If purple is your favorite color, you’re in luck! The floral world has graced us with purple flowers ranging from the fragrant, clustered blooms of the lilac bush to the trumpet-shaped flowers that accompany trailing morning glory vines. With so many different shapes, sizes, and hues of purple flowers, you can find at least one that you love.
Some of the types of purple flowers on this list work great as garden plants and others hold up well as cut flowers. That means you can enjoy purple blooms in your garden as well as your home.
What Do Purple Flowers Mean?
In the world of flowers, each color bloom holds a unique meaning. Orange flowers are linked to joy and enthusiasm, red flowers symbolize passion and romance, and pink flowers mean happiness and youthfulness
The purple flower meaning largely relates to royalty and wealth, but the exact meaning varies depending on the culture and specific flower. For example, a purple crocus symbolizes rebirth since it emerges in the early spring, and purple roses show admiration and respect.
Anemone
Scientific name: Anemone nemorosa
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 9
You’ll find the anemone as a purple perennial along with a variety of other colors. Some of these species pop out in fall, while others wait for spring. These cup-shaped flowers grow slowly and tend to spread out in rock gardens or wooded areas.
Aster
Scientific name:
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 8
These star-shaped flowers with yellow middles may remind you of a daisy. If they’re hanging out in your garden, they do best in moist soil and cool weather. The china aster, similar in looks to a chrysanthemum, regularly hits the list of popular purple flowers and makes a great choice to go with your indoor houseplants or outdoor window boxes.
Azalea
Scientific name: Rhododendron spp.
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 6 – 10
Azaleas grow as small to medium evergreen shrubs that send out a profusion of flowers in the spring. The majority of azaleas are native to eastern North America, where they thrive in acidic soils and rocky outcroppings.
Bachelor’s Button
Scientific name: Centaurea cyanus
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 2 – 10
Also known as cornflower, bachelor’s button produces round flowers in shades of blue, pink, white, and purple. Although they’re cool-weather annuals, they readily self-seed and come back yearly.
Balloon Flower
Scientific name: Platycodon grandiflorus
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 8
A member of the bellflower family, the balloon flower provides a variety of white, pink, bluish-purple, deep purple, or bright purple flowers. The buds of this interesting flower start out looking like balloons but transform into stunning, star-shaped blooms.
Bee Balm
Scientific name: Monarda spp.
Light preferences:Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 9
Bee balm is a perennial that’s at home in wildflower meadows and front yard gardens. The unique flowers attract pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Bee Orchid
Scientific name: Ophrys apifera
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 6 – 9
Bee orchids show off a multitude of hues, including purple and white. The purple perennial features a shape similar to a bee, and they draw male bees that spread pollen. Bee orchids are finicky and challenging even for flower pros, so if you want to DIY this one, plant it inside.
Bellflower
Scientific name: Campanula
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 4 – 8
A popular springtime cut flower, bellflower plants produce tall flower stalks covered in large bell-shaped blooms. If you want to grow these plants at home, make sure to transplant seedlings in the fall, winter or early spring since the seedlings grow best during short days.
Blue-Eyed Grass
Scientific name: Sisyrinchium spp.
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 9
Don’t be misled by the name. Blue-eyed grass (not an actual grass) features big bunches of purple flowers. This pushy purple perennial spreads throughout your garden, but it’s not invasive.
Butterfly Bush
Scientific name: Buddleia davidii
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 5 – 10
With its stunning color, this fragrant flower offers a sensory treat. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, adding to its popularity in the garden.
Calla Lily
Scientific name: Zantedeschia aethiopica
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 8 – 10
Calla lilies often make the cut for bouquets and flower arrangements, especially during the Easter holiday season. These single-petal flowers make themselves equally comfortable indoors as a popular house plant as well as outside. They come from a big family, so if you’re a fan, you can seek out plenty of other lily varieties.
Canterbury Bells
Scientific name: Campanula medium
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 10
These beautiful, bell-shaped flowers with five-pointed blooms make a stress-free planting choice. They require zilch in terms of effort or expertise. You will need some patience since it may take a year or more for these blooms to ring out in their full glory.
Candytuft
Scientific name: Iberis
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 7 – 11
Though a bunch of these tiny blooms may look like cotton candy, these lilac flowers taste nothing like the spun sugar treat from your childhood, so better to keep them out of the mouth! Plant them in your rock garden and enjoy the beauty, but choose another sweet snack.
Catmint
Scientific name: Nepeta spp.
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 8
Catmint’s spiky, silvery-purple flowers last throughout the season. If you’re a novice gardener, these make a great place to start. They’re pretty in a vase on their own when cut, too.
Clematis
Scientific name: Clematis spp.
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 4 – 9
These trailing perennials are happiest when climbing up arbors and over fences, and they really put on a show when they flower. The previously green vines become covered in large, flat flowers that come in shades including violet, pink, and white.
