20 Exquisite Blue Flowering Bulbs to Brighten Your Garden (2024)

By ELIZABETH WADDINGTON

Blue is a popular colour in gardens, so here are some bulbs with blue flowers to consider incorporating into your garden design.

Blue flowers are often more purplish in hue, but whether they are a truer blue or more violet or indigo in shade, they can look beautiful in a garden.

They can be used alongside greens and whites for a cool and calming effect, or paired dramatically with yellows, oranges and reds for a more vibrant and eye-catching theme.

Blues can be an interesting choice, especially when it comes to spring flowering bulbs, where yellow and red tones tend to dominate.

“Purple-hued flowers will harmonise with red whilst true blues will contrast with yellows,” adds Horticulturist Colin Skelly.

Choosing some bulbs with blue flowers to break up the dominant drifts of daffodils and tulips can be a good way to bring interest and variety to your garden.

Smaller blue flowering bulbs can also be the stars of the show in a container garden, in a bed or border, or perhaps even naturalised on a lawn or spreading below trees in a woodland setting.

To help you see the variety of blue and purplish options that are available, here are my favourite 20 bulbs with blue flowers to consider planting in your garden.

1) Allium caeruleum

• COMMON NAME(S): Blue-flowered garlic
• HARDINESS RATING: H5
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun

Allium caeruleum offers some of the truest cornflower blue flowering heads.

With a somewhat rare colour and a beautiful eye-catching form, these are a great choice for the centrepiece of a container, or for the back of a border in fertile, well-drained soil.

2) Allium caesium

• COMMON NAME(S): Light blue garlic
• HARDINESS RATING: H5
• FLOWERS: Blue and green
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun

Another allium to consider is A. caesium – light blue garlic.

This bulbous perennial has umbels of violet-blue flowers which are borne in late spring and early summer.

These thrive in moist but well-drained soil in full sun.

3) Anemone blanda blue-flowered

• COMMON NAME(S): Blue-flowered winter wildflower
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

The flowers of Anemone blanda come in a range of different hues.

‘Blue Shades’ offers a mix of blooms with a wide spectrum of purplish blues.

The blue-purple petals of these daisy-like flowers are set off perfectly by their yellow centres when they bloom in late spring and early summer.

They can grow well in full sun or partial shade.

4) Anemone nemorosa ‘Royal Blue’

• COMMON NAME(S): Wood anemone ‘Royal Blue’
• HARDINESS RATING: H5
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Part Shade

Woodland anemone ‘Royal Blue’ is a purple-toned cultivar of this attractive woodland flower.

This bulb thrives in a shaded location, and flowers from March onwards for a period of around 8 weeks.

Another interesting cultivar is ‘Blue Eyes’ which has white petals on double blooms, but a beautiful indigo blue eye at the centre of each flower.

5) Camassia leichtlinii ‘Caerulea’

• COMMON NAME(S): Camass caerulea group
• HARDINESS RATING: H4
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Camassia is another genus which offers several bulbs with blue flowers.

This is one of two suggested options, bearing dramatic blue-violet star-shaped flowers on tall racemes on erect stems.

“[They] look fantastic in a border, in prairie style plantings or even naturalised in meadows,” adds Colin.

“However, once established they draw down deep into the soil and can be labour-intensive to move.

“So wherever you put them, make sure you want them there long term.”

The eye-catching blooms grace the garden in late spring.

These thrive in full sun or partial shade and in moist but well-drained soil.

6) Camassia quamash

• COMMON NAME(S): Camas
• HARDINESS RATING: H4
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

There are also a wide variety of C. quamash cultivars with beautiful blue flowers, which range in hues from blue-violet to a much truer, deeper blue.

One of the options with vivid true blue blooms is the cultivar ‘Blue Melody’.

Choosing a few Camassia with different blue and ivory hues can work well in a blue-themed garden.

7) Crocus biflorus ‘Blue Pearl’

• COMMON NAME(S): Crocus ‘blue pearl’
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue, white and yellow
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun

Crocus comes in a range of different hues, and while there are no true blue crocuses, there is ‘Blue Pearl’.

‘Blue Pearl’ is a pleasingly delicate-looking but robust option, suitable for naturalising in lawns, which has pale silvery white petals streaked with a delicate violet-blue hue.

8) Hyacinthoides non-scripta

• COMMON NAME(S): Bluebell
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue and white
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Part Shade

Perhaps one of the best-known and best-loved wildflowers with blue flowers is the English bluebell.

This well-known flower of woodlands is easily recognised for its bell-shaped, violet-blue blooms.

It will thrive in dappled woodland shade, in moist but well-drained soil.

Plant these natives rather than the Spanish bluebell and help protect our native species.

9) Hyacinthusorientalis ‘Delft Blue’

• COMMON NAME(S): Hyacinth ‘delft blue’
• HARDINESS RATING: H4
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Some of the other excellent bulbs for blue flowers are hyacinths.

Hyacinth bulbs obviously come in a wide range of colours, and some offer excellent blue and blue-violet options, like ‘Delft Blue’.

