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7 Purple Perennials You Can Plant Now
Purple flowers are having a real moment in the gardening world, yet this rich shade remains versatile and timeless, making it a perfect color choice for perennials. With purple perennials, you can switch up the colors of your summer annuals from year to year to create different color schemes. Pair purple perennials with gold, orange, and pink flowers to create a warm sunset palette, or pair them with white flowers and silvery-green foliage for something more cool-toned.
Create A Dreamy Violet View with These Purple Garden Perennials
Purple represents creativity, magic, mystery, royalty, and opulence. No wonder this sensational color always sends us swooning! Bring that ethereal atmosphere to your garden with these seven spectacular perennials.
Lily of the Nile
This distinctive perennial never fails to grab people’s attention with its pom pom clusters of icy purple blooms that look just like miniature lilies. Its long, skinny leaves grow tightly in a mounded form, reminiscent of a large spider plant. Lily of the Nile looks especially lovely in mass plantings or as a border plant!
African Iris
This exotic variety of iris looks like a mini purple flower inside a larger white flower with striking golden streaks. The blooms only last for one day, but it produces them at such an impressive rate that you’ll still get to enjoy quite the spectacle! African irises love moist, well-draining soil, so they’re a great option for planting around ponds and waterways.
Ceanothus
Otherwise known as the California Lilac, this showy shrub has voluminous flower clusters that brighten up the scenery with their cheerful periwinkle hue. There are several different varieties with varying bloom times—some flower in early spring, some in late fall, and some fall somewhere in between! Plant a mix in your garden for continuous blooms throughout the year.
Sea Lavender
The airy, cloud-like clusters of purple flowers on this native Californian perennial may appear delicate, but Sea Lavender is actually incredibly hardy and tolerant of coastal salt spray. The blooms last for quite a while as cut flowers and continue to look quite lovely after they’ve dried. Take care when transplanting, and be very gentle with its sensitive roots—it doesn’t like to be jostled around!
Purple Coneflower
This cousin of the daisy is an all-time favorite for butterflies. They can easily perch on the petals to snack on the sweet nectar inside the coneflower’s round center! The purple blooms last from midsummer until frost, and they’re extremely low-maintenance and water-wise (link /ca/inspire/blog/best-water-wise-plants/) making them a worthwhile and fuss-free addition to your perennial garden
Salvia Leucantha
Also known as Mexican bush sage, the tall purple flower spikes of this hardy perennial look fantastic as a border plant, but plant it along the back border of your garden so it doesn’t block the view of your other plants. The flowers are technically white, but they emerge from vibrant purple bracts, lighting up the landscape with a crystal amethyst color.
Heuchera ‘Forever Purple’
For an irresistible garden color with major staying power, you’ve got to plant some purple Heuchera. You’ll be craving grape soda when you catch a glimpse of those ruffled, richly-colored leaves! It thrives in part-sun to full shade, so you can plant it almost anywhere, provided there’s good soil drainage. You’ll love the added bonus of its delicate, baby pink flowers that emerge atop tall, burgundy stems in summer.