Columbine
Scientific name: Aquilegia spp.
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 8
You can find many colors and species of columbine, including some with deep purple flowers. These bell-shaped blooms act as a hot gathering spot for hungry hummingbirds.
Coneflower
Scientific name: Echinacea spp.
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 9
Although the hardy coneflower can tolerate poor soil, drought, and neglect, it isn’t lacking in beauty. The plants send up a continuous display of light purple and pink flowers throughout the summer. These flowers provide food for pollinators and the mature seedheads encourage songbirds to visit.
Corn Cockle
Scientific name: Agrostemma githago
Light preferences:Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 10
Although this annual is native to Europe, you can find it popping up on roadsides and old meadows across the United States. The blooms have five petals and as single flowers atop individual stems.
Cosmos
Scientific name: Cosmos bipinnatus
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 10
If you don’t want these delicate flowers with a tall stem to give you a break, be sure to plant them near a stake, fence, or house for some support. Other than that, these popular flowers require very little maintenance beyond regular harvesting.
Crocus
Scientific name: Crocus spp.
Light preferences: Partial shade to full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 8
You’ll see the crocus in a wide array of colors. They’re a welcome sign of spring with a strong scent that lures bees from the hive.
Dwarf Iris
Scientific name: Iris reticulata
Light preferences: Partial sun to full sun
Hardiness zones: 5 – 8
A showy flower that pops up in early spring, the dwarf iris comes in purple and a variety of other colors. The blooms with their rich petals stick around for a week or less but will visit again next year.
False Indigo
Scientific name: Baptisia australis
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 10
In the wild, these spiky purple blooms can reach up to four feet tall. Florists have the magic to tame these popular purple plants, and they often appear in bouquets.
Floss Flower
Scientific name: Ageratum houstonianum
Light preferences:Full sun
Hardiness zones: 10 – 11
This annual flower has small purple blooms covered in what looks like thin strands of floss. You can find numerous colors of floss flower, including light violet and deep lilac.
Foxglove
Scientific name: Digitalis purpurea
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 10
Foxglove brings the drama with its tubular flowers, spikey good looks, and an assortment of colors. This one’s an important source of medicine since it provides digitalis, long a remedy for those with a heart condition.
Fuchsia
Scientific name: Fuchsia magellanica
Light preferences: Partial shade
Hardiness zones: 9-10
These exotic blooms thrive in hanging baskets with a bunch of other flowers. They don’t love the heat, so throw bunches of shade when you have fuchsias around.
Gladiolus
Scientific name: Gladiolus hortulanus
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 6-10
The gladiolus produces stunning flower spikes that can stretch as high as six feet. These flowers love to show off in purple and a variety of other colors, and look amazing contrasting against the plant’s sword-like leaves.
Heliotrope
Scientific name: Heliotropium peruvianum
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 10 – 11
With deep green leaves surrounding bunches of tiny white, blue or purple flowers, heliotropes share a fragrance you can’t miss. These annuals grow from one to four feet high and mix well with other flowers.
Hellebore
Scientific name: Helleborus
Light preferences: Partial shade to full shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 8
With white flowers, purple flowers, or a variety of colors on the spectrum in between, these blooms last for up to eight weeks. They’re some of the first flowers to emerge in late winter, making them a welcome treat after a long, dark period.
Hydrangea
Scientific name: Hydrangea macrophylla
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 2 – 11
These huge blooms will bring joy to your day every time you glance at them. With big heads made up of a bunch of small flowers, hydrangeas come in blue, pink, and shades of purple. Soil acidity creates the color variety.
Larkspur
Scientific name: Consolida ajacis
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 2 – 11
An annual flower with impressively tall flower spikes, larkspur is a beloved flower in cottage gardens and cutting fields. These plants grow best in rich and well-drained soil that’s kept consistently moist.
Lavender
Scientific name: Lavandula
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 9
With a lovely scent and penchant for stress relief, these small purple flowers make a popular choice as a gift or a treat for yourself. A symbol of devotion, you can give lavender in a flower arrangement or in plant form. Pair one of these with a lavender product like a cocktail mix or body lotion for a delightful present.
Lilac
Scientific name: Syringa vulgaris
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 7
Lilac’s a northern girl with shrubs bearing bunches of light-purple tiny flowers. You’ll know she’s there because of her wonderful fragrance. She sticks around for about two weeks before she disappears.
Lily of the Nile
Scientific name: Agapanthus
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 8 – 11
Although it’s not a true lily, this warm-season perennial sure puts on a show. During the summer months, the plants send up thin stalks topped with numerous trumpet-like, star-shaped flowers.
Lisianthus
Scientific name: Eustoma grandiflorum
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 9 – 11
These blue, lilac-colored, or deep purple flowers may remind you of roses. Both single and double blooms last for multiple weeks in a vase.
