As flower colours go, true blue can be hard to find, and with summer on its way, you’re in the mood for some icy-cool colours. Gardeners with foresight will have planted the bluest of the blue-flowering bulbs in time to get a flush of azure, and they’ll have chosen the blue Allium azureum (also known as Allium caeruleum) for a showy display of blue pompom-pop like clusters of florets.

The stems of Allium azureum are quite tall, so you can use these blue alliums as a striking background for your summer perennials, or you can plant them on their own to create a splash of bluer-than-blue colour. With those looks, you may be pardoned for wondering whether these plants will need a little extra pampering, but these blue alliums are not delicate, hothouse beauties. Simply plant them, add water, and enjoy!