I've been feeling a bit blue lately, not a reflection on my mood but a desire to have more blue-flowering plants.
Blue is said to attract bumble bees but the other day one ignored a forget-me-not, flying on to a sweet william flower a few centimetres away.
True blues can be as difficult to find as pure white flowers, but three or four plants stand out: the vivid azure of Salvia patens and hardy Omphalodes, which blooms from late winter or early spring; paler forget-me-nots - including the Chatham Island version - and delphiniums from delicately hued James to royal blue King Arthur.
Here are some suggestions for blue throughout the year.
In spring, bluebells are perfect bulbs for a damp, shady spot. They multiply quickly, naturalise well in grass and are good under deciduous trees.
Omphalodes, forget-me-nots, bluebells, Corydalis and blue anemones are worth considering for spring.
Anemones prefer a sunny spot, but the others are happy with some shade.
Chatham Island forget-me-not (Myosotidium hortensia) has a bonus in its crumpled-looking, shiny green leaves that are lovely almost all year.
For something taller, the Californian lilac (Ceanothus) is a shrub that will grow to 3m and flower into summer, or have a blue Clematis climbing a trellis or threaded through a white or pale pink climbing rose.
Moving into summer, intense blue gentians share top billing with perennial delphiniums and their annual relatives, larkspur.
In a shady spot, pale blue Meconopsis look ethereal.
To survive, they need lime-free soil and must not dry out.
Late in summer, campanulas - from creeping groundcovers to 90cm stems of Canterbury bells - drifts of love in a mist (Nigella) and Maggie Mott violas maintain the blue theme.
In autumn there are blue Michaelmas daisies and asters, and late-sown cornflowers will still be in bloom.
In late winter, blue is bulbs domain with crocuses, glory of the snow (Chionodoxa) and Scilla in bloom - or bring blue indoors with hyacinths in pots.