Love-in-a-Mist
Scientific name: Nigella damascena
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 4 – 8
Love-in-a-mist gets its name from beautiful flowers that emerge from lacy foliage. Although varieties with blue flowers are well known, you can also find purple nigella flowers.
Lupine
Scientific name: Lupinus spp.
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 8
Lupine sends up tall flower spikes covered in flowers that resemble those of peas and beans. The flower stalks can reach up to four feet tall, making them an impressive sight in the garden.
Moonflower
Scientific name: Datura stramonium
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 8 – 11
Most often purple or white, these sub-tropical flowers grow on vines. They may climb as high as 20 feet on a trellis. Moonflowers offer a soothing scent along with their delicate beauty.
Morning Glory
Scientific name: Ipomoea purpurea
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 10
These saucer-shaped flowers wake up with the morning sun, leaving marks on the petals from where they folded up at night. We get it, morning glories. We’re still a little rumpled first thing in the morning, too.
Mystic Merlin
Scientific name: Malva sylvestris
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 8
These rich purple flowers bring a bit of magic with long-lasting blooms. You’ll sometimes hear people call them French mallow.
Ornamental Onion
Scientific name: Allium
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 4 – 10
These onions may make you cry…but only because of their beautiful flowers! Each green stalk is topped with a purple sphere made up of hundreds of tiny blooms.
Pansy
Scientific name: Viola x wittrockiana
Light preferences: Full sun to partial shade
Hardiness zones: 7 – 11
A hybrid viola, the pansy is known for its large flowers and cold hardiness. If you live in zone seven and above, pansies will keep flowering all winter long.
Petunia
Scientific name: Petunia hybrida
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 9 – 11
With more than 30 species, petunias come in a rainbow of colors, though you’ll most often see white or purple funnel-shaped flowers. Since these popular bedding flowers are annuals, you’ll need to replant them each year.
Rose
Scientific name: Rosa spp.
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 5 – 9
As you probably know, you can find all sorts of rose colors. Purple roses convey admiration and respect, so they’re a great gift for a teacher or mentor. If you want to give roses to a friend or lover, take a minute to learn about rose color meanings.
Salvia
Scientific name: Salvia
Light preferences: Full sun to full shade
Hardiness zones: 5 – 9
With so many different species and varieties of salvia available, you can find one for just about any soil type and sun exposure. These plants produce various flower colors, but purple flowers are some of the most common.
Scabiosa
Scientific name: Scabiosa spp.
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 7
Also known as the pincushion flower, scabiosa sends up flowers that start out looking like pincushions and end covered with wispy, delicate petals. You can find both annual and perennial scabiosa varieties.
Sea Thistle
Scientific name: Eryngium
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 5 – 8
The bluish-purple flowers of this plant, sometimes called sea holly, feature an otherworldly appeal as opposed to traditional beauty. They may look like something from another planet with their unusual shape, but sea thistles offer great benefits to our home turf, offering a perfect spot for birds, butterflies, and bees to gather.
Sweet Pea
Scientific name: Lathyrus odoratus
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 7 – 10
The sweet pea’s subtle yet unmistakable fragrance makes it one of the best spring flowers for the garden. The climbing plants benefit from support and produce flowers that come in shades of purple, pink, and white.
Violet
Scientific name: Viola spp.
Light preferences: Partial shade to full shade
Hardiness zones: 3 – 9
Some of the most cold-hardy flowers, viola have no problems blooming through below-freezing temperatures and patches of snow. You can find many different violet species, including the dog violets that fill shaded yards and the bird’s foot violets that appear on dry outcroppings.
Wild Hyacinth
Scientific name: Dichelostemma multiflorum
Light preferences: Partial shade to full sun
Hardiness zones: 10 – 11
If you’re looking for a flowering groundcover, wild hyacinth makes a great choice. Bees pollinate these blooms like it’s their job, making wild hyacinths lovely and low-maintenance blooms that give our buzzy friends a boost.
Wisteria
Scientific name: Wisteria sinensis
Light preferences: Partial shade to full sun
Hardiness zones: 5 – 10
Wisteria is a social climber with a bunch of blooms and a captivating scent. You’ll see wisteria in a variety of shades, including white, blue, and purple.
Zinnia
Scientific name: Zinnia
Light preferences: Full sun
Hardiness zones: 3 – 10
You can find zinnias in just about every color, including various shades of purple. These easy-to-grow annual flowers are one of the best choices if you’re a beginner gardener who wants to start a cutting garden.
Order Flowers in Purple Hues and More with The Bouqs Co.
Whether you can’t get enough of purple flowers or prefer a different color flower bouquet, you’ve come to the right place! We carry a wide variety of flowers thoughtfully crafted into whimsical bouquets and cheerful arrangements, so you can find the perfect birthday bouquet as well as an arraignment to brighten your home.
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