What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 25: great blue lobelia

I missed a couple of days due to prepping for a big storm that came through. Thankfully we had no damage and all my prep was unneeded, but better to do it than not, so I did. Everything here got a good watering and we’ve had a big burst of growth as a result.

Today’s featured native NC pollinator is the great blue lobelia, which didn’t do especially well the first year I planted it, but it has really come out this year in a large cluster and looks great. Its indigo blue flowers are lovely when they arrive, and until then, the green foliage and pleasing shape make a lovely display in the front of my bed. There are two holly trees adjacent which offer a deep green backdrop, though we’ve limbed them up to get a slightly different look to the front - so now their trunks (very beautiful!) are also a nice feature for the eye.

This is a shot of the entire front garden bed - the lobelia is the large cluster on the right in the back from this angle, and to the right of that low cluster you can see the holly. When you’re walking up the stone walkway to our front door, you see the lobelia in front of the holly and it looks quite nice when blooming. (Should have taken the photo from that angle!)

I love seeing this garden bed come up and mature through the spring/summer/fall seasons. Right now it’s so manicured, but as things come out and mature, it becomes a thicket of pure delight. If you make sure to plant things that bloom in each season, you’ll have a garden that keeps you happy all year, and this one definitely does that for me.

Here’s a closer view of the lobelia:

It’s a woodland plant but somehow ended up in full afternoon sun in my garden, which may be why it struggled some the first year. I make sure it doesn’t get too dry if we have weeks without rainfall, but I haven’t pampered it at all.

This is one of the best reasons I can offer for planting natives aside from their benefits for insects and wildlife - they tend to be very hardy and easy to care for.

More info:

Makin, Julie 

Lobelia siphilitica

Lobelia siphilitica L.

Great Blue Lobelia

Campanulaceae (Bellflower Family)

Synonym(s): 

USDA Symbol: losi

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

This showy perennial is usually unbranched but may exhibit some branching. The erect, 2-3 ft., stems produce lavender-blue, tubular flowers crowded together on the upper stem. Showy, bright blue flowers are in the axils of leafy bracts and form an elongated cluster on a leafy stem. Each flower is split into two lips - the upper lip has two segments and the lower lip has three. 

This blue counterpart of the Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a most desirable plant for woodland gardens especially since it blooms bright blue in late summer. The unfortunate species name, siphilitica, is based on the fact that it was a supposed cure for syphilis.