Deep Purple Plants

Hi -- now that the garden is asleep -- I'm thinking ahead and realize I need some deep purple flowers to offset all the pink I have ... the only deep purples I have now are tall bearded irises and veronica speedwell sunny border blue (which is a great plant) and liatris which is not that dark ... I intend to try some lupines from seed again this year (but haven't had much luck with them) ... I'm also going to wintersow some blue false indigo ... any other ideas? Self-seeding annuals would be good too ... this is a part-shade bed that has a lot of the same color pink in it end of May/beginning of June ... what are your favorite dark purples?

Butterfly bush! Purple Emperor or Black Knight they bloom all summer. A great anchor plant to background all that pink. Underneath, spiderwort, Balloon Flower, several campanulas and salvias, or Anise hyssop behind. One of my new favorite plants is Caryoperis and there are a few shades of purple. What about purple foliage like a ninebark shrub or weigela? Um. That pink could go well with lots of things.

Perennial asters. The monarchs love them and they provide late season nectar for pollenators. They're also pretty to look at and make great architectural plants in the garden:

I love clematis and a good DARK purple one would be the Jackmanni - easy to grow too :)

Hi crockney, we should switch gardens, I have too much purple at that time of year. The first plant I'd suggest for your part shade bed is colombine, a short lived perennial that self seeds, prolifically. Wood phlox, Phlox divarticata (there are some threads with photos on DG, not sure if they are under Cottage, Perennial or NE, let me know if you want me to check) and Jacobs ladder, Polemonium reptans. Pansies and violas, Labrador violet , besides a purple flower the leaf stays purple, paticularly in the cooler weather. Clematis can grow through your rose or the larger varieties like Jackmani or Etoile violette can back the rose on a trellis. The photo shows the cultivar Multi Blue, an early season bloomer which has the added attraction that when the outer petals drop you have the inner "puff "lasting a long time.

You've got some good suggestions so far. Here are a few others. Siberian and Japanese irises bloom after the bearded in sequence, so would extend your iris season into about late June. There are many selections of each with deep purple flowers. There are some deep purple flowered penstemons (sp?) that might do well in the sunniest, driest part of the bed. Some violas have deep purple flowers.

Plants with deep red-purple foliage might look nice, as Candyinpok suggested. In addition to her ideas, there are a couple of elderberries, like black lace; cotinus (smokebush) has a couple of varieties with dark leaves; heuchera (coralbells) come in many deep-colored varieties, some with white and some with pink flowers.

There's also an annual, lisianthus, that has deep purple flowers, among other colors, though it wouldn't be blooming in late May. Also don't forget bulbs. Several kinds of purple tulips would bloom in April and May, and if you wanted even earlier purple, there are always crocuses. Some of the aliums might be dark enough, and there are deep purple-blue agapanthus if you have a cool garage or somewhere to store them in pots for the winter.

All great suggestions, thank you! Sempervirens: I had the Jackmani clematis growing by the rose bush but it got shaded out by the Weigela Wine and Roses -- though I moved it I suspect it won't be back next year (this will be the second one I've lost). Candyinpok: I like the idea of purple foliage because it will last the season -- I'll look into that. JJPM74: I love asters -- will have to look for a deep purple one. I plant extensively for butterflies and hummingbirds! NHBabs -- I have deep wine colored coral bells in an adjacent bed but didn't think to put some in the pink bed ... good idea. Unfortunately I can't do tulips because they get eaten up by critters and don't seem to be hardy enough to bother with wire cages ... I planted some aliums this fall but I don't think they're a very dark purple.

Now I'm thinking some deep purple monkshood and larkspur would be nice too in the sunnier part of the bed ...

crockney,
I don't know why you lost your clematis and I'm not sure if this will help, but one trick I use with my clematis is to use a flat rock over the roots, keeps it shaded and protected. I have also used this trick in the winter for verbena, hardy only to zone 7, I'm in 6, with moderate success, it comes back but never becomes as large and full as when first planted.

crockny

Have a look at my threads in the following forums
Perrenials forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/638461/
Canadian Gardening forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/638460/
European Gardening forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/650828/
You will get a few ideas abour what Monkshood (Aconitum) you might like.

Steve

What about adding some purple millet? It is quite majestic and birds must love it.

You must get some puple delphiniums. I ordered all different shades from gracefulgardens.com and they are so beautiful. Should do well in your zone too.

Maureen: Unfortunately I've had no more luck with delphiniums than I have with lupines ... two of my favorite flowers! They never come back up for me ...

crockny - too bad. I guess they don't survive your winters. A friend of mine in zone 7a here, said the only luck she's had with delphiniums coming back are the ones she's ordered from graceful gardens. Last year was my first year with delphiniums, so I'll have to wait and see if they come back for me. They are in a sheltered spot so I may have luck with them. My lupines I grew from seed, and they didn't bloom till this past spring, but holy cow did they put in an amazing show. In case they don't come back, I'm starting more from seed this winter.

Good luck with your search :-)
Maureen

I'm in zone 6a and where I am, delphinium grows like a weed. Have you given the magic fountains cultivar a try? It's hardy to zone 4 supposedly.

I haven't had any luck with lupines either. Every year they sprout and start to gorw, but they never flower for me.

jjpm: I'll have to try the magic fountains delphinums -- I would love to have them return. I have one delphinium that came up this year but never bloomed, maybe because of all the rain? Lupines sprout for me but die back in the sun ... I'm going to try some more in part shade, I have seeds for some purple ones ...

Columbines! I have a deep purple that thrives in deep shade to full sun in Spring, & the foliage is very attractive the remainder of the season. They are easy to grow & need no care at all. I have loads of seed if you would like some :)
Julie

Yes JRush! I would love some of your deep purple columbine seeds ... I planted some purple ones in another bed but they never bloomed this year -- lots of nice foliage but no blooms! So I'd like to plant some in the rose bed -- that would be great -- would they be blooming when the rose blooms (end of May beginning of June?) ... how do I get your address to send you a SASBE?

You are a little cooler than me, so perhaps they will flower at the same time as your Roses. Your plants may have been too young this year, so perhaps you will see flowers on your plants this next season.
You can add your address to the address exchange (go to the "extras" tab at the DG home page) so others can get it if need be. I will get your address via email :)
Julie

Julie: Thanks for explaining the address exchange -- I never knew where it was! I replied to your dmail ...