Confession: I love blue flowers. There’s something about them that makes my heart sing. In Colorado, Utah, and similar states, we’re lucky to have a variety of waterwise, blue flowers available to us as perennials (plants that return for multiple years).
Here are 12 waterwise perennials with blue flowers to get you started. These drought-tolerant beauties can handle our tricky, western conditions—from low precipitation to summer heat.
SPRING BLOOMERS
Blue flax (Linum lewisii)
Zones 4-9
Blue flax is a “What’s that?” plant… as in, your neighbors will stop and ask about this drought-tolerant perennial. It has airy, ferny leaves and charming, blue flowers in May and June. The flowers can be pale blue, powder blue or sky blue. Flowers open in the morning and close in the evening.
Blue flax can reseed heavily if you let it go to seed—like a fairy godmother tossing pixie dust—so think about where you plant it. It prefers a lot of sunlight and well-drained soils.
If you’d like a blue flax that’s native to Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, Linum lewisii is the easiest one to find in stores and at plant exchanges. The Colorado State University Extension says it can grow at elevations up to 9,500 feet! If you aren’t picky on native origin, there are European blue flaxes available too, such as Linum perenne (zones 4b-8) and Linum narbonense (Zones 5-8).
Colorado desert bluestar (Amsonia jonesii)
Zones 4-9
Colorado desert bluestar has pale-blue flowers that look like stars. It blooms in April and May. During autumn, its leaves turn yellow, offering a splash of fall color.
Colorado desert bluestar thrives in hot, sunny and dry locations. It’s very waterwise. Worth noting, this perennial can take several years to grow in size, so consider buying a bigger plant to get started. Otherwise, plan on being patient for a few years. (It’s worth the wait.)
This perennial can be a hard one to find, so if you see it at the garden center or a plant exchange, snag it!
Blue penstemons / beardtongues (Penstemon)
Penstemons (aka, beardtongues) typically put on a colorful show in late spring and early summer gardens in the West. They thrive in hot and sunny locations. They can keep their green foliage through most of the year, including winter. These plants attract hummingbirds and bees.
There are a number of penstemons that have blue flowers, including:
- Grand Mesa penstemon (Penstemon mensarum) — native to Colorado and Utah (zones 3-9)
- Blue Mist penstemon (Penstemon virens) — native to Colorado and Wyoming (zones 4-8)
- Electric Blue penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Electric Blue’) — a selection of a California native penstemon (zones 5-9)
- WAGGON WHEEL® bluemat penstemon (Penstemon caespitosus ‘P022S’) — a selection of a low-growing penstemon that’s native to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Arizona (zones 4-7)
All of the penstemons listed above thrive in waterwise gardens.
Muscari / grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum)
Zones 4-9
Muscari (aka, grape hyacinth) has deep-blue flowers that bloom in the middle of spring. It grows from a bulb you plant in the fall. It naturalizes easily in western gardens, so it can spread and come back year after year. Muscari is drought tolerant, making it a good addition to waterwise gardens. Plant it en masse for a big splash of color.
Muscari offers bees an early source of food before many other plants have started blooming.
Turkish veronica (Veronica liwanensis)
Zones 3-10
Turkish veronica is a low-growing groundcover. It gets tiny, blue flowers in May. Plant it among pavers and walkways for a pretty look or along the fronts of your garden beds.
Turkish veronica will grow in partly shady locations, as well as in sunny locations. (You’ll get more flowers in the sun.) The leaves are evergreen, meaning they typically stay green throughout the year, including winter. This plant takes low to average water.
There are a couple of variations of this perennial that have blue flowers as well. CRYSTAL RIVER® veronica has lilac-blue flowers with a white center (zones 3-7), and SNOWMASS® blue-eyed veronica has white petals with blue centers (zones 3-10).
SUMMER BLOOMERS
Indigo blue dragonhead (Dracocephalum ruyschiana)
Zones 3-8
Indigo blue dragonhead gets blue flowers in the early summer. This perennial has vibrant-green foliage with needle-like leaves. I think it looks pretty when it’s paired with waterwise perennials that have silver foliage.
