Perennial Ageratum 'Wayside' August 12, 2012

 While reading about plants that grow well in the south and that are traditional "passalong" plants, I discovered perennial ageratum.  It looks much the same as the recognizable annual we often see growing in gardens or being sold in nurseries.  But it will return reliably every year, and it spreads quickly.

Good things about this plant:  it is perennial, it spreads, it blooms in late summer and fall.  It is good to have plants in the garden that bloom in late summer.  And it is blue.  Blue is not a common color for late summer. Blue Mist Flower, Morning Glories and Asters are the only examples I can come up with just off the top of my head.

If you want more of it in other places, just dig some up and carry it with a little of the dirt to the place you want it.  I was a little disappointed when it started to bloom.  The pictures in the book made the flowers look more purple than blue.  There is actually little to no difference between the flowers of this plant (Eupatorium coelestinum) and those of Blue Mist Flower (Eupatorium greggii) that I already have growing in a different garden.  The leaves of the plants are completely different, but it is easy to see why they are so similar since they are in the same family.