even naturalize
Reply:1) homestead verbena will help hide the fading foliage of your spring flowering bulbs.


2) blue flowers: Plumbago, crystal palace lobelia, blue daze, vinca minor.


3) that was the bloom you saw but it isn't to any advantage to let elephant ears bloom it ultimately weakens the plant.


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