Anchusa Blue Angel

The truest blue available from any annual seed. Real, intense blue is the rarest colour in the garden — most ‘blue’ flowers are really violet-blue, lavender, or purple-blue. Blue Angel produces something different: a saturated, almost luminous ultramarine that genuinely stops you in your tracks, held in airy sprays above a compact mound of bristly green foliage.

Drought-tolerant once established, exceptionally bee-friendly, and one of the very best annuals for hot, dry, sunny spots where most plants struggle. Flowers from June through to the first autumn frosts.

• Anchusa capensis 'Blue Angel' — Hardy Annual (H3)
• Height: 30–45cm | Flowers: June–first frosts
• Sow indoors February–April or direct late April; surface sow
• Full sun; lean, dry, free-draining soil — thrives on neglect
• Deadhead regularly to extend the flowering season
• Outstanding bee, hoverfly, and butterfly plant

Grow it with Achillea Cloth of Gold for a blue-and-gold combination of pure complementary contrast.