Purple flowering plants work well in most color palettes, pairing as effectively with whites and pastels as they do with warm reds and orange flowers.
For vases or flower beds, try combining purple flowers with the acidic greens of the Alchemilla mollisor euphorbias like Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Robbie., red poppies and orange torch lilies would also work well here.
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For a more classic look, pair different shades of purple flowers with pink, blue, and flowering plants. white.
Another benefit of growing purple flowering plants is that they are highly attractive to pollinatorswith some showing an innate preference for color.
Discover some of our favorite plants with purple flowers to grow at home:
1/20 Summer Lilac: These are deciduous shrubs with masses of flowering panicles, which are popular with pollinators. They grow particularly well in calcareous soils rich in limestone and are one of the best plants for attracting butterflies. (Gardeners World/Playback)
2/20 Bell flower: resistant, vigorous and persistent, Campanula portenschlagiana is an alpine campanula, easily grown in rock gardens, on walls, in front of borders or even in vases. It forms a generous, dense carpet of small ivy-like leaves that hide under the mass of small purple bells in summer. (Gardeners World/Playback)
3/20 Russian Sage: Russian Sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia, is a beautiful shrub that is at its peak in late summer and early fall, when it produces many lavender flowers on branching, aromatic stems. (Gardeners World/Playback)
4/20 Carder Thistle: This is a biennial native to the UK, with tall spikes of brush-like flowers with purple flowers, popular with bees and butterflies. Goldfinches eat the seed in winter. Grow in the back of a flower bed or in a wild part of the garden. (Gardeners World/Playback)
5/20 Catnip: Catmints are attractive perennials with fragrant foliage, with masses of nectar-rich flowers in summer. There are many types of catmint available, from small, bushy types suitable for growing in pots, to taller varieties perfect for growing in the middle of a flower bed. They thrive in a full sun position with light, well-draining soil. (Gardeners World/Playback)
6/20 Lavender: Lavender has become a hardy plant due to its rich fragrance, beautiful purple color, and ease of cultivation. It is also popular with pollinators. Grow it in full sun, in well-draining soil. (Gardeners World/Playback)
7/20 Wild Coriander: Eryngiums make a stunning addition to dry, sunny flowerbeds and gravel gardens. They have thistle-like flowers made up of small flowers clustered in a tight cluster surrounded by a ruff of spiny bracts. (Gardeners World/Playback)
8/20 Artichoke: Cynara cardunculus “Scolymus Group” is a dramatic perennial cultivated for its edible immature flowers. It is also highly ornamental, with silvery, thistle-like foliage and tall flowering stems topped by plump thistle buds. If left unpicked, they open into large purple thistle flowers that attract large numbers of bees. (Gardeners World/Playback)
9/20 Wisteria: Wisteria bear masses of purple flowers and are traditionally planted in front of houses or on garden walls. Japanese wisteria is less vigorous than Chinese and has longer flowers. (Gardeners World/Playback)
10/20 Gubernake: Erysimum “Bowles’s Mauve” are beautiful, flowering, woody-stemmed perennials, carrying masses of mauve flowers in tall towers for months at a time. (Gardeners World/Playback)
11/20 Old Man’s Beard: There are plenty of purple-flowered clematis to choose from, with flowers from pale mauves to deep purples. For spring flowers, try Clematis alpina, or for summer, grow a variety of Clematis viticella. (Gardeners World/Playback)
12/20 Ornamental Onion: Most Ornamental Alliums vary in color from white, through pink and purple. They are especially popular with insect pollinators and are popular in the garden with their flowers. (Gardeners World/Playback)
13/20 Lungweed: The lungwort, Pulmonaria spp., is named for its mottled leaves, which supposedly resemble lungs. Funnel-shaped flowers bloom in shades of blue, violet, pink, purple, red and white. They are extremely attractive to bees, particularly the hairy-footed flower bee, Anthophora plumipes. (Gardeners World/Playback)
14/20 Hespere: Hesperis matrionalis is a beautiful biennial with white or purple flowers, with a fantastic nocturnal fragrance. Looks beautiful when left to grow naturally, through a sunny or partially shaded informal flowerbed, especially in a cottage garden or wildlife garden design. (Gardeners World/Playback)
15/20 Geraniums: are perennial plants with saucer-shaped flowers in shades of pink, purple and blue. They are easy to grow, thrive in shade, and bloom for months. Geraniums are popular in cottage gardening schemes and provide a long pollen and nectar season for various pollinators, particularly bees. (Gardeners World/Playback)
16/20 Globe thistles: Globe thistles, Echinops spp., have spiky leaves and bristly metallic blue flowers, making them a great architectural choice for the back of a sunny flowerbed. (Gardeners World/Playback)
17/20 Verbena: Verbena bonariensis is a popular garden plant, grown for its purple plate-like flowers, which are attractive to a wide range of pollinators. It’s perfect for adding height and lasting color to the garden. (Gardeners World/Playback)
18/20 Chupa-mel-roxo: Cerinthe major “Purpurascens”, is the perfect annual to fill gaps in an ornamental bed. It has beautiful silvery blue-green leaves and beautiful bell-shaped purple flowers, which are a magnet for bees. It makes a wonderful cut flower. (Gardeners World/Playback)
19/20 Salvias: Purple-flowered salvias like Salvia «Amistad» and «Ostfriesland» look fantastic growing in an herbaceous garden mixed with other colorful flowers like torch lily and yellow daisy. (Gardeners World/Playback)
20/20 Mountain Bilberry: Centaurea montana is native to the mountain meadows and forests of Europe. It usually has spear-shaped grey-green leaves and large, deep blue or violet flowers borne in early summer. Bees love flowers. (Gardeners World/Playback)
*Via Gardeners World
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