Try other cultivars like ‘Blue Jacket’, ‘Ocean Mix’ and the rare blue-black ‘Midnight mystic’.

10) Ipheion ‘Rolf Fiedler’

• COMMON NAME(S): Spring starflower ‘Rolf Fiedler’
• HARDINESS RATING: H4
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun

The spring starflower ‘Rolf Fiedler’ is another bulbous perennial with beautiful blue flowers.

It forms clumps of narrow light green leaves above which its starry blue flowers seem to float.

The beautiful blue flowers reach around 3-4cm in width and each petal has a darker line down the centre.

These love a sheltered site in full sun.

Another cultivar to consider is Ipheion ‘Jessie’, which has beautiful blue flowers.

11) Iris reticulata

• COMMON NAME(S): Early bulbous iris
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• FLOWERS: Blue, purple and yellow
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Winter / Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun

The violet-purple hues of Iris reticulata might not honestly be a true blue, but this early bulbous iris is a real winner in many bulb displays.

The flowers are up to 8cm in width, with striking yellow central ridge markings.

These flowers prefer alkaline or neutral soil which is moist but well-drained and a position in full sun.

12) Muscari armeniacum

• COMMON NAME(S): Armenian grape hyacinth
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue and white
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Grape hyacinths are one other key group of bulbs with blue flowers.

When grown in a pot in an unheated greenhouse or undercover, the grape hyacinth ‘Christmas Pearl’ should flower at Christmas.

Outside, it will flower in February and remain in bloom until around early April.

The fragrant flowers emerge a slightly greenish blue, but mature to a vibrant blue-violet.

To follow this cultivar, Muscari armeniacum ‘Saffier’ is another great choice.

It takes over from the above and flowers until around the middle of May.

The violet-blue flowers of this bulb never quite open fully and never set seed, which explains their long blooming period.

13) Muscari azureum

• COMMON NAME(S): Azure grape hyacinth
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Another great grape hyacinth to consider is M. azureum, which has a paler blue hue than others in this genus.

The lovely little sky blue flowers, born in early April,crowd at the tops of the stems, those at the top staying tight, while those lower down flare out prettily.

These are happy in sun or partial shade as long as they are not subjected to summer drought.

14) Muscari latifolium

• COMMON NAME(S): Broad-leaved grape hyacinth
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue and black
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

One other interesting Muscari to consider is M. latifolium.

This has interesting two-tone flowering heads, with pale blue flowers at the top and purplish ones below.

This is another vigorous variety that can thrive in full sun or partial shade but which won’t like hot dry summers.

15) Scilla bifolia

• COMMON NAME(S): Alpine squill
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Scilla bifolia is the first of a number of squills, or Scilla, which offer beautiful blue flowers.

This squill, alpine squill, is known for its pink-tinged buds which open into bright blue or violet-blue star-shaped blooms.

There are usually 3-5, sometimes as many as 10, blooms on each stem.

This plant thrives in humus-rich soil in partial shade, disliking summer drought.

It will spread well in the right conditions.

16) Scilla forbesii

• COMMON NAME(S): Forbes’ squill
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue and white
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

This is another beautiful squill with blue starry flowers.

The flowers have white eyes and are borne in clusters of 2-3 on a leafless stem.

They grow well in well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.

17) Scillaluciliae(Boiss.) Speta

• COMMON NAME(S): Lucile’s glory of the snow
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue and white
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

One of the largest flowering squills, this bulb, formerly categorised as Chionodoxa, has flowers which can measure up to around 3.5-4cm across.

2-3 flowers form on each stem, and since the flowers face upwards, that can make an impressive show.

These flowers are pale lavender-tinged blue in hue, with white towards the centres.

They flower in April and are best in partial shade.

18) Scilla mischtschenkoana

• COMMON NAME(S): Misczenko swuill
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Winter / Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

The charming and delicate flowers of S. mischtschenkoana, beloved of bees,are the very palest icy blue, with deeper blue stripes which run down the centre of each petal.

Best in partial shade, this bulb offers blooms for up to a couple of months from mid-January.

19) Scilla sardensis

• COMMON NAME(S): Lesser glory of the snow
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Another Scilla formerly categorised as Chionodoxa, this bulb has outward-facing true blue flowers with small white centres, born on long, arching stems.

Up to around 20cm in height, this is another Scilla which will thrive in partial shade.

20) Scilla siberica

• COMMON NAME(S): Siberian squill
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• FLOWERS: Blue
• FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring
• SUNLIGHT: Full Sun / Part Shade

Scilla siberica is perhaps the most popular of all the Scilla varieties.

It has deep violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers, up to five of which hang from each one-sided flower head.

These flowers can grow up to around 4cm in width.

This bulb will thrive just about anywhere, as long as it is not too hot and dry in summer.

The above are just some of the beautiful bulbs for blue flowers that you could consider.

Whether you are looking for a true blue or more purplish hues, the list above should help you to find an option that works well for your garden.