The quest for Black Flowers started when I came across the Black Garden in the Jardin de l'Alchymiste near Avignon. There they have a quite interresting "room" all dedicated to the colour black - all planted with glossy Aeoniums. This was the starting point of my inquiery into the realm of black plants - and indeed I was quite surprised of how many there are by now.
Obviously the petals embrace shades ranging from dark purple to chocolate or ink blue, since nature abhores absolute blackness, but on the whole the result is pretty amazing.
To make it short, I have scribbled one of my many whish lists. I've called it the "Dark Queens and Black Knights" list of black velvety blooms and leafs. They are a touch pretentious - I admit, since all black robes remind of exquisite soirèes and maybe they are not very easy to marry in the garden, nevertheless they emanate a great deal of sophistication .
The Black Garden "l'Oeuvre au Noir" at the Jardin de l'Alchymiste
The Black Bulbs and spring flowers:
Tulips : Queen of Night and Black Parrot
Fritillaria Persica and Meleagris
Black Pansies, Helleborus Niger, Iris Black Knight, Camelia "Dark Rider"
The Summer Blooms:
Dahlias Black Jack and Arabian Night
Hemerocallis Jungle Beauty
Hollyhock Black Magic
Iris Black Swan
Cornflower
Aquillegia Black Barlow
Cosmos Chocolate
The Black Leaves:
Ajuga Reptans
Heuchera Chocolate Ruffles
Coleus Black Dragon
Sambucus Niger
Aeonium
Ophiopogon Planiscapus Niger ( maybe the blackest of all)
The Edible Blacks:
Basilicum Black Opal
Chilli Black Pearl
Italian Kale - Cavolo Nero Toscano
Black Cabbage
To be honest I could have gone one and one in my quest for dark plants... There are inky petunias , Nasturziums called Black Velvet, poppyies and many more of them out there, but I prefer to quit here with two book titles for those who want to dive into the dark realm of plants.
Since we have a LBD in our closet to make us feel chic, why not try something dark in the garden too?
The Black Bulbs and spring flowers:
Tulips : Queen of Night and Black Parrot
Black Pansies, Helleborus Niger, Iris Black Knight, Camelia "Dark Rider"
The Summer Blooms:
The Black Leaves:
Clematis Recta purpurea
Ophiopogon Planiscapus Niger ( maybe the blackest of all)
The Edible Blacks:
To be honest I could have gone one and one in my quest for dark plants... There are inky petunias , Nasturziums called Black Velvet, poppyies and many more of them out there, but I prefer to quit here with two book titles for those who want to dive into the dark realm of plants.
Since we have a LBD in our closet to make us feel chic, why not try something dark in the garden too?
Są piękne o oryginalne, ale z pewnością nie zasadziłabym w ogrodzie tylko tego koloru kwiatów. Lubię kolorowo. Pozdrawiam
ReplyDeletehello Giga! well if I understood well your point, indeed black flowers are quite a challenge. but I can asure you that a spree of orange-copper coloured tulips planted in a carpet of ajuga or really dark heucheras are quite a show! dark flowers also work well with acid green or yellow leaves on contrast.
ReplyDeleteIeri am plantat Firtillaria, ambele soiuri amintite de tine, printre lalele albe si roz. Sint curioasa, cum o sa arate pe viu. Interesant articolul tau, o sa ma intorc sigur la el.
ReplyDeleteDani cred ca o sa arate grozav! asteptam poze (si primavara)
ReplyDeleteFascinating post about black flowering and leaved plants! Thanks for reminding me of the beauty of them. So far I don't grow any black flowering or leaved plants in my garden, I just find them to difficult to integrate, but maybe I am more brave in the future and give it a shot. They definitively will add some drama to the garden!
ReplyDeleteChristina
hi Christina,
ReplyDeletelovely you stopped by! indded dark flowers are quite difficult to work with in the garden. I think about doing some research about their use and combinations... see what comes out
Ciao! Sono Simone...architetto. Spero che tu sia la V.N. che ho conosciuto al Poli di Milano! ho perso i tuoi contatti...se puoi fatti viva, mi piacerebbe sentirti! p.s. scusami se uso questo blog
ReplyDeletea presto
Daumiller???
ReplyDeleteSiiiiiiii ciao! Hai la mia email?
ReplyDeleteti ho mandato una mail al indirizzo che avevo... tin.it... e quello? non so se l'hai ricevuta?
ReplyDeleteOh! I find Queen of Night and Cosmos chocolate gorgeous and very elegant, dark flowers are so enigmatic...
ReplyDelete