Indigo blue dragonhead is drought-tolerant and easy going. You can plant it in a variety of soils. It’s happiest in sunny locations.
Cape forget-me-not (Anchusa capensis ‘Cape Forget-Me-Not’)
Zones 5-10
Cape forget-me-not grows in full sun and part shade. In sunny locations, it prefers a little more water.
This attractive perennial from South Africa starts blooming in April, and it can bloom into the fall if you keep deadheading it. Honey bees love the sky blue flowers.
This waterwise, blue flower can be a shorter-lived perennial. If you want it to continue in your garden, let some of the spent flowers go to seed. With that said… it easily reseeds, so if you don’t want a lot of new plants, be sure to deadhead the spent blooms.
Prairie salvia (Salvia azurea)
Zones 5-9
Prairie salvia is a regionally native plant that gets blue flowers on tall stems in mid- to late summer. It’s a prairie plant that attracts pollinators, like bumble bees and hummingbirds.
This waterwise perennial grows well in our tricky western soils, from clay to sand. It doesn’t need a lot of water, and it’s happiest in sunny gardens. If you plant it in rich garden soils (meaning your dirt has a lot of organic material in it), it can get floppy.
Prairie salvia looks lovely when it’s planted among ornamental grasses, like little bluestem, and goldenrods.
Blue Glow globe thistle (Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Glow’)
Zones 3-8
Blue Glow globe thistle produces round flowers—blue globes—in the middle of summer. The round flowers create an interesting focal point in waterwise gardens, creating contrast with other plants. This perennial gets reasonably tall (up to four feet tall), so plant it in the middle or back of your garden. It thrives in sunny, hot and dry locations, and it can bloom for a long time.
This beauty attracts a range of pollinators, including honey bees and bumble bees. In my garden, I’ve seen hummingbirds visiting it as well.
When you see the word, “thistle,” you may think, “Eeek, is this the bad kind of thistle?” Nope, Blue Glow echinops isn’t the invasive type of thistle, but it can reseed. If you don’t want it taking over neighboring plants, deadhead it when it’s done blooming.
Blue Glitter sea holly (Eryngium planum ‘Blue Glitter’)
Zones 4-9
Another waterwise plant with interesting flowers!
Blue Glitter sea holly gets blue, spiny flowers on blue stems in the middle of summer. It thrives in sunny, dry locations. (You’ll find other sea holly plants on the market, but they aren’t always as drought tolerant as Blue Glitter.)
My neighbors ask me about this plant every summer. I’m partial to it because it looks unusual, and it’s a party for pollinators, including native bees, beneficial wasps and butterflies.
FALL BLOOMERS
Autumn Sapphire sage (Salvia reptans ‘P016S’)
Zones 5-10
There are a couple of waterwise, blue flowers that shine in the fall, including Autumn Sapphire sage. This drought-tolerant perennial adds a pop of color in September and October when other flowers have stopped blooming. Plus, it’s a source of nectar and pollen for late-season pollinators, including bees and butterflies.
Autumn Sapphire sage has willowy, green leaves. It looks lush and green in July and August, despite our heat in Colorado and Utah. Small, sapphire-blue flowers cover this plant in early fall. It can bloom until frost.
I think it’s pretty when it’s paired with hyssops (Agastache), western salvias and ornamental grasses.
Hardy plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)
Zones 5-9
Hardy plumbago is another late-season bloomer. It gets bright blue flowers in the late summer and early fall in Colorado. Hardy plumbago is a groundcover, growing up to 8 inches tall and spreading about 18 inches wide.
Hardy plumbago will happily flower in the shade. Known as a “dry shade” plant in Colorado and Utah, hardy plumbago doesn’t need a lot of water in the shade. (You can plant it in the sun too, but it will be happier with more water in the sun.)
Another bonus… Hardy plumbago’s leaves turn a deep red color in the fall, adding an extra pop of color to your fall landscape. In the photo above, the leaves have started changing color.
Related topics that may interest you:
- What plant hardiness zone is Colorado?
- 3 plants that struggle in our western winters (what NOT to plant in your Colorado garden)
- 9 of the best flowers for late summer in Colorado and Utah