12 Purple Flowers to Plant for Royal Purple Color

Asking someone their favorite color seems like a grade-school pursuit, idle and childish. Yet, it’s one of those subtle tells that reveal an individual’s psychology. Those who favor purple are often described as highly creative and intuitive, attuned to the spirit world. They tend to eschew the impulsive behavior of youth. In a word, they are “dreamers” who look beyond what the material world has to offer. 

Tyrian purple, the color of royalty, was once used to adorn emperors and kings – it took up to 12,000 snails to produce a single gram of dye, making it more valuable than gold. To plant purple flowers is to bring a sense of the divine into the heavenly garden. 

Here are 12 stunning purple flowers that lend true royal color to any landscape. 

1. Agapanthus africanus 'Black Jack'

Some flowers, like Agapanthus africanus 'Black Jack', exude a lacquered sheen that makes them almost seem like dessert. Under the blazing sun, its flowerheads turn an intensely velvety purple. Once established, it is highly drought tolerant, needing only supplemental waterings.  

2. Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'

Cottage garden growers who have trouble finding filler plants that cover the ground in large swaths of color need look no further than this salvia. It is a strong choice for pollinator gardens, mixed borders, cottage gardens, or any plantings that require an injection of wilderness, where asymmetry and informal schemes are encouraged. Deadheading promotes a longer bloom time. 

3. Iris germanica 'Superstition'

Iris germanica 'Superstition' dwells not within the realm of superstition, but along early summer borders. Its near-black, deep violet petals make it the perfect complement to someone who prefers cats – especially black cats – to dogs. You can purchase bare-root rhizomes from online bulb merchants in autumn.

4. Hydrangea

Hydrangeas produce a lavish profusion of blooms that can shift between delicate blue, violet, and soft lavender hues depending on the soil conditions. Unlike many fleeting summer flowers, Endless Summer® hydrangeas are compelled to bloom all summer long. To achieve a purple color, calibrate your soil pH to sit between 5.5 and 6.0. 

5. Clematis 'Jackmanii'

Since the Victorian era, Clematis 'Jackmanii' has delighted gardeners with its cascades of purple blooms. While paler, frivolous flowers might have symbolized a lovelorn heart hollowed out by drought, clematis, attired in its purple glory, represents cleverness and mental acuity. It quickly scales pergolas, trellises, and garden arches, creating majestic vertical color.

6. Petunia 'NightSky'

It is said that the darkness behind the stars cannot exist without light. Petunia 'NightSky' is an ode to those who romanticize darkness and starlight. Indeed, it’s as if the night sky were painted directly onto its petals. A far cry from those frail, leggy varieties that languish in potted planters, its velvety, deep violet-purple blooms are dusted with unique, randomized white speckles that vary based on temperature and light levels. Under the right conditions, it can spread into huge sheets of color. 

7. Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis brings airy elegance to sunny garden schemes. Slender, tough square stems rise up to shoulder height, branching out to support flattened clusters of vibrant, jewel-like deep purple flowers. Because of its wispy see-through habit, it allows you to layer rich purple tones through the middle or front of borders without obscuring the plants behind it.

8. Allium 'Globemaster'

Among alliums, Allium 'Globemaster' stands out as one of the largest and most impressive ornamental onions available for garden culture. Producing colossal globes of color that measure up to 10" around and standing up to 3 to 3.5 feet tall, it is taller than your dog or toddler. These appear magically suspended as their stalks blur into the background, resembling something from Alice in Wonderland. The long-lasting blooms dry beautifully right on the stem, extending their decorative interest well into summer.

9. Purple Morning Glory 

Cherished for their ability to engulf an unsightly fence or wall, morning glories are as hardy as weeds, with none of the perniciousness. They are so resilient they are sometimes referred to as the “poor man's garden” plant because they thrive on neglect. While many are made to clamber over man-made facades like a latticed trellis, an unusual combination is twining morning glories with sunflowers, utilizing their tall stalks as structural support. 

10. Candle Larkspur

Some find hot red pokers intriguing, while others consider it a ‘failed flower,’ lacking gracefulness. On the other hand, candle larkspurs are the mark of elegance – they seem to capture the twilight between earth and sky with their deep shades of blue and violet. Unlike fleeting annuals, candle larkspurs return year after year when given the right conditions. Planted among roses, ornamental grasses, or cottage garden favorites, they create the illusion of a fairytale meadow.

11. Syringa vulgaris 'Charles Joly'

Even simple notions like scent can trigger moments of contemplation, which is why sweet-smelling flowers are pursued. Syringa vulgaris 'Charles Joly' is a classic French hybrid lilac prized for its heavenly fragrance and lush, double blooms. In late spring, heavy panicles of tightly packed, dark wine-red flowers emerge, filling the surrounding garden with a hazy nostalgia. 

12. Purple Orchid 

Uncommon shades of orchids always receive attention. Many are falsely purple – a mawkish magenta or pink. Vanda orchids are among the few orchids that display the coveted blue purple coloration, though they have stringent growing requirements. They require abundant bright, indirect sunlight, consistent tropical warmth, and very high humidity. Believe it or not, they can be left suspended with the roots exposed, but if you pot them, choose a coarser mix that drains well, such as large pieces of fir bark.