You’ve all heard of primrose yellow, but let me introduce you to primrose blue. As a flower colour blue is something of acquired taste, especially when it doesn’t come naturally. Could there be anything more abhorrent than a blue rose, a turquoise chrysanthemum (please note Tesco cut flower buyer) or, worse still, a sapphire orchid? And yet few blooms are as rich or vibrant as those of delphiniums, campanulas or gentians, which are blue through and through.
In part it’s about what we are accustomed to. This may be why I am not quite sure about the pot of marbled, lavender-blue primroses I currently have on my deck, purchased on a whim at the garden centre. They just about get away with their curious colouring on account of veering towards mauve but, like many bedding plants, they have that slightly too processed look about them. Too many flowers, not enough leaves.
Blue is not uncommon in primroses, although rarely could one describe the colour as true blue. Among the doubles, P. ‘Blue Ice’ is a deliciously chintzy powder blue, whilst old favourite P. ‘Blue Sapphire’ is a kind of faded indigo. Last year at the RHS Plant and Design Show I ran into P. ‘Blue Zebra’ for the first time; a flower that looks too much like cheap Chinese crockery for my liking, but the novelty of which will doubtless win fans. Perhaps the prettiest of the lot are the violet blue singles, including P. ‘Blue Riband’ and P. ‘Hall Barn Blue’, which sport masses of delicate golden-eyed flowers. Positioning them alongside other blue and yellow flowers is probably the best bet.
As for these chaps they’ll be straight on the compost heap once they finish flowering. Give me a primrose primrose any day.
Categories: alpines, Flowers, Perennials
Oh, I like them. 🙂 And, the second photo is so beautiful it could pass for an oil painting.
Thank you Judy. I am just using the iPhone this week, but it takes pretty good snaps 🙂
Of topic in a sense, on of my colleagues bought me a bunch of flowers last week and the colour seems to have leached out of them and into the water. This is the first time I’ve noticed such a phenomenon. However, your post also got me thinking about the purple primrose I bought myself recently. They seem all the rage round here but presumably they are very much engineered to be like this?
I think primroses have been hybridised endlessly to achieve all these big flowers and bright colours. They certainly make an impact, but I like the smaller, scented varieties better.
Thanks for your reply. I didn’t know primroses have a scent – I do have some tiny yellow ones in my garden but I’ve not noticed anything 🙁
I adore flowers with any shade of blue and if they are splashed or streaked, better yet. 🙂 About nine years ago I had Primula vulgaris ‘Tie Dye’ in a small clump and loved how the amount of blue would change and also vary from flower to flower. The blue seemed to be more solid, and darker, when the flower first opened and then fade a bit (and give way to more white) as the days went by. Rather like a pair of new jeans after numerous washings!
yes please. Want 🙂 Purple and yellow is one of my fave color schemes, especially in early spring arrangements.
Glad you like them Sandy!