Although purple may not be a prominent colour in your wardrobe or home décor, purple plants are crucial to a garden’s ability to give richness, depth, and year-round interest. Please continue reading to find out how purple might improve the aesthetics of your gardens and landscape. Trends come and go in the ever-evolving world of gardening and home décor, but some stand out for their alluring and enduring appeal.
Key takeaways
- Match each plant to your light conditions, since many purple bloomers prefer full sun
- Pair blue-purples with yellow or silver foliage so they don’t fade into shadows
- Mix purple foliage plants with flowers to keep color going between bloom seasons
- Deadhead, divide, and feed purple perennials to keep them flowering year after year
The Purple Power
Purple plants are frequently connected with monarchy, spirituality, peace, and intelligence in art and literature. Some people discover that simply looking at the colour purple helps them feel calm and peaceful inside. Depending on the colour’s value, tone, and shade, purple can be either loud, dramatic, or subdued and calming.
A flowing blending of the fundamental shades of red and blue defines true purple. You obtain an excellent and meditative blue-purple when the mixture has more blue than red. To create a warmer and more vibrant violet-purple, tip the scales such that more red than blue is present. Combine purple with yellow, its complementary colour, to emphasize purple’s strength. On the colour wheel, opposite hues are said to be complementary. They nearly vibrate with energy when placed next to one another. The effect is so powerful that accents rather than themes are the most incredible places to use.
Just like it is with pink, colour temperature is crucial when dealing with purple. Designing with purple is made possible by learning its entire spectrum.
Cool Purples
Blue-purple is a deep, vivid colour known as indigo or ultraviolet. This hue spectrum’s flowers are perceived as calm, calming, sad, elegant, and reflective.
Blue-purple flowers give a flower border more weight. They help define and differentiate other colours and hold vibrant hues. Pair blue-purple with its complementary colour, yellow/orange, for the best contrast.
Dark, blue-purple blooms appear fading when you look out across a garden. This characteristic can be used in garden design to give the impression that areas are more significant. However, remember that these dark hues can disappear in the shade because of their low light values. Please give them a backdrop of striking gold, lime, or grey foliage to make them stand out.
Bright Purples
Warm, colourful, and vibrant are described as red-purple colours. These hues are vivid and powerful while also being rich. Flowers on the reddish side of purple are beneficial in garden design to give drama and to fill the space between red and orange. These hues go by the names deep magenta, boysenberry, and mauve. Plum and maroon are deeper hues. Pair yellow-green, commonly called chartreuse, with red-violet for the best contrast.
Getting Purple Flowers Aligned
Despite some differences, warm and excellent purple flowers can work surprisingly nicely together. Here are some pointers:
1. Combine purples of the same colour value or hues comparable in lightness or darkness. For instance, the purple on this lupine is both warm and chilly. Since the colours share a similar matter, they complement one another.
2. Combine various purple hues. By including white, tints are hues that have been lightened. Purple hues include things like lilac and lavender. Due to their similar values, soft, pastel colours always go together well.
3. Mix flowers that represent various shades of the same colour. The alliums in this picture blend well because they all have the same purple variants.
Using Purple Flowers In The Design
Dan Pearson and Piet Oudolf are well-known modern garden designers who frequently employ broad blocks or rivers of colour. Purple plants are commonly included in their designs since they work well in extensive plantings. Purple flowers blend with other hues to create a lovely purple haze when viewed from a distance. They make the ideal fall mates for tawny grasses. Clive Nichols took the picture on the left of Trentham Gardens’ Oudolf-designed planting.
Consider using purple in a seasonally appropriate way. Choose a few purple blossoms for each season, or aim for one intensely purple. Various purple flowers bloom in the spring, including crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, and alliums. Lupines, baptisia, iris, clematis, and campanula grace the garden during the early days of summer. As late summer approaches, turn your attention to liatris, salvia, asters, phlox, and Russian sage for an array of beautiful purple blooms.
Because it’s challenging to consider all the factors of bloom time, height, texture, and colour, most of us need help to fit an entire garden design into our thoughts. Start small instead, and aim for solid combinations you can develop. Consider complementing combinations, warm purple-cool purple combinations, and combinations with purple tints.
