The Best of Red, White, and Blue

Posted by: Alison O'Connor, CSU Extension in Larimer County

To all those who have served our county, are currently serving, or sacrificed their life: Thank you. On this Memorial Day, please know I am very grateful to all of you and your families.

My dad served in the National Guard for over 20 years and my grandpa was a WWII veteran. I am very proud for what they did for our country and proudly fly a flag in their honor. I also love the color combination of red, white, and blue! It's a great threesome.

So...it got me thinking...what are the best red, white, and blue flowers if you wanted to have your own patriotic garden? It turned out to be a really long list, so I'm just highlighting a few below. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments below!

THE BEST OF...RED FLOWERS

Obviously roses are at the top of the list. What's more red than a rose? But red is a hard color--is it more candy apple red? Mustang red? I'm Not Really a Waitress red from O.P.I. nail polish? Red is a very personal color and can be subjective in the eyes of the gardener.

A very good red rose that is fitting with our theme is 'Veterans' Honor' hybrid tea. This rose actually has roots to a special Master Gardener in Larimer County, Roger Heins. Roger is a veteran and worked as a breeder for Jackson and Perkins and this is one of his introductions. Hybrid teas can be fussy, but if you want that perfect red rose, this is this one for you.

Veterans' Honor hybrid tea rose from Jackson and Perkins

If you want to add some color to your summer garden, then plant some zinnias. They are non-stop bloomers, great cut flowers, and come in many colors, including red. In the CSU Annual Trial Gardens, the top zinnia was 'Zesty Scarlet'. Another option is 'Benary's Giant Scarlet'.

Benary's Giant Scarlet zinnia

Runner up red flowers: geraniums, dahlias, tulips, petunias, cardinal flower, anthurium, poinsettias, and amaryllis.

THE BEST OF....WHITE FLOWERS

White is simple. It's pure. White is a neutral and can be paired with anything. Fortunately there are many great white flowers:

Bleeding heart is one of my spring-blooming favorites. It reminds me of my Grandma Stoven who used to tell me a story about each part of the flower. For the life of me, I can't remember! I know it involved two bunnies, a bottle of wine, and button hooks. Bleeding heart loves cooler weather and fades when it gets too hot, but comes back reliably each year. Its cousin, the pink bleeding heart, make a good match in the garden.

White bleeding heart

Iris are another spring bloomer, and iris come in every color of the rainbow. The white bearded iris are absolutely beautiful--a very clean, crisp white. Plus, iris are tough-as-nails. They are drought tolerant and bloom their hearts out every year. Maintenance is minimal and they just need to be divided every few years.

White bearded iris

Finally, an annual that loves the heat and blooms non-stop is bacopa. Looking for a spiller for your containers and hanging baskets? Bacopa is a great choice. This little annual is covered in blooms all summer and doesn't need any pinching or deadheading. 

Bacopa

Runner up white flowers: Shasta daisies, Annabelle hydrangea, cosmos, sweet alyssum, Spring Snow crabapple, and datura.

THE BEST OF...BLUE FLOWERS

Did you know the Pantone Color of the Year is Basic Blue? Yep, so now you can be patriotic AND trendy in your garden, if you plant blue flowers. Blue is a tough color--there's not a lot of true blue flowers, but breeding is getting better and there are many that are close enough. A couple options:

Lobelia. The darling of hanging baskets. The good news about lobelia is that it's being bred to be more heat tolerant. In the past, lobelia would melt with hot weather and all that would be left in your baskets by August were petunias. (Note: there are some very good white lobelia too!) Lobelia blooms all.the.time. 

Blue lobelia. The flowers are just getting started.

My co-worker just texted about love-in-a-mist the other day. She loves it and wants more. With fennel-like foliage, this annual is a great cut flower and will reseed freely in your garden. It does prefer some moisture. After it blooms, the seedpods add additional interest.

