@Nollie - I like Aconitum ‘Royal Flush’. It’s a really rich blue (the same colour as the flower in your icon). In my dry Suffolk garden it grows to about 60cm tall. I particularly like the rich blue flowers against the deep apricot colours of the DA rose Roald Dahl, the deep magenta of rosa Roserie de l’Hay and the yellow of rudbeckia.
I also have the salvia nemerosa Caradonna which gives the right colour balance early to mid summer. This aconitum is a goody because it doesn’t flower (for me) until early September and provides a real pop of colour for about 4 weeks. It’s also fairly well behaved and doesn’t need staking or anything. I just let it grow up through the roses.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Hi Adrian, I did wonder if anyone would suggest a penstemon! Having looked it up, it seems to hail from California and is ‘notably drought tolerant’ so that may well work, thanks. My only doubt is whether it would be too baby blue here, it looks quite pale in some photos.
I am trialling Penstemon for the first time this year, Raven, which is (typically!) more pink than plummy purple for me. It has survived some extreme hot weather though.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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I also have the salvia nemerosa Caradonna which gives the right colour balance early to mid summer. This aconitum is a goody because it doesn’t flower (for me) until early September and provides a real pop of colour for about 4 weeks. It’s also fairly well behaved and doesn’t need staking or anything. I just let it grow up through the roses.
I am trialling Penstemon for the first time this year, Raven, which is (typically!) more pink than plummy purple for me. It has survived some extreme hot weather though.