SEATTLE — Seattle gardening expert Ciscoe Morris says: "Everybody loves blue flowers and right now is peak season for some of them. So I've come up with a road trip so you can get out there and find blue flowers all over the place!"
Here's a look at when and where to find some of Washington state's best blue blooms.
Grape hyacinths
Blue bloom stop #1 is easy, you can keep your eye out for these blues anywhere in western Washington in early April: "Grape hyacinths love to naturalize, they spread like wildfire!" We found a vacant lot in Sequim that was a sea of blue, but fading rapidly. These blues are at their best in early spring.
Camas
Blue bloom stop #2 is the Mima Mounds south of Olympia, or if you really want to hit the road, the Camas Highway in Idaho. Camas comes into bloom in late April and early May in the grasslands of the South Sound, also known as the Puget Prairie. The flowers are beautiful, and the bulbs are an important food source for Native Americans. To learn more, check out Prairie Appreciation Day, May 14, 2022.
Chicory
Blue bloom stop #3 is a relative of the aster that grows wild all over Washington, chicory. For true blue abundance, look along roadsides in Eastern Washington in the mid to late summer where you'll find chicory blossoms as blue as the skies above them. Bonus with this blue; its roots are a coffee substitute, oh la la!
Himalayan blue poppy
Blue bloom stop #4 We saved the biggest blue for last. "This is the queen of the blue flowers — the Himalayan blue poppy!" Ciscoe said. This blue is an introduced species and doesn't thrive in the wild, but you can find an accessible blue poppy meadow at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way. Peak bloom for this blue is late May, and the garden celebrates with 'Blue Poppy Day' slated for May 21st this year.
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