blue lobelia

When I head out to the greenhouses to buy plants to design containers gardens for a client, usually my head is empty with ideas. It has to be. I may have a color palette in mind, but other than that, container gardening is hard to plan exactly what you want. It will leave you disappointed and scrambling when they don't have the deep purple verbena you were counting on. I imagine it is the same when the chef shows up at the markets in the early morning. You can however count on the staples like lime green potato vine, rainbows of inpatients and petunias galore.
I am most creative under the warm dome of a greenhouse when I can see all of the textures and colors in front of my eyes and pick what is best and showy that day. And this time, it was the vibrant blue lobelia. They were hidden in the back of the large greenhouse, in the last row, but I saw their beautiful color poking out and knew they would be perfect to start with. Once I have one plant picked for a design, the rest starts flowing as I can picture it paired with the yellow buttercup lantana I saw when I first walked in and variegated ivy or hot pink geraniums and a big old spike on the floor of another isle.

blue lobelia, cordyline dark star spike, lime potato vine, hot pink geranium and small clusters of pink polka dot plants

blue lobelia, buttercup lantana and variegated hanging ivy