Blue garden kit

The Blue Period.

Every blue a garden can do.

True blue is rare in flowers, so we stacked the ones that get closest: inky Caradonna salvia, periwinkle catmint, speedwell spikes and balloon flowers that pop open like paper lanterns. Rozanne knits it together at the front.

12 plants · 5 kinds4 × 8 ft bedFull sun
$374.88
Same price as buying them one by one. The plan's on us.
The Blue Period
What it looks like

Year two. Then you brag.

Year two, mid-July. Each plant drawn at its full size.

1 ft345121 ft34512
  1. 1Salvia 'Caradonna' × 318–24 in. tall, 18–24 in. wide
  2. 2Speedwell 'Royal Candles' × 312–18 in. tall and wide
  3. 3Catmint 'Purrsian Blue' × 212–18 in. tall, 18–24 in. wide
  4. 4Balloon flower 'Astra Blue' × 28–12 in. tall, 8–12 in. wide
  5. 5Rozanne × 212–20 in. tall, 2–2.5 ft wide
What's in the box

12 plants, 5 jobs.

$89.97
In this kit: Inky spikes
Salvia nemorosa

Meadow Sage

Black stems, violet spikes, zero apologies.

Violet spikes on black stems. Narrow, upright spikes of deep violet-blue flowers on nearly black stems, so the plant reads dark and sharp even from across the yard. Bees and hummingbirds work it from late spring on.

Size18–24 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring into summer, reblooms LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Inky spikes
Salvia × sylvestris

Meadow Sage

The salvia everyone else gets compared to.

The benchmark blue-violet salvia. Dense spikes of deep indigo-violet flowers from late May, repeating through summer when trimmed. The 1997 Perennial Plant of the Year, and still the standard for good reason.

Size18–24 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring into summer, reblooms LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$92.97
In this kit: Blue candles
Veronica spicata

Spike Speedwell

Violet candles for the front row.

Violet spikes, front of border. Bushy mounds of glossy green leaves topped with dense violet-blue spikes from early summer on. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds all stop by.

Size12–18 in. tall and wideShowEarly summer into late summer LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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In this kit: Blue candles
Veronica

Speedwell

Purple spikes, painted thick.

Brushstrokes of purple. Dense spikes of violet-purple flowers with a pink cast cover a well-branched, upright plant through most of summer. Bees and butterflies work it steadily.

Size18–20 in. tall, 20–24 in. wideShowEarly to late summer LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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$61.98
In this kit: Periwinkle cloud
Nepeta × faassenii

Catmint

A tidy cloud of blue that bees love.

Catmint that stays in line. Gray-green, aromatic leaves in a tight, rounded mound that does not sprawl open in the middle. Blue-purple flower spikes cover it from late spring and keep coming after a trim.

Size12–18 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring through summer, rebloom into fall Lightfull, partZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Periwinkle cloud
Nepeta × faassenii

Catmint

Indigo flowers on a neat little mound.

Small catmint, deep color. Deep indigo-blue flowers in purple calyxes cover a compact mound of fragrant gray-green leaves from late spring on. It stays tidy and doesn't flop open in summer.

Size12–14 in. tall, 20–22 in. wideShowLate spring to fall with a midsummer trim Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$63.98
In this kit: Paper lanterns
Platycodon grandiflorus

Balloon Flower

The buds puff up, then pop.

Balloons that open into stars. Puffy, balloon-shaped buds swell and split into wide, star-shaped flowers in violet-blue. It's a compact form that fits the front of a bed or a pot and makes a good cut flower.

Size8–12 in. tall, 8–12 in. wideShowEarly to late summer Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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In this kit: Paper lanterns
Salvia nemorosa 'New Dimension Blue'

Salvia

Violet-blue spikes. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds.

Compact, blue and busy. Dense spikes of intense violet-blue on a short, tidy plant. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds all show up for it.

Size12–18 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring to midsummer, repeats LightfullZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$65.98
In this kit: The knit-it-together
Geranium

Hardy Geranium

Violet-blue from June until frost.

The longest show in the bed. Violet-blue flowers with white centers and dark veins, from early summer to frost, on a sprawling mound that weaves between neighbors. Few perennials bloom this long.

Size12–20 in. tall, 2–2.5 ft wideShowEarly summer to frost Lightfull, partZones5–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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In this kit: The knit-it-together
Nepeta × faassenii

Catmint

Compact, blue, and the bees agree.

Catmint that minds its manners. A tight, low mound of gray-green aromatic leaves under a haze of blue-violet flowers from late spring on. It stays compact instead of splaying open in midsummer like the big catmints.

Size12–14 in. tall, 20–22 in. wideShowLate spring to fall with a midsummer trim Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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The whole kit: 12 plants + the planting planEvery plant picked for your zone. Arrives alive, or we replace it.
The planting plan

Dig here. Then here.

4 × 8 ft bedFull sunTap a plant for the details
Back · tallMiddleFront · low
↓ Front edge · path, lawn or walk
What blooms when
AprMayJunJulAugSepOct
1Salvia
2Speedwell
3Catmint
4Balloon flower
5Rozanne

Something in flower 6 of 7 months from April to October.

  1. 1Lay it outSet the pots on the soil to match the plan before you dig. Step back, nudge, then commit.
  2. 2Dig and dropEach hole twice as wide as the pot, just as deep. Crown level with the soil. Firm it in.
  3. 3Soak itWater deeply today, then weekly for a month. After that, mostly leave it alone.
Why it's laid out like this

Salvia and speedwell at the back, catmint in the middle, balloon flower and Rozanne up front. Space 18 in. apart. Shear the catmint by half after the first flush.

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The Sunday Tip · every Sunday

One good plant idea,
every Sunday.

What to plant this week in your zone, every Sunday. New ways to plant and odd tricks that actually work.