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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Helena Horton

Purple reign: how shade became British gardeners’ favourite

Lavender in a field in Worcestershire.
More than 11,000 visitors of RHS Garden Wisley’s Hilltop were asked to pick their favourite colour for plants. Photograph: Tim Graham/Alamy

If you manage to spot a garden in bloom this summer, beyond the strips of bleached and torched grass, there may be one colour you see more than any other: purple, the horticultural hue of the season.

Plants such as lavender, salvias and catmint are in vogue, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which conducted extensive research into the colours Britons best love to see in their gardens.

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