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10 Purple Flowers to Grow in Your Garden

10 Purple Flowers to Grow in Your Garden
10 Purple Flowers to Grow in Your Garden

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Add purple flowers to your garden and enjoy bold, colourful blooms all season long. We've found purple flower ground covers, vines and bulbs.

Whenever I plan a garden, no matter what mood I'm trying to create, I always include purple flowers. I look for a variety of purple flowering plants, including ground covers, vines and bulbs. Here are our top 10 favourite purple flowers.

Purple Flowers: Verbena

You can expect colour all summer from these beautiful flowers. These full-sun plants sport attractive clusters of purple flowers and grow to about 18 inches tall. Keep the soil moist but well-drained; dry conditions can interfere with flowering.

Best choices: V. bonariensis and the cultivar Imagination bloom in cheerful hues that range from magenta to purple.

Lavender

Lavender is not only beautiful; its powerful fragrance works wonders to relieve stress. The silvery-gray, purple-flowered plant grows from 1 to 4 feet tall in full sun and has graceful spires of tiny flowers. And lavender also repels mosquitoes.

Best choices: for particularly showy purple flowers, choose Hidcote Superior, Sarah or Munstead.

Clematis

You say 'CLEM-uh-tiss', I say 'cluh-MAT-iss': However you pronounce it, it's a dazzling vine with purple flowers. Some grow up to 30 feet tall, it provides more flowers in less space than almost anything else you'll find. Plant in a sunny, sheltered spot and watch it grow. Discover more fragrant flowers that pollinators love.

Top picks: The classic Jackmanii comes immediately to mind, but Arabella is all that with multi-tones of blue and purple.

Bellflower

If you want a ground cover with purple flowers, try bellflower. In addition to perennials, the bellflower family includes annuals and biennials, all with graceful flowers that last from late spring to summer. Although it also enjoys full sun, planting in partial shade preserves its delicate colours. Keep bellflowers happy by watering regularly.

Best choices: try Birch Hybrid or Bavarian Blue for charming storybook shades.

dwarf iris

Dwarf Iris

This fragrant mini-pant is only 2 to 12 inches long. The small, bright purple flowers, which grow best in full sun, appear from late winter to early spring.

Top pick: JS Dijit's rich, bold petals bloom to give spring a royal welcome.

Balloon Flower

Before opening into five-pointed flowers, the hollow buds look like little balloons. The balloon flower does best in full sun to part shade and thrives in moist, well-drained soil.

Best choices: Astra blue and Fuji blue varieties have lovely pale blue flowers.

Catmint

Easy to grow, catnip offers silvery green or greyish leaves and a long flowering season that hummingbirds love. The purple flower spikes grow to about two feet tall and enjoy full sun. Many hybrid mints are sterile, so they are not grown. Divide plants in spring or take cuttings in summer.

Best choices: For fun, the classic variety Nepeta x faassenii is unbeatable. For an alpine feel, try N. sibirica.

Victoria Blue Salvia

Salvia

You can count on this eye-catching tool for all-season colour in any landscape. Columns from 8 to 30 inches tall bursting with tubular purple flowers. Although usually in sun or full sun, this vigorous plant thrives in partial shade during the hot summer.

Best choices: Evolution and May Night varieties offer intense, dramatic purple hues.

Allium flowers

Allium

If you want to add brightness and bounce, there's no better button than Allium. This beautiful perennial is a winning choice for most backyards. Not only can you find alliums that are suitable just about anywhere, but they are easy to grow and you can find different varieties that will bloom from late spring to fall. Find out which are the biggest flowers for your flower garden.

Best choices: Try A. aflatunense for a light pink-lilac cultivar, or Globemaster if you prefer blue-purple flowers.

Basque flower

The anemone flower, which blooms in early spring, adds texture to any garden. While not a permanent choice for most gardeners, this sun-loving, drought-tolerant, trouble-free purple flower certainly deserves top honors on our list.

Favourite: P. vulgaris offers an enchanting purple colour, while the silvery shades of P. halleri lend a chilling charm.

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