Plants that bloom in August in Zone 8 with purple flowers

Acidanthera

Arching stems hold fragrant white blooms with a deep maroon throat. Peacock orchid, the elegant late-summer cousin of the bold gladiolus.

Anise Hyssop

Lavender-blue spikes with licorice-scented foliage. A pollinator powerhouse that blooms for months.

Annual Vinca

Glossy-leaved heat champion (botanically unrelated to true Vinca minor) that blooms through humidity that wilts everything else.

Aster

The grand finale of the garden season. Essential for fall pollinators.

Astilbe

Feathery plumes that light up shady, moist spots like nothing else can.

Bachelor's Button

True cornflower blue that almost no other flower can match. Cottage garden classic that self-sows reliably.

Bee Balm

Shaggy, crown-shaped flowers that hummingbirds fight over.

Bela Lugosi Daylily

Deep, near-black purple with a small yellow-green throat, the darkest and most dramatic daylily you can grow.

Bloom-a-Thon Azalea

Repeat-blooming azalea with waves of color spring through fall. Evergreen in mild climates.

Butterfly Bush

Long, arching flower wands that butterflies absolutely lose their minds over.

Caradonna Salvia

Dark purple stems set this apart from every other salvia. Vertical, architectural, electric.

Cat's Meow Catmint

Tidy, dome-shaped habit that never flops open. Stays compact without shearing.

Catmint

Billowy lavender-blue haze that blooms all season if you shear it back.

Chaste Tree

Long lavender-blue spikes cover this heat-loving shrub all summer. One of the few shrubs that actually blooms in August.

Cheyenne Spirit Coneflower

A rainbow mix of coneflower colors from a single seed strain. Every plant is a surprise.

Clematis

The queen of flowering vines. Over 300 species, something for every spot.

Cleome

Spider-flower with whisker-like stamens and airy blooms. Tall, dramatic annual that self-sows freely.

Coneflower

Tough prairie native with long bloom season and medicinal history.

Crape Myrtle

The tree of the South. Months of crinkled blooms and gorgeous peeling bark.

Dahlia

Endless forms from dinner-plate to pompom. The obsession of flower farmers.

Daylily

Virtually indestructible perennial with trumpet blooms in every warm hue.

Endless Summer Hydrangea

Reblooms on old and new wood, so you get flowers even after a harsh winter. Color shifts with soil pH.

Garden Phlox

Billowing clusters of fragrant summer color. A butterfly magnet.

Globe Artichoke

Bold silvery foliage and large thistle-like buds are both decorative and edible.

Globe Thistle

Perfectly spherical steel-blue globes on white stems that dry to perfection. Bees are absolutely obsessed.

Golden Tiara Hosta

Small, fast-spreading mound with chartreuse-gold margins and one of the easiest hostas you can grow.

Gomphrena

Papery clover-shaped pom-poms on wiry stems. Drought-proof, deer-proof, and dries perfectly for winter arrangements.

Hidcote Lavender

Compact and intensely dark purple. The standard against which all other lavenders are measured.

Hollyhock

Towering spires of saucer-shaped blooms in vintage colors. The icon of every English cottage garden, biennial but generous with self-sown seedlings.

Hydrangea

Massive mophead blooms that shift color with soil pH. Showstoppers.

Ice Plant

Neon-bright daisy flowers that shimmer in the sun over succulent foliage. Thrives in hot, dry rock gardens.

Impatiens

The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.

Jackmanii Clematis

The classic large-flowered clematis since 1858. Deep violet-purple blooms cover the vine midsummer.

Joe-Pye Weed

Towering native with mauve domes that butterflies swarm in late summer.

Karma Choc Dahlia

Velvety dark burgundy waterlily blooms that read almost black in low light. Strong stems built for the vase.

Lantana

Multi-colored flower clusters that bloom relentlessly in brutal heat.

Lavender

Fragrant silver-green mounds beloved by bees and humans alike.

Liatris

Blazing star. Spikes that bloom unusually from top to bottom.

Lisianthus

Rose-like ruffled blooms with the vase life of a chrysanthemum. The flower farmer's secret weapon for high-end arrangements.

May Night Salvia

Perennial Plant of the Year. Dense indigo-violet spikes that rebloom if deadheaded.

Morning Glory

Fast-climbing vine with trumpets that open fresh every morning.

Night Embers Daylily

Deep burgundy-red with a black eye and yellow throat, smoldering in the summer border.

Oregano

Tiny flowers are a pollinator magnet when allowed to bloom. Let a patch go to flower for the bees.

Pentas

Star-shaped flower clusters that hummingbirds and butterflies hit on every pass. Blooms nonstop in heat that stops impatiens cold.

Petunia

Cascading color for containers and beds. Blooms nonstop until frost.

Phenomenal Lavender

Survives humidity and cold that kills other lavenders. Silver foliage stays tight and full.

Pickerelweed

Spikes of violet-blue flowers above glossy arrow-shaped leaves. Native pond and stream bank staple.

Polish Spirit Clematis

Deep violet-purple flowers cover a vigorous plant from midsummer to fall. Prune hard each spring and stand back.

Portulaca

Succulent-leaved sun lover with silky rose-like blooms that thrives where pavement, rock, or sand defeats everything else.

Powwow Wild Berry Coneflower

Deep rose-purple petals and a bronzy cone on a compact reblooming plant that won't sprawl.

Purple de Oro Daylily

Deep purple-red blooms on a compact Stella-sized plant. Brings rich color to the front of the border.

Purple Prairie Clover

Brushy purple flower spikes rise over fine foliage and feed prairie pollinators.

Rose of Sharon

A cold-hardy hibiscus shrub (Hibiscus syriacus) with big tropical-looking blooms in lavender, pink, blue, white, or wine, opening late summer when most flowering shrubs are done.

Rozanne Geranium

Violet-blue saucer flowers on a sprawling mound that blooms from late spring until frost. The most awarded perennial geranium in history.

Salvia

Vertical flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees cannot resist.

Scabiosa

Pincushion blooms on long wiry stems dance over fine foliage. Pollinator magnet that keeps producing if you keep cutting.

Sea Holly

Metallic blue bracts and cones turn the whole plant a vivid silvery-blue. Otherworldly and completely drought-proof.

Snapdragon

Vertical flower spikes with squeeze-open blooms. Kids love them.

Speedwell

Tidy spikes of blue that add vertical punch to the front of the border.

Statice

Stiff papery flower clusters that dry to keep their color for years. A cut-flower farmer staple for wreaths and dried bouquets.

Sweet Alyssum

Honey-scented carpet of tiny flowers. The best living edging plant.

Tall Verbena

Wiry stems topped with purple clusters that butterflies can't resist. See-through plant for layering.

The President Clematis

Big, rich violet-blue flowers with silvery reverse petals rebloom through the season on a vigorous, reliable plant.

Thomas Edison Dahlia

Rich royal purple dinner plate blooms with formal decorative form. One of the few true purples and a showstopper in late-summer beds.

Tuff Stuff Hydrangea

Reblooming mountain hydrangea with delicate lacecap blooms. Takes more cold than macrophyllas and keeps flowering after harsh winters.

Vintage Wine Coneflower

Wine-purple petals that age to rose on a robust, well-branched plant. One of the most floriferous echinacea you can grow.

Wild Bergamot

The wild cousin of bee balm. Lavender puffs alive with pollinators. Tougher and more mildew-resistant.

Zinnia

Easy-grow annual with electric colors. Cut-and-come-again champion.