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An important criterion for plant identification is the flower color. Here some native blue meadow flowers are listed with their characteristics.

In a nutshell

  • Flowers grow in different types of meadows
  • some plants are native to other parts of the world but are naturalized or feral
  • some of the flowers are planted in the garden as ornamental plants
  • the flower color can vary, from blue to violet or reddish tones

Wet and moor meadows

Siberian iris (Iris sibirica)

  • Plant Family: Irises
  • Characteristics: 30 - 90 cm in height, 2 - 6 leaves, linear, shorter than the flower stalk
  • Flowers: mostly 2 flowers per stem, flower stem round and hollow, flowers 6 cm long, blue-violet, May - June
  • other locations: fens and ditches, common meadow flower in gardens
  • Distribution: Eastern and Central Europe, in Asia to Siberia and Japan

Marsh Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata)

  • Plant Family: Lamiaceae
  • Characteristics: 10 - 40 cm high, leaves ovate-lanceolate to linear, toothed
  • Flowers: Blue-violet flowers, 12 - 20 mm long, June - September, pollinated by insects
  • other locations: ditches, banks, alder quarries
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe

Devil's Bit (Succisa pratensis)

Source: Christian Fischer, SuccisaPratensis2, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Plant Family: Teasel Family
  • Characteristics: 15 - 80 cm high, rootstock upright, short, leaves elongate to lanceolate, mostly with entire margins
  • Flowers: July - September, hemispherical flower heads, dark blue corolla, pollinated by insects
  • other locations: nutrient-poor grassland, forest edges
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe, except in the far north

Two-leaf squill (Scilla bifolia)

  • Plant Family: Liliaceae
  • Characteristics: 10 - 20 cm in height, bulbous plant, 1 flower stalk, 2 lanceolate leaves
  • Flowers: 2-7 flowers, light blue (rarely white or pink), March - June, insect and self-pollination
  • other location: alluvial forests, damp bushes, sparse deciduous forests
  • Distribution: Central and southern Europe

Dry grassland/poor grassland

Common Milkwort, Meadow Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris)

Source: User:Jasper33, Milkwort blue, edited by Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
  • Plant Family: Milkworts
  • Characteristics: 5 - 20 cm high, leaves lanceolate, sessile along the entire flower stalk
  • Flowers: May to August, intense blue, rarely reddish or whitish, forming dense racemes
  • other locations: intermittently dry meadows, bushes
  • Distribution: Central and Western Europe

Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata)

  • Plant family: Bellflower family
  • Characteristics: 20 - 60 cm high, stems mostly with short hairs, heart-shaped or rounded leaves, also with soft hairs
  • Flowering: July - September, flowers in clusters, corolla blue, pollinated by insects
  • other locations: forest and roadsides, calcareous loamy soil
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe, except in the extreme north

Small grape hyacinth (Muscari botryoides)
Vineyard grape hyacinth (Muscari neglectum)

Source: Algirdas at Lithuanian Wikipedia, Muscari botryoides, Edited by Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
  • Plant Family: Liliaceae
  • Characteristics: 10 - 30 cm high, bulbous plants, usually one flower stalk, leaves very narrow and long
  • Flowers: April - May, individual flowers are spherical, grouped in flower clusters, blue with a white edge, pollinated by insects
  • other locations: wine-growing regions
  • Distribution: Central and southern Europe, often naturalized

Notice: The grape hyacinth is known as a blue meadow flower and early bloomer, the individual species are difficult to distinguish.

Meadow Sage (Salvia pratensis)

  • Plant Family: Lamiaceae
  • Characteristics: 30 - 60 cm high, leaves irregularly notched
  • Flowers: April - August, blue flowers, rarely violet, pink or white, upright inflorescence, pollination by bumblebees
  • other locations: roadsides, embankments
  • Distribution: to northern Germany

pastures/fertilized meadows

Bach Prize of Honor (Veronica beccabunga)
Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia)
Germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)
Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica)

Bach Prize of Honor (Veronica beccabunga)
  • Plant family: Figwort family
  • Characteristics: 5 - 60 cm long or high, usually creeping, stems mostly hairy, leaves almost circular, smooth or notched
  • Flowers: partly all year round, otherwise from spring to summer, small bluish-white flowers that are very sensitive, insect or self-pollination
  • other locations: gardens, ponds or streams, bushes, roadsides
  • Distribution: all of Europe, Persian Speedwell naturalized from Southwest Asia

Notice: Speedwell species often flower year-round, but this is a fairly nondescript blue field flower.

