I cannot believe I managed to pull this name out of my brain (couldn't find it just googling general characteristics), but my FAVORITE purple plant is the Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender.' Unfortunately mine died several years ago from scale, but it's been a while now, I may try it again.

A few perennials that are purple or blue:
Iris
Baptisia (False Indigo)
Delphinium (Larkspur)
Brunnera (a shade loving plant with cute little blue flowers; it must be hard to kill since I've had one for several years without killing it )
Asters can be purple
Tulips can be purple
Bellflower

These are all hardy enough to survive Minnesota, so they should be fine in Illinois.

Fantasia, I looked up the plant that you mentioned--very pretty!

Thanks Grandmama!! I will look into those. And Fantasia, we had those in front of our house in Kansas. Very pretty and get HUGE!

I am allergic to pollen + am in a tiny apartment with no balcony or opportunity for window sill plants. Aloe Veras are the only gardening I'm doing lately.

I have little tomato and pepper seedlings sprouted under lights in the basement. Something new this year is trying to grow alpine strawberries from seed. So far, no sprouts, but the package did say it can take 3 weeks.

Rain today, which hopefully will wash away any remaining snow in the yard and green things up. I've been raking up the leaves that fell after the snow last fall. The ground is still too frozen here to start digging. I'm really hoping that we have a nice Spring this year--if the law of averages works, we are certainly due for one!

mm1991, I tent to kill houseplants, so if your aloe vera plants are doing well, good for you!

@Grandmama, What's funny is I developed my love for Aloe Veras when I was about 13 and needed to keep a plant alive for my biology class. After much research, I concluded Aloe Veras were basically unkillable and picked that as my plant. Keep them out of the cold, water them once every two months, and leave them alone. Easiest grade I've ever gotten. Fast forward many years later, I get my boyfriend an Aloe Vera plant as a gift, warning him to almost never water it. He kills it within 4 weeks, asking, "Was watering my plant 3 times per week too much?" *sigh*

Did a little bit of gardening yesterday in my fairy garden area. Put two hostas in the ground. They had lived in pots at my mom's house, she gave them to me last year, and I'm finally getting around to sticking them in the ground. There's a third hosta to go, but the kids weren't tolerating productivity, so we'll catch him another night this week.

In other news, I have a raspberry issue. The one I got last year in a pot has already rooted into the ground and spread like crazy. The problem? I put it where I did to hide the utility boxes so now it's intertwined with the underground lines. I have no idea how to get it out of there without killing it, and I REALLY don't want to kill it. It's my first raspberry to finally grow.

but the kids weren't tolerating productivity

Ha! Made me laugh!

mm1991, your anecdote about your boyfriend and the aloe vera plant also brought a smile to my face.

My hubby took advantage of a lovely day today to build another raised bed box that will become an actual raised bed once the ground thaws enough to dig in. I'm looking forward to actually planting something in it, but that won't be for at least a month.

Last week we had April snow (grrrrrr ), but it is mostly melted and the grass is turning green, so perhaps we are having real Spring now.

In the plant nursery, there are over a dozen tiny strawberry sprouts now. Also little marigolds, nasturtiums, dahlias and zinnias.

Does anyone else start plants under lights?

Nothing has sprouted yet, and Monday I started seeds for flowers(snapdragons, daisies, and nasturtiums), and brussel sprouts, broccoli raab, ground cherries, and bell peppers. This coming Monday I'm starting cotton, romanesco broccoli, sunflowers, tomatoes, pumpkin-on-a-stick(decorative eggplant variety), and maybe thyme.

Kalta, I'm curious as to how you prepare brussel spouts. I've never liked them, but I think it has to do with how my mom prepared them which was basically to boil them until they were mushy.

I started nasturtiums under lights 2 weeks ago and had to move them to larger containers already--they are 4" tall! And I thought marigolds grew quickly.

I'm itching to get outside and do some digging now that the ground is thawed, but I had a minor surgery on Monday (to remove a spot of skin cancer) and I'm supposed to "take it easy" this week. Aargh!

I just start seeds next to the window. I'm hoping to find a way to prepare brussel sprouts with lots of bacon and cheese to disguise the taste.

Broccoli raab has sprouted, haven't started the romanesco broccoli yet, however I did start lettuce and spinach seeds in the ground.

Mmmmm! Brussel sprouts! Contrary to so many kids' taste, I have always liked the strange creatures, even boiled to mush. Favourite way to cook them? Prepare as for boiling (remove outside leaves) cut in half, place round side down on a pan, and roast in a hot oven. A bit of salt and oil make it delectable (coconut oil is better than canola)

My oldest brother, who does any gardening that is done, has tried brussels in the past, with limited success. They did grow, though they remained small, almost too small to use, and were mildly afflicted with "friends." Not so bad as the broccoli, but enough to make it a pain to deal with them.

Aileth, I have had roasted Brussel sprouts and I can eat them that way, but still not a big fan. Maybe I'd like them better with Kalta's suggestion of bacon and cheese.

The weather forecast for today looks promising, so the plan is to take advantage and get the rhubarb dug up, divided, and moved to it's brand new bed.

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It's later now and the rhubarb has been divided and moved! I just hope that I didn't move too many weed roots to my new weed free bed--I removed all the ones that I saw, but the rhubarb should have been divided years ago and the roots were difficult to separate.

Well I woke up this morning to a little bit of snow on the ground...wish I could say I can't believe that, but I've been told it's snowed on the Fourth of July here before(rarely though). Only thing I've got planted outside is peas and salad greens though, and they don't mind the cold. It's gonna get back into the 60s and 70s starting tomorrow though, so no biggie. But I don't think I'm gonna start any more seeds. Not only because I'm out of peat pots and out of room to put them anywhere now, but with the new ducks that I have to hurry up and get their new residence ready for, and just other stuff I'm doing, I'm trying not to overdo things.

Oh my broccoli raab sprouted a week after I started the seeds! More stuff should start sprouting soon.