Black and a Dash of Bronze Gold

When it comes to fashion, black lit up by a dash of gold is always a winner. 

So what about it in the garden?

I rather guess that one has to carefully balance out the proportions, since too big a splash of very dark flowers could result gloomy or simply dull, since most black blooms are sumptuous when looked up close but tend to fade in a border.

So here is an possible planting list:

 Eremurus Cleopatra

 Hakonecloa Macro Nicholas

 Hakonechloa Gold

 Petunia Black Cat

 Sedum Linda Windsor

 Chrysanthemum Mum Homecoming ( fairly strange name for such a subtle Chrysanthemum)

 Hollyhock Black Magic

Dahlia Arabian Nights and Black Jack (above)

The selected plants are available at Thompson & Morgan and Blue Stone Nurseries.
www.thompson-morgan.com , www.bluestoneperennials.com

Something for the Mixed Border

If you still have a gap in your border ( which we all do not - on regular basis) well then, you can have a look at these darlings:

 Centaurea Montana "Jeordy"

 Campanula glomerata "Caroline"

 Papaver Orientale "Black and White"

 Dierama "Merlin"




You can find a good choice at:
http://www.claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk

Dark Queens and Black Knights

 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

 

Clematis Recta purpurea

 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?