Crawling Bugle (Ajuga reptans)

  • Plant Family: Lamiaceae
  • Characteristics: 15 - 30 cm high, stolons above ground, leaves on the flower stalk almost round, entire or toothed
  • Flowers: April - August, flowers blue, violet, rarely reddish or white, dense spike-like inflorescences
  • other locations: bushes, forests, roadsides
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe

Meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense)

Source: Tree in the park, meadow cranesbill.Teck nature reserve.Germany.BadenWürttemberg.Esslingen district, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Plant family: Cranesbill family
  • Characteristics: 20 - 60 cm high, pinnate leaves, toothed
  • Flowers: May - August, corolla blue-violet or light purple, the faded flowers resemble cranesbills when the fruit is ripe, suitable as bee pasture
  • other locations: ditches, roadsides
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe

Forest meadows/shady meadows

Purple Rockseed (Buglossoides purpurocaerulea)

  • Plant family: borage family
  • Characteristics: 10 - 60 cm tall, flower stalks erect, leaves lanceolate
  • Flowers: April - June, flowers first reddish, later deep blue, 5 petals, pollinated by insects
  • other locations: bushes, chalky soil
  • Distribution: Southern and Central Europe

Common Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)

Source: Michał, Atlas roslin pl Orlik pospolity 328 6359, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Plant Family: Ranunculaceae
  • Characteristics: 30 - 80 m tall, perennial plant, leaves pinnate or lobed
  • Flowers: May - July, wild species predominantly blue, garden varieties reddish, whitish, pink or lilac, flowers bell-shaped with spurs
  • other locations: bushes, stony slopes, meadows
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe, naturalized from gardens

Lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor)

  • Plant Family: Dogbane Family
  • Characteristics: 15 - 20 cm tall or long, creeping spread, evergreen, leaves lanceolate
  • Flowers: March - May, flowers in 5 petals, light blue
  • other locations: bushes, gardens and cemeteries (as ground cover)
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe, often wild

mountain meadows and pastures

Monkshood (Aconitum napellus)

Monkshood, Aconitum napellus
  • Plant Family: Ranunculaceae
  • Characteristics: 50 - 150 cm high, typical perennial plant, leaves palmately divided, very poisonous
  • Flowers: June - August, dense grape-like inflorescences, dark blue-violet
  • other locations: bushes, edges of streams
  • Distribution: Central and Western Europe

Spring gentian (Gentiana verna)
Fringed Gentian (Gentianella ciliata)
Clusius gentian (Gentiana clusii)
Marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe)
Milkweed gentian (Gentiana asclepiadea)

Spring gentian (Gentiana verna)
  • Plant family: Gentian family
  • Characteristics: flat species up to 25 cm high, upright species up to 80 cm, leaves lanceolate, tapering
  • Flowers: March - August, bright blue flowers, up to 3 cm in diameter, calyx-shaped, usually solitary, but also in groups on the stalk, pollination mainly by bumblebees
  • other locations: sparse forests, bushes, moor meadows
  • Distribution: Mountains in almost all of Europe

Spherical devil's claw (Phyteuma orbiculare)

Source: Jerzy Opioła, Phyteuma orbiculare T69, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Plant family: Bellflower family
  • Characteristics: 10 - 50 cm high, leaves lanceolate or heart-shaped, toothed
  • Flowers: May - September, flowers blue to blue-violet, pollinated by insects
  • other locations: bog meadows, rocks
  • Distribution: Central Europe

Grass and rubble areas, overgrown areas, weedy areas, grassy roadsides

Field Larkspur (Consolida regalis)

  • Plant Family: Ranunculaceae
  • Characteristics: 15 - 50 cm high, perennial plant, leaves divided several times, slightly poisonous
  • Flowers: May - August, 3-7 flowers on the stalk, in racemes or panicles, blue, rarely white, ornamental varieties with different colours
  • other locations: fields, calcareous loamy soil, in the garden as an ornamental plant
  • Distribution: Central and southern Europe, not in the mountains

Lamb's lettuce (Valerianella locusta)

Source: Florian Pépellin, Fleurs de mâche près de Chambéry (printemps 2022), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Plant family: Valerian family
  • Characteristics: 5 - 20 cm high, annual, stem branched, leaves small, lanceolate
  • Flowers: April - May, flowers very small, grouped together, blue-white, self-pollinating
  • other locations: fields
  • Distribution: wild as a meadow flower in almost all of Europe, as a salad plant in vegetable gardens

Viper's Bugloss, Blue Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare)

  • Plant family: borage family
  • Characteristics: 30 - 100 cm high, biennial, rosette plant, leaves lanceolate on the stems
  • Flowers: June - October, pyramid-shaped inflorescences, funnel-shaped, bell-shaped flowers, initially reddish, later blue
  • other locations: prefers stony locations
  • Distribution: almost all of Europe

Chicory, Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

  • Plant Family: daisy family
  • Characteristics: 25 - 120 cm high, branched stems, short bristles, leaves lanceolate, entire, basal leaves pinnate
  • Flowers: July - September, flowers only in the mornings, also all day on cloudy days, flower heads 3 to 4 cm, blue
  • other locations: fields and pastures
  • Distribution: all of Europe, possibly introduced

frequently asked Questions

Can you pick or dig flowers in meadows?

That depends on whether the meadow has an owner. If this is the case, he must be asked, otherwise small quantities, such as a hand bouquet, are allowed. Digging up to plant the meadow flower in the garden, for example, is not permitted. Any willful destruction of the site is also prohibited.

Do blue meadow flowers need to be removed in the garden?

This is only necessary if the blue meadow flower really disturbs, for example in the lawn or in the vegetable garden. Most flowers are good insect plants and should therefore also be allowed to bloom in the garden. After flowering, the meadow flower can be removed to prevent seeding.

How can a blooming meadow flower be preserved?

The best method is pressing the flowers. The blossoms are placed between two layers of paper and then weighed down with books. It's even easier with a flower press.

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Indoor plants