Purple Foliage Plants for Color Beyond the Bloom
Flowers come and go, but purple foliage holds its color for most of the growing season. Plants with burgundy, plum, or near-black leaves give a border a steady backbone of color that ties together whatever is blooming around them. They are especially useful in the gaps between spring bulbs and late summer perennials, when a garden can look green and flat.
Good options include coral bells with deep purple leaves, purple smoke bush, ninebark cultivars with dark foliage, purple basil in the vegetable bed, and ornamental sweet potato vine for containers. Place dark foliage where light can reach it or where it sits against a paler backdrop, because very dark leaves can look like holes in a shady bed.
Foliage plants also help with design balance. Because their color is steady, they can repeat through a bed and create rhythm while flowering plants rotate in and out. Try placing a purple-leaved plant at intervals along a border, then fill the spaces between with seasonal blooms in complementary yellows, soft pinks, or silvery grays for a cohesive look.
- Coral bells for shade to part sun edging
- Smoke bush or ninebark for a shrub-sized statement
- Purple fountain grass for movement in sunny spots
- Purple basil or kale to add color to edible beds
Growing Conditions and Care for Purple Plants
Many classic purple bloomers, such as lavender, salvia, Russian sage, and catmint, prefer full sun and well-drained soil. In heavy clay or shady corners they can sulk, flop, or rot. Before you buy, check the plant tag for sun needs and your hardiness zone, and group plants with similar water needs together so you are not overwatering some to keep others alive.
Once established, most purple perennials are fairly low maintenance. Deadheading spent blooms often encourages a second flush of flowers, and dividing clumping plants like iris or phlox every few years keeps them vigorous. A light layer of compost in spring is usually enough feeding; too much fertilizer can produce lush leaves with fewer flowers.
Watering needs vary, so learn each plant’s preferences. Lavender and Russian sage dislike soggy roots and often do best with infrequent, deep watering once established, while clematis and phlox appreciate steadier moisture. Mulching helps keep roots cool and soil evenly moist, but keep mulch away from the crowns of drought-loving plants to avoid rot and disease problems.
Common Mistakes When Planting Purple in the Garden
The most frequent mistake is using only deep purples. From a distance, dark violet flowers can blend into green foliage and shadows, so the effect you imagined disappears. Mixing in lighter lavenders, silver leaves, or a bright partner like yellow or chartreuse gives the eye something to read and keeps the planting lively.
Another pitfall is scattering single plants across a bed. Purple has the most impact in drifts or repeated groups of three, five, or more. Finally, don’t forget height and timing. Tall plants like verbena bonariensis belong at the middle or back, and planning a few purple bloomers for each season avoids a garden that peaks once and then fades.
It also helps to consider how purple looks at different times of day. Blue-purples glow in soft morning and evening light but can look flat under strong midday sun, while red-purples hold up better in bright conditions. If you mostly enjoy your garden after work, place cooler purples where you sit in the evening for the best effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What purple plants bloom all summer?
Several purple perennials bloom for long stretches in summer, including salvia, catmint, Russian sage, verbena, and many lavender varieties in suitable climates. Regular deadheading often extends their display. Pairing them with purple foliage plants such as coral bells or smoke bush helps keep color in the garden even when flowering slows.
Which purple flowers and foliage grow well in shade?
For shade, look at coral bells with purple leaves, hostas with lavender flowers, lungwort, ajuga, and some hardy geraniums. Keep in mind that dark purple foliage can disappear in low light, so pair these plants with silver, lime, or variegated leaves to make them stand out in a shady bed.
What colors go best with purple in a garden?
Yellow and orange give the strongest contrast because they sit opposite purple on the color wheel. Chartreuse, silver, and white brighten purple and keep it from looking heavy. For a softer, calmer look, combine purple with pinks, blues, and other purples of a similar lightness.
Are all purple-flowering plants safe for pets and kids?
Some are and some are not. Plants like lavender and catmint are commonly grown around families, while others, including foxglove, monkshood, and some iris and clematis, can be harmful if eaten. Check each plant against a reputable pet poison list or ask your local extension office before planting where children or pets play.
