Himalayan Poppy

Colors in The Garden

Purple Himalayan Poppy,above, grows from seed I save and sow each year, up to 4 feet tall, flower heads sometimes double, 3 to 5 inches across. Last year some seeds began growing in the fall, and, amazingly, made it through this winter.

For more purples, try Heliotrope (if the fragrance is not too strong for you), a dark purple flower that does not usually winter over in zone 6, but if it does, it can become a small bush. Other choices are Black Knight Delphinium, Aubrieta (rockcress), purple Wallflower (the last two are early bloomers), Campanula Glomerata, or Sour Grapes Penstemmon. Liatrus is a lighter, rosier shade of purple.

Sour Grapes is the name of the left Penstemmons, which comes in many variated shades of purple to red. Long blooming, shade or sun, don't like wet feet. 18 to 24 inches tall.

Queen of the Night, Negrita and Purple Fringe Tulips are gorgeous purple tulips which go very well with a dusky rose tulip or pastel pinks. Bearded Iris, Japanese Iris and Siberian Iris all come in gorgeous shades of purple and lavender. And don't forget those wondrous purple alliums!

A recent hybrid verbena is named purple "Homestead Perennial Verbena". It is a low-grower and beautiful in its first year. However, I pulled all of it out of my garden less than 2 years after planting it. It will take over everything in a very short time.

The next page shows pictures of some good blues for the garden.

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