With a name like Heavenly Blue you would expect the flowers on this plant to be gorgeous. And you would be right!
Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’ is a lovely shrub for late summer/early autumn.
Commonly known as Blue Beard it’s a small shrub – maximum height will be about 1m/3 feet tall in 8 to 10 years. I have grown Caryopteris for about 7 years now and mine are probably about half that size. I don’t mind that at all. It’s quite nice to have plants that don’t grow too vigorously or need constant maintenance. In fact after flowering I usually forget all about them until the flowers reappear the next year.
Bees and Butterflies love Caryopteris. So this is a good plant to choose to follow on from Lavender which is just coming to an end now. They prefer good drainage and plenty of sunshine. You can grow them in pots too. Today I found a particularly hairy bee enjoying my plants.
You can read more about Caryopteris here. 
I hope you still have lots of flowers and beneficial insects visiting you this month.
Happy Gardening! Gillian 🙂
Beautiful, Gillian! I grew one of these once, but it got overshadowed and was lost. It really needs a sunny, dry spot without a lot of competition!
Yes they do. They are basking in the sunshine in my gravel garden. I think I will try a couple in pots next year too.
That is one happy, fuzzy and highly intoxicated bee!
Although it looks like a bee, I’m not sure that it is one. It seems to have only one set of wings. Frogend Dweller identified a Bee imitating Hover Fly in a PREVIOUS POST by explaining that Bees have 2 pairs of wings.
Wonderful pictures and love the color!
Thanks MaryLou. It is heavenly isn’t it!
It is a beautiful shrub. The powder blue is such a lovely restful colour and the stamen soften the flower shapes, making it all a bit dreamy. The bee is a common carder bumblebee, I think. It is hard to see the two sets of wings, because they are different sizes and kind of merge into one. Wikipedia has a photo that shows them fairly well though if you are interested. Brilliant photos again Gillian!
Thanks for that Frogend Dweller (So sorry to call you that I wish I knew your first name!) I was hoping that you would spot this post and let me know what the insect is. I thought it was a rare (and hairy!) fly but a Common Carder Bumbebee will do nicely. I can identify plants easily enough but insects still confuse me it seems.
Hi, I am Allison and I am an insect ID addict! I love matching photos to guidebook/online pictures.
Thanks very much for that. I feel much happier calling you Allison. And thanks very much for the insects ID too!
Gillian, this is the most beautiful color of blue! As always great pictures! Do you mind sharing your type of camera and lens? Are you using a macro lens? I am learning quite a bit about the flowers and the bees!
Thanks very much Cady. Cameras are a bit of a sore point right now! I was using my Canon 50D and zoom lens(18-200mm) for everything. I loved it but I dropped it a couple of weeks ago and wrecked it. Until I can figure out what to do about a replacement I’m borrowing a Canon body and using my own macro lens (EF100) which I have always resisted using until now. Apparently you are supposed to use a tripod with a macro lens but I never do. I’m just too impatient to take the shots! The only downside to the DSLR cameras is that they are very heavy which is fine at first but after a while they make your arms and shoulders ache.
Oh to drop your camera!!!! I did that not long ago and I m just waiting to hear a jiggle in my camera! I have been considering a macro lens but would ever use a tripod, I’m too “get the picture right now and move on” I use a Lumex camera with standard lens and then try to zoom in on the pictures once I get them in Lightroom. I will have to play more with my current lenses. I just think your photos are fantastic!
You would hear the rattle immediately if it’s broken so it sounds like you are in luck. Canon cameras are usually ‘bomb proof’ according to the camera shop but mine fell off a table onto a tiled floor. The only good thing about breaking my zoom lens is that I am forcing myself to use the macro lens. I bought that with my camera but never really used it that much. It’s true that the more you do something the better you get so I’m trying to do a shoot every day if I can. Thanks very much for your compliments Cady. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me you like what you see!