Please can you help me with choosing a bedding plant?

[Marthaclematis]

I have pulled out my geraniums as they haven't lasted - they didn't survive the ice and snow.
I would like something with a similar spread, bright, colourfull and long lasting (annual or perennial I don't mind) and PURPLE.. or blue. I've decided to go for a purple/blue and white bed this year - I already have purple clematis, white oregano and lavender.
I will buy as bedding plants as I have no desire to grow from seed and no room now (with my passion flowers and my basil germinating downstairs).

Thanks.

[shushkin!]

I have pulled out my geraniums as they haven't lasted - they didn't survive the ice and snow.
I would like something with a similar spread, bright, colourfull and long lasting (annual or perennial I don't mind) and PURPLE.. or blue. I've decided to go for a purple/blue and white bed this year - I already have purple clematis, white oregano and lavender.
I will buy as bedding plants as I have no desire to grow from seed and no room now (with my passion flowers and my basil germinating downstairs).

Thanks.

Blue is my favourite to Martha. I would suggest the gentle blues of fuschia Delta Sarah and nemesia blue bird. The fuschia has the bonus of being hardy to. They have both been very reliable and easy for me.
For show stopping blue or purple you would have to go for petunias or torenias.

[Marthaclematis]

Ooooh now petunias, yes, they are deep aren't they? I'll have to look up torenias as I don't know what they are.

[lynda66]

pansy's or viola's, lovely colours, and they self seed easily, so come back year after year (unless you don't want them to then dead head regularly) and last ages

[Marthaclematis]

Thanks Lynda, I will look up what violas are available. I have never been able to grow pansies for some reason! I have a shallow bowl of winter pansies which are green and alive but never produced a flower! Same with the ones in the bed last year. I have seen you thread about your first love - v exciting...good luck and keep us posted.

[MrsC]

Violas are lovely, agree with Lynda! Salvia maybe?

[dammad49]

How about meconopsis lingholm, have just germinated some from Dobies (surprisingly easily bearing in mind past failures). Have seen plants available but a bit pricey for me.

[plantsbypost.com]

If you fancy a bit of height then try Salvia victoria blue interplanted with cosmos sonata white, make sure you dead-head the cosmos and it will last for ages.

Or for something low growing with a spreading habit try a white trailing petunia and interplant with a blue cutting raised trailing lobelia such as lobelia blue star - they are so much better than the seed raised ones, with bigger flowers and longer lasting flowers.

Have had to grow the plants for some weird combinations in the past!!

Neil

[Sue]

Oh, I love blue flowers...
Borage is a must and very easy to grow from seed and a great fav with the bees.
Violets, once you can get the clumps big enough to resist slug damage
and Salvias, my favourites.
Campanulas are lovely too and they've all survived the winter so they might be a good choice for mid summer flowering.
Monkshood is a beautiful blue but very poisonous so a worry if you have children.
Pulmonarias are easy to grow and come back after a hard winter and are no worry once established - good for first spring flowers and bluebells, I now have a lovely bluebell patch, wonderful (at least to a novice gardener like me) to see my original 30 floppy plants develop and grow into such vigorous clumps, always a highlight of the year when these come out.
Sue

[greysquirrel]

Petunias!
Easy to grow and very forgiving (when I forget to water)

[Nicos]

Perennial geraniums..lovely purple flower....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/...8cc899f77c.jpg

[Alice]

Argeratum comes in nice shades of blue and purple and will flower all summer. Usually cheap to buy as bedding plants to.