The blooms of Clitorea terneta electrify the landscape in a blazing azure. The name originated from greek word ‘Kleitoris,’ but we know this versatile garden staple as butterfly pea. The twisting and twining Clitora vine inspires a myriad of landscape design ideas. Best planted at the base of a structure to climb, the vines will readily do so, making them excellent for brightening or masking unsightly fences or walls. The plants are carefree and eager to climb, but do not have the unbridled habit of some of the more aggressive vining plants. Vines scrambling across a fence or trellis or twining up an intricate arbor are bespeckled in true blue flowers.
 
Butterfly pea plays well with others in containers or planted directly in the garden. In the landscape, the vines are naturally harmonious with other complimentary tea plants, like fragrant spikes of tulsi flowers or chartreuse tufts of lemongrass. In true legume fashion, the plant helps improve soil fertility. A relative of such famous soil building crops as clover and cowpea, Clitorea has been used as a cover crop prized for its ability to grab nitrogen from the atmosphere and transform it into a usable green manure, helping to enrich the soil with one of the most essential plant nutrients.