Love-in-a-mist (photo from sowtrueseeds.com)

Speedwell (Veronica) is another great blue...with shades of purple. This perennial can range in height from just 12" to over three feet, depending on the cultivar you choose. Pollinators love speedwell and will attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. After the first bloom, cut back the plant to encourage a second (smaller) set of flowers. 

Dark Moody Blues speedwell

Runner up blue flowers: lupine, foxglove, Endless Summer hydrangea, delphinium, Himalayan blue poppy, lily of the Nile, and forget-me-not. 

Red, white, and blue also pairs well with greens, so don't forget those foliage plants! 

Easy Cut Flowers For Drying

by Yvette Henson

Over the years, when I’ve purchased cut flowers at the Farmers Market, I have tended to favor the ones that dry easily.  They last a long time in a vase and then I like to use them again by making wreaths or adding them to potpourri.  Following are 5 easy-to-grow-from-seed flowers that you can plant in containers or in borders.  These can all be used as cut flowers and for drying.  

Sweet Annie, Artemisia annua

Sweet Annie photo credit Johnnyseeds.com

Once established in your garden, Sweet Annie is a politely re-seeding cool-season annual with a wonderful sweet and tangy fragrance to the foliage and flowers.  You can sew them outdoors a few weeks before the last frost in the spring but be patient—they can take a little while to germinate.  Sweet Annie is most commonly grown for the foliage to use as a base for wreaths.  It can grow quite tall (up to 6’ tall and 3’ wide) but it stays around 3’ in my cooler, higher elevation garden.  It will be shorter grown from transplants than from seed.  It needs sun and well-drained soil.  It should be harvested when the small yellow flowers just begin to open.  If you wait too long, they will shatter and make a mess. 

Globe amaranth, Gomphrena globosa 

Orange globe amaranth photo credit mountainlilyfarm.com

Globe amaranth is the only warm season annual that I included in this blog.  It is an old fashioned flower that makes a good bedding plant, cut flower and dried flower.  The most common colors are a range of pinks and purples but they come in whites, oranges and reds.  Given sunny and warm conditions, they grow quickly to 1-3’, depending on the variety.  They need medium to dry well-drained soil.  If they are planted close together, they may grow longer stems.  They dry best hung upside down in a shady, well-ventilated location.  If dried upright in a vase, the flower stem may bend near the head. 

Love-in-a-mist, Nigela damascena

Love-in-a-mist photo credit monicelloshop.org

Love-in-a-mist is a cool-season annual with white, blue and pink flowers.  It grows 1.5 -2’ tall and wide.  It likes well-drained, medium-moist soil and full sun.  The flowers, feathery foliage and seed pods make great cut flowers. The bristly, beige, inflated seed heads dry better than the flowers but the flowers can be dried too.  Their color will fade slightly when dry.

Painted sage, Salvia viridis (syn. Salvia horminum)

Painted sage photo credit Trade Winds Fruit

Painted sage or annual clary sage is a hardy annual that prefers well-drained soil and full sun to part shade.  It grows upright to 2’x1’.  The showy white, pink or purple parts of the inflorescence are actually colored bracts that hold long after the tiny flowers are spent.  It is a lovely cut flower and dries well. 

Bells of Ireland, Molucella laevis 

Bells of Ireland photo credit seedsavers.org

Bells of Ireland is a half-hardy annual that grows better from seed than transplants.  Plant seed early in the spring when the ground is still cool.  It grows upright 2-3’x1’ wide. It prefers moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil and full sun to part shade.  The showy parts of the inflorescence are the green calyxes.  They will retain their color when drying if placed upright in a vase filled with only 1 inch or so of water.  This allows a slow dry down as the water is used up.  Also, when you cut the stem, before placing it in the water, singe it with a match flame to prevent the sticky sap from blocking its ability to take up water.

After writing this blog, I want to grow every one of these this summer!  Most of the seeds can be found wherever seeds are sold.