As fall approaches, a new color is reintroduced into the garden - BLUE. In late spring, the Salvia River commands the garden with a blue-violet swath of color. The color we see now in the garden is more a true blue.
In the Light Plate, look for an unusual plant along both paths, Gentiana andrewsii. This native plant grows to 2 feet and is commonly called bottle gentian of closed gentian. The latter name refers to the fact that its bottle-shaped flowers never open.
Above the Seam, Salvia avurea, Blue sage, gracefully drapes over the edge of the wall. Its showy flowers are the color of the sky on a brilliant, clear day. Like all salvias, the blue sage attracts honey bees and migrating butterflies.
An often-overlooked plant with deep blue flowers is found in the Dark Plate beyond the Geranium 'Max Frei.' Ceratostigma plumbaginoides,commonly know as plumbago, makes an excellent ground cover as it only grows to 10 inches. In late fall, its leaves turn a rich, red bronze.In addition to these three, the Lurie Garden hosts several species of fall-blooming asters. Look for them in both the Dark and Light Plates.
