Flower color
Purple flowers
354 garden plants with purple blooms, with bloom times, hardiness zones, and sun needs. Build a purple color scheme that lasts across the season.
Showing 1 to 60 of 354 plants
Purple is the accepted middle of the garden, and 354 plants here flower it. It holds a warm end and a cool end at once, so it sits beside almost anything without argument: the reason so many mixed borders lean on lavender, salvia and catmint to hold everything else together. It also recedes slightly, so purple at the back of a bed makes the bed read deeper than it is. Its reliable partner is yellow, directly opposite on the color wheel and the safest strong pairing in gardening. Its weakness is dusk: purple goes muddy as the light drops, so plant it where it is seen at midday. More on the range in the purple flowers guide.
Related guides
Admiral
Anemone coronaria 'Admiral'
Full sunZones 7–1012 inModerate
African Daisy
Osteospermum
Full sunZones 9–1112 inModerate
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Part sunZones 6–105.9 ftModerate
Amethyst
Astilbe × arendsii 'Amethyst'
Part shadeZones 3–82.6 ftHigh
Amethyst Falls Wisteria
Wisteria frutescens 'Amethyst Falls'
Full sunZones 5–920 ftModerate
Anah Kruschke
Rhododendron 'Anah Kruschke'
Part shadeZones 5–95.9 ftModerate
Angel Face
Rosa 'Angel Face'
Full sunZones 5–93.3 ftModerate
Angelonia
Angelonia angustifolia
Full sunZones 9–111.5 ftModerate
Anise Hyssop
Agastache
Full sunZones 5–93 ftLow
Ann Folkard
Geranium 'Ann Folkard'
Part sunZones 4–81.3 ftModerate
Ann Magnolia
Magnolia 'Ann'
Full sunZones 4–813 ftModerate
April Night
Salvia nemorosa 'April Night'
Full sunZones 4–81.3 ftLow
Aster
Symphyotrichum
Full sunZones 3–83 ftModerate
Autumn Crocus
Colchicum
Full sunZones 4–96 inModerate
Bearded Iris
Iris germanica
Full sunZones 3–92.6 ftModerate
Beautyberry
Callicarpa
Part sunZones 5–84.9 ftModerate
Bela Lugosi
Hemerocallis 'Bela Lugosi'
Full sunZones 3–92.5 ftModerate
Betty Magnolia
Magnolia 'Betty'
Full sunZones 4–813 ftModerate
Black Adder Agastache
Agastache 'Black Adder'
Full sunZones 6–112 ftLow
Black Barlow
Aquilegia vulgaris 'Black Barlow'
Part shadeZones 3–82.3 ftModerate
FoliageBlack Dragon
Coleus 'Black Dragon'
Part shadeZones 10–111.3 ftModerate
Black Knight
Delphinium 'Black Knight'
Full sunZones 3–74.9 ftModerate
Black Knight
Buddleia davidii 'Black Knight'
Full sunZones 5–96.6 ftLow
FoliageBlack Magic
Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic'
Part sunZones 8–113.9 ftHigh
Black Pansy
Viola wittrockiana 'Clear Crystals Black'
Part sun8 inModerate8 in wide
Black Parrot
Tulipa 'Black Parrot'
Full sunZones 3–81.6 ftModerate
Black Star Calla
Zantedeschia 'Schwarzwalder'
Part sunZones 8–102 ftHigh
FoliageBlackie
Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie'
Full sunZones 9–118 inModerate
Blazing Star
Liatris
Full sunZones 3–93 ftLow
Bloomerang Purple
Syringa 'Bloomerang Purple'
Full sunZones 3–74.9 ftModerate
Blue Girl
Rosa 'Korgi'
Full sunZones 5–103.9 ftModerate
Bugleweed
Ajuga reptans
Part shadeZones 3–96 inModerate
Butterfly Bush
Buddleia davidii
Full sunZones 5–96.6 ftLow
Camelot Lavender
Digitalis purpurea 'Camelot Lavender'
Part shadeZones 4–83.9 ftModerate
Canterbury Bells
Campanula medium
Full sunZones 4–102.3 ftModerate
Caradonna
Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
Full sunZones 4–82 ftLow
Catawba
Lagerstroemia 'Catawba'
Full sunZones 7–1011 ftLow
Catmint
Nepeta
Full sunZones 3–81.6 ftLow
Charles Joly
Syringa vulgaris 'Charles Joly'
Full sunZones 3–79.8 ftModerate
Chater's Double Violet
Alcea rosea 'Chater's Double Violet'
Full sunZones 3–86.2 ftModerate
Checkered Lily
Fritillaria meleagris
Part sunZones 3–812 inModerate
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
Full sunZones 3–912 inModerate
Claire Grace
Monarda fistulosa 'Claire Grace'
Full sunZones 3–93 ftModerate
Clematis
Clematis
Full sunZones 4–99.8 ftModerate
Columbine
Aquilegia
Part shadeZones 3–82 ftModerate
Common Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
Part shadeZones 4–84.6 ftModerate
Crocus
Crocus
Full sunZones 3–84 inLow
Cup and Saucer Vine
Cobaea scandens
Full sunZones 9–1115 ftModerate
Cupani
Lathyrus odoratus 'Cupani'
Full sunZones 2–115.9 ftModerate
Dalmatian Purple
Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple'
Part shadeZones 4–82.3 ftModerate
Drumstick Allium
Allium sphaerocephalon
Full sunZones 4–82.3 ftLow
Dutch Chocolate
Baptisia 'Dutch Chocolate'
Full sunZones 3–93 ftLow
Early Amethyst
Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst'
Part sunZones 5–83.9 ftModerate
East Friesland
Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland'
Full sunZones 4–81.6 ftLow
Ebb Tide Rose
Rosa 'Ebb Tide'
Full sunZones 6–112 ftModerate
Encore Autumn Amethyst
Rhododendron 'Encore Autumn Amethyst'
Part shadeZones 6–93.9 ftModerate
EnduraScape Dark Purple
Verbena 'EnduraScape Dark Purple'
Full sunZones 9–1112 inModerate
Fan Flower
Scaevola aemula
Full sunZones 10–118 inModerate
FoliageFireworks Rex Begonia
Begonia rex 'Fireworks'
Part shadeZones 10–1112 inModerate
Flower Record
Crocus vernus 'Flower Record'
Full sunZones 3–84 inLow
Purple flowers by season
A plant is counted in every season it flowers in, so a long-flowering one appears in more than one. The named picks are the plants whose whole flowering sits in that season, not the ones that only pass through it.
Spring
March, April and May
179 plants
Fall
September, October and November
163 plants
Winter
December, January and February
9 plants
Purple flowers for shade
77 of these 354 plants will flower in less than a full day of sun.
The longest-blooming purple flowers
73 of these plants hold their flowers for 5 months or more. These are the longest of them.
Purple flowers by height
Mature height, in the three bands a border is planted in. Anything over 9.8 ft is structure rather than a border plant, and a climber is sized by whatever it is growing up, so both sit this out.
Front of the border
under 12 in
54 plants
Middle of the border
12 in to 3 ft
183 plants
Back of the border
3 ft and up
87 plants
Keep exploring
Design your garden
Drop plants onto a 3D plan, see how they fill in, and watch the whole garden bloom across the year.