Aconitum cammarum Blue Lagoon

The Aconitum 'Blue Lagoon' is a hybrid aconite that stands out for its compact habit, well suited for ornamental use in planters and border beds. It offers a delightful and long summer flowering of bright blue, with large helmet-shaped flowers evenly distributed along its sturdy stems. This flowering dominates a clump of thick, glossy, and beautifully palmate leaves. Preferring rich and moist soils, this perennial will enliven gently sunny areas of the garden, as well as partially shaded or even not too dense shady areas.

The Aconitum x cammarum 'Blue Lagoon' is a horticultural variety, belonging like all aconites to the Ranunculaceae family. The flowering plant measures about 30 cm (12in) in height and width. This deciduous perennial, highly resistant to cold, emerges from the ground in spring and disappears underground in winter. The abundant flowering of this variety begins in June and lasts until August. Clumps of leaves emerge from numerous branched, erect, and sturdy flower stalks, green in colour. Its elongated helmet-shaped flowers are composed of a corolla formed by 4 small sepals of mauve-blue speckled with white at the throat, topped by a large sepal in the shape of a Phrygian helmet. This plant develops from a fleshy tuberous stump, from which an erect clump of sparsely hairy stems emerges in spring, adorned with tough, palmate, deeply lobed leaves. They are deeply veined, with a bright green colour and a slight gloss. All parts of this perennial are highly toxic.

Aconites suffer from a poor reputation in gardens due to their legendary toxicity, which is unfortunate because these favorites of cottage gardens have their place in all gardens with moist soil. They are robust and very hardy, and their foliage is among the most beautiful among perennial plants. Not to mention their vibrant flowering, ranging from almost white to gentian blue. They are perfect in borders, alongside delphiniums, asters, ligularias, and rodgersias, for example. They can be planted among bushes, with compact Japanese anemones, especially this 'Blue Lagoon' variety that appreciates light shade. They are good perennials, similar to foxgloves, for lightly shaded and cool woodlands. Lastly, their flowers are magnificent in bouquets.