Tag Archives: purple

Formerly known as million bells, calibrachoa is an easy to grow, low-maintenance plant that displays masses of bell-shaped, petunia-like blooms from spring until the first light frost. The blooms cover long, cascading branches that make the plant ideal for containers or hanging baskets. Sun-loving calibrachoa reaches heights of 6 to 10 inches and displays a rainbow of bright colors, depending …

Viola “Whopping Purple Whiskers”Huge, 2.5″ across, intensely whiskered blooms of velvety purple and white! Free flowering over a long period of time (deadheading extends it even more) on a compact form, 9″ tall and 10″ across. Wonderful in pots. Rich soil for amazing show! Edible!

“Cupid’s Dart” (Catananche caerulea ) provides masses of sturdy, upright stems topped by pearly-papery buds that open into these lovely semi-double, purple-eyed, lavender-blue, 2” blooms. Cupid’s Dart appear continuously from early to late summer, peaking in midsummer. Ancient Greeks and Romans used the flowers as the main ingredient in love potions, hence the amorous common name “Cupid’s Dart”. Genus name …

Noted for its pleasant mint scent, Monardella villosa (Coyote Mint) is a small perennial forming a bushy mound of oval-shaped, soft, light fuzzy grayish-green leaves. They are topped by a profusion of small, bright lavender or pink flowers in dense spherical flower heads from late spring to alate summer. Nectar-rich, the blossoms are attractive to insects, especially bees and butterflies. …

We have grown Buddleia in containers in our Sunnyvale garden for ten years.The purple flower panicle when it starts blooming in June is very beautiful. Unfortunately for Buddleia, as the year progresses, other flowers and fruits distract us. Buddleja, or Buddleia, commonly known as the butterfly bush, is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemic to Asia, …

New for 2019 in our Sunnyvale garden: Armeria ‘Ballerina Lilac’, commonly called thrift or sea pink, is a compact, low-growing plant which forms a dense, mounded tuft of stiff, linear, grass-like, dark green leaves (to 4″ tall). Tufts will spread slowly to 8-12″ wide. Tiny, purple flowers bloom in mid spring in globular clusters (3/4-1″ wide) atop slender, naked stalks …

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) is a charming old-fashioned annual in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) that blooms in spring and early summer. One of about 15 species in the genus Nigella, love-in-a-mist is native to southern Europe and northern Africa. In its native habitat, this plant grows in fields, along roadsides, and in rocky or waste ground. The genus name Nigella comes …

Is this Pickwick Crocus white with delicate lilac-blue stripes, or lilac with white stripes? In pursuit of the answer, it’s fun to force a pot and examine the flowers closely. Plant between clumps of Jeanne d’Arc and Flower Record for a lovely composition in white and purple. Heirloom, 1925. This variety is one of the familiar, and welcome, giant spring …

Wisteria is a beautiful spring vine. Because of my visits to the California Spanish missions, I cannot think of Wisteria without thinking of California. Back in 2014, I planted my wisteria in probably the worst spot for it in my garden: a spot nestled in an east-facing corner that only gets a few hours of sunlight per day. All of …

Anemones, also known as windflowers, are a diverse group, with various species blooming in spring and fall. Some have fibrous roots and are found in the perennials section of nurseries and garden centers. Others grow from tubers that are sold and planted in the fall along with spring-flowering bulbs like tulips. About This Plant Spring blooming anemones are low growing …