Add bold, beautiful blooms to your yard with blue flowering shrubs! Plus, see which options are best for pollinators.
‘Pugster Blue’ Butterfly Bush
Buddleja, Zones 5 to 9
If you want to bring more pollinators into your backyard, butterfly bush is a good pick. While Buddleja is available in a variety of colors, for blue flowering shrubs, try the dwarf cultivar Pugster Blue.
Why we love it: Butterfly bush will fill your backyard with activity. Hummingbirds, pollinators, and butterflies all flock to its blooms.
Editor’s note: Butterfly bush is invasive in some areas, such as the Pacific Northwest. Avoid growing it, or try planting seedless varieties like Lo and Behold Blue Chip Jr.
Fill your backyard with blooming bushes that attract butterflies.
‘Beyond Midnight’ Bluebeard
Caryopteris x clandonensis, Zones 5 to 9
Also known as “blue spirea” and “blue mist,” bluebeard brings in pollinators with clusters of purple-blue blooms. Resistant to most disease and pest problems, it makes an excellent addition to a cottage garden or even a cutting garden. Bluebeard’s fragrant leaves give off a minty aroma when crushed.
Why we love it: Bluebeard blooms in late summer, when many plants are winding down for the season.
California Lilac
Ceanothus x pallidus, Zones 6 to 8, annual elsewhere
It’s easy to grow California lilac in a pollinator garden. Known for its eye-catching clusters of blue blooms, it boasts flowers during spring and summer and makes an excellent pick for a cutting garden.
Why we love it: California lilacs are known for being drought tolerant blue flowering shrubs. If you live in an area where wildfires are a concern, many subspecies regrow after fires.
‘Tuscan Blue’ Rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Tuscan Blue’, Zones 8 to 11
You might already know the benefits of growing rosemary in your kitchen herb garden, but you can also enjoy the beautiful flowers. Cultivar ‘Tuscan Blue’ has some of the prettiest blue colored blooms that we’ve seen.
Why we love it: The evergreen foliage forms a sturdy hedge that grows up to 6 feet tall.
Blue Plumbago
Plumbago auriculata, Zones 9 to 11, annual elsewhere
Commonly chosen as a cottage garden plant, blue plumbago’s beautiful blooms grow great in warm climates (and as an annual elsewhere). A host plant for the cassius blue butterfly, among others, plumbago is relatively low-maintenance.
Why we love it: With a bit of work and persistence, gardeners can train the plant to grow up a trellis.
‘Blue Jean Baby’ Russian Sage
Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Blue Jean Baby’, Zones 4 to 9
This small shrub deserves a place in your garden for its classic appearance and pollinator benefits. The long-blooming blue flowers on ‘Blue Jean Baby’ bloom from midsummer into fall.
Why we love it: Waterwise Russian sage is a great pick for migrating hummingbirds that will appreciate the nectar on their journey south.
‘Azurri Blue Satin’ Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus, Zones 5 to 9
Many cultivars of rose of Sharon exist, including a few blue varieties. Try ‘Blue Bird’ or ‘Azurri Blue Satin’ to add showstopping color to your backyard.
Why we love it: Azuri Blue Satin grows 8 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide, making it a good choice for a specimen plant, and it is nearly seedless so it won’t spread aggressively.
Editor’s note: Make sure rose of Sharon is not invasive in your state before planting or choose a sterile cultivar.
