Bishy Barnabee’s Cottage Garden

Purple Flowers

Rich purples, from sky-violet to deep velvet

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A vibrant Malva Zebrina from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd blooms with purple and white petals among green stems in a sunlit field—a delightful addition for any cottage garden enthusiast.
Perennial

Malva Zebrina

Soft lilac-pink saucers painted with deep purple veins…

Sow: Feb–May
£3.20 View
Phlox Sugar Stars by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden features clusters of violet-blue, star-shaped flowers blooming amid green foliage, bordered by a white concrete edge with blurred grass and sky in the background.
Annual

Phlox Sugar Stars

Star-shaped flowers in violet-blue and deep indigo, each…

Sow: Mar–May
£2.20 View
Close-up of Nigella hispanica by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, featuring royal violet-blue petals, dark feathery centers, green foliage, and unopened buds on mulched ground—hinting at its striking architectural seed pods.
Annual

Nigella hispanica

The Spanish one, and a considerably bigger plant than the Miss Jekyll types

Sow: Mar–May · Sep
£2.30 View
Several Echinacea Bravado plants by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden display rosy-purple blooms with orange-brown centers among lush green leaves, brightening the vibrant garden with more flowers and foliage in the background.
Perennial

Echinacea Bravado

Big rosy-purple daisies, ten to twelve centimetres across,…

Sow: Feb–Apr · Sep–Oct
£2.30 View
Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden's Hollyhock Nigra features tall green plants with broad leaves and dramatic, ruffled black flowers. Some buds stay closed, making these gothic garden blooms striking against trees and grass outdoors.
Biennial

Hollyhock Nigra

The near-black hollyhock, and closer to true black than almost any flower gets

Sow: Apr–Jul
£2.20 View
Close-up of Daucus Carota Dara by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden—tall stems with pink and white clusters, blooming densely in sunlight. Ideal as a cut flower with blurred foliage and blue sky in the background.
Biennial

Daucus Carota Dara

The coloured wild carrot, and currently one of…

Sow: Mar–May · Sep–Oct
£2.40 View
Close-up of Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden's Poppy Black Peony with dark burgundy, ruffled blooms, green foliage, and stems against a blue sky. Perfect for dried flower arrangements.
Annual

Poppy Black Peony

Huge fully double blooms in a velvety maroon…

Sow: Mar–May · Aug–Sep
£2.20 View
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Growing purple flowers — your questions answered

Which purple flowers are most striking?

Verbena bonariensis at the back of a border, larkspur for vertical spires, scabious for soft drumsticks, sweet pea Cupani for deep velvet, and Nigella Miss Jekyll for that perfect sky-purple. For deeper jewel tones, look at Cornflower Black Ball or Cosmos Rubenza. Each one offers a different shape and tone of purple.

What colours combine well with purple?

Purple is incredibly flexible. With silver foliage and pink, it's pure cottage romance. With yellow and orange, it's vibrant and modern. With white, it becomes calm and elegant. With deep red, it leans dramatic and Victorian. The only pairing to be careful with is bright magenta-pink, which can fight with cooler purples.

Are purple flowers good for pollinators?

Outstandingly so. Bees especially favour purple and violet flowers — lavender, salvia, scabious, verbena, and echinops are all bee magnets. A purple-heavy border is one of the best things you can do for garden biodiversity. Butterflies also visit purple readily, particularly verbena bonariensis and buddleja-style shapes.

Will purple flowers come back next year?

It depends on the variety. Perennials like lavender, salvia, and hardy geraniums will return year after year. Annuals like larkspur and cornflower are one-season but self-seed reliably. Biennials like honesty give you spring flowers then those beautiful translucent seed pods. A mixed purple border can be largely self-renewing.