greentapestry : 'Stairway To Heaven'

Tuesday 25 January 2011

'Stairway To Heaven'

B IS FOR?

BLUE!

"Blue thou art, intensely blue; 
Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?"
~ James Montgomery,1771 -1854

I think I could bore for England on the subject of blue flowers of which I seem to grow more of than any other colour but bear with me ~ I have just picked one for today's post. This is polemonium caeruleum or to give the plant its common name 'Jacob's Ladder'. The common name derives from the appearance of the the plant's paired ferny like leaflets in a ladder like appearance. The reference to Jacob relates to the the dream that Jacob had, which is told in Genesis 12 - 19 "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven"

This is one of the first perennials that I planted in our current garden, having grown it from seed via The Cottage Garden Society seed exchange. Little buttons of brilliant blue are evident in early May before they blithely come fully into flower later in the month. It seems to have no pests, sits tight, thrives in part shade and although it self seeds it is not bothersome in my garden.

Be off with you now over to ABC Wednesday where there is so much more to be found on the letter B!

15 comments:

  1. a bonny, blooming post!
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  2. Ah, Roger has already said it perfectly!!! Love blue flowers and these are delightful! And perfect for the B Day! Enjoy your week!

    Sylvia
    ABC Team

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  3. Beautiful Blue flower, no matter how you word it.

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  4. I have Jacob's Ladder in my garden too, such a pretty flower but I also like the foliage. I'm quite partial to blue flowers.

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  5. That's one of my favourite flowers - its such a lovely shade of blue.

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  6. Blue flowers are always lovely, and polemonium is a favorite here too. Did you know that there is a variegated polemonium called 'Stairway to Heaven'?, another lovely addition. :)

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  7. Brilliant Blue. Enjoyed your B post so much.

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  8. Beautiful blue, beautiful flower.

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  9. I'd love a blue blossomed plant like that and may see if I can find one to plant here. Beautiful.

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  10. What a beautiful polemonium photo. I've tried hard to grow this plant, too. Do you have a secret?

    A friend of mine and I created a twin-sized quilt, named Jacob's Ladder together (as a mission fund-raiser). I preferred to nickname it "Polemonium!" ;)

    Blue flowers are so striking, don't you think? Great post!

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  11. I really must grow this, I love blue too, and don't have enough of it, not that is happy in partial shade anyway. And the leaves are so gorgeous too!

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  12. Another amazingly alliterative post from you, Anna. Your choice of B for Blue is beautiful - I intend to grow more blue flowers so will keep an eye out for more from your blue garden
    Laura

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  13. Dear Anna, Polemonium is such a cheerful and well behaved plant for the garden.Pretty foliage and beautifully blue...what is not to like?!!

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  14. Hi Anna,
    I came here to tell you happy birthday a day late. I hope it was a nice one.

    I haven't grown Jacob's ladder before. Those blooms sure are pretty. They remind me of potato blooms.

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  15. I think Grace planted once in our garden many years ago. Such beautiful blue color.

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.