The Lure of the Darkside

This is garden art that belongs in a horror film. 

I came across this bronze statue of a small child gazing down into the murky depths of a pond last summer. The large, geometric pond was not deep, but the black liner gave it an ominous, dare I say sinister, quality. 

Despite my rather melodramatic opening, this is not a blog post that means to suggest the likelihood of a diabolical side to gardening. With the possible exception of the creepy garden art, I like to think that gardening is a "force" for good in the world.

In this instance, there is no dark arts or science fiction involved - the "dark" I am talking about here are deep, rich colors. Bold colors from eggplant to burgundy to black are the opposite of whisy-washy. They're dramatic. 

I've noticed that many experienced gardeners use strong colors to add a sophistication to their plantings. The repetition of boldly colored foliage is just one trick they use to breakup a scene that would otherwise be dominantly green. 

I am going to begin with a series of wide shots. In each there is a pleasing balance of opposites - the yin and yang of light and dark colors.

Jacquie's garden in Darthmouth, N.S.

Garden Canadensis in Milton, Ontario

The garden of Marion Jarvie, Thornhill, Ontario

Rich colors make bright colors pop in contrast. 

Private garden, Toronto Ontario. There is a nice mix of Heuchera in the foreground.

Deep colors can be found in foliage, stems and flowers. Here are just a few 

examples in each category:

The garden of Marion Jarvie, Thornhill, Ontario

At the foot of this pink Phlox is the purplish-black foliage of Bugleweed, Ajuga. Here is a reference to a variety of Ajuga you might want to consider for your own garden:

Ajuga reptans 'Chocolate Chip': has narrow, brownish-green foliage and showy spikes of blue flowers in June. This variety is not as quick to spread as some Bugleweeds. Part to full shade. It will grow in a variety of soil types , but likes moist conditions. Height: 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), Spread 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) USDA Zones: 3-9.

This is a plant I added to my garden last summer. It is supposed to be short-lived in zones 5 and 6, so fingers crossed it makes it through this record breaking February weather. 

Wood Spurge 'Purpurea', Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea': has greyish-purple-green foliage with chartreuse flower clusters in spring. It likes 3-6 hours of morning or afternoon sun. Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea' will grow a variety of soil types and can take everything from moist to dry conditions. Height: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches). USDA Zones: 5-9.

The garden of Marion Jarvie, Thornhill, Ontario

Not the best picture, but hopefully good enough for you to see the black magic of this Ligularia. 

Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford': is a plant you grow for the foliage and not the flowers. This Ligularia forms a large clump of mahogany leaves with golden-orange flowers in mid-summer. Slugs can be an issue. Part shade to full shade in warm regions. Moist soil is essential. Height: 90-120 cm (35-47 inches), Spread: 80-90 cm ( 31-35 inches). USDA Zones:3-9.

There are any number of Heuchera with dark foliage that you can choose from.  Some Heuchera, like the Heuchera 'Silver Scroll' on the left, are an interesting combination of frosted leaf surfaces with dark undersides and flower stems.

For late summer consider any number of the Sedums with deep reddish-green foliage. Here are just a few of the possibilities: Autumn Stonecrop Sedum 'Chocolate Drop', Sedum 'Purple Emperor' and Sedum 'Xenox'.

The garden of Marion Jarvie, Thornhill, Ontario

I also wanted to include a few tender perennials like this Canna Lily which must be lifted from the garden each fall. This may seem like a lot of bother, but when you consider how striking they are in a late summer garden, they are more than worth the effort. 

Dahlias are another plant whose tubers must be lifted in fall. There are a good number of cultivars to choose from that have rich, purply-black foliage. 

Here are just two: Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion' has nearly-black foliage with yellow flowers. Dahlia 'Happy Single Wink' has a single magenta flowers and striking black foliage .

Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' in the garden of Marion Jarvie

One final tender plant which I spotted in Marion Jarvie's garden: Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'. 

In Zone 6, this plant is unusual enough to make it a conversation piece. Aeonium must be lifted in early fall and brought in from the cold to be wintered indoors.

Black Tree Aeonium, Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop': is a winter-blooming succulent with rosettes of black leaves. It requires full sun and well-drained soil. Height: 60 cm -1.8 m (24 inches to 6 ft), Spread: 30-38 cm (12-15 inches) USDA Zones 9-11.

Public Garden, Guelph ON

Coleus famously comes in some pretty wacky color combinations like this 

one in the lower righthand corner.

Templin Garden, Fergus Ontario

But if you search around you may be lucky to find one of the marvellous varieties 

that are a deep smoky-plum.

Donna Ever's garden in Halifax, N.S.

Just a few examples of plants with dark stems. This Maidenhair Fern has thin black stems.

Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum pedatum: has arching black stems and fans of green leaflets. The foliage is great in cut flower arrangements. These ferns like rich, moist soil. You may find that they take several years to reach a mature size. Height: 30-60 cm (12-23 inches), Spread: 30-60 cm (12-23 inches). USDA Zones: 2-9.

Private garden near Uxbridge, ON

Combing dark stems and foliage is Penstemon 'Dark Towers': Height: 60-90 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Full sun. Normal, sandy or clay soil are fine. Average to dry conditions. Zones: USDA 3-9

Jacquie's garden in Darthmouth, N.S.

Ligularia 'The Rocket': Ligularia like moist conditions. 'The Rocket' forms a large clump of jagged edged leaves. Purplish-black stems and yellow flowers appear mid-summer. Ligularia is one perennial that is quite happy in clay. Height: 120-180 cm (47-70 inches), Spread: 80-90 cm (31-35 inches). USDA Zones: 4-9.

To wrap-up this post, I offer you several types of flowers that have dark flowers.

Columbine: The Columbine, Aquilegia Ancolie (shown above) has eggplant colored flowers. Cultivar Aquilegia 'Black Barlow' has is a double, plum-purple flowers.

Bearded Irises come in a wide range of colors including purples, plums, inky-blues and black.

Hellebores can also be found in shades of wine-red, plum, burgundy and black.

Geranium phaeum 'Samobor' and Geranium phaeum 'Mourning Widow' (above) both have deep plum-wine colored flowers.

Hollyhocks (seen at the bottom of the post) are a biennial whose flowers come in a range of colors including black and burgundy.

As to annuals, how about some black Petunias?

Hollyhocks

Have your say:  

Are they black flowers dramatic or just not your thing?

Do you know of some plants you'd like to recommend with dark flowers, stems or foliage?

Garden Canadensis, Part 3: More Plants & Planting Combinations

In this, the third in a series of blog posts on Garden Canadensis, Chen and Linda's country garden located near Milton, Ontario, we will take a look at interesting perennials and plant pairings for sun and part shade.

(In case you missed the earlier posts here are links: Part 1 and Part 2.)

Planting Combination: Penstemon 'Dark Towers' and Geranium 'Rozanne' and Lavender, Lavandula.

Why this works: Though I am focusing in on the flowers at the moment, I want to take a second and point out the valuable role that the conifers play in this grouping. The blooms in this combination of plants are dainty and their stems are fine and wispy. They flower would tend less noticable without the wonderful and varied backdrop of green that the conifers provide.

Even though the flowers colors are all quite different in this combination of plants, they all have a purply cast that makes the grouping cohesive.

Penstemon 'Dark Towers': Height: 60-90 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Full sun. Normal, sandy or clay soil are fine. Average to dry conditions. Zones: USDA 3-9

Geranium 'Rozanne': Height: 30-50 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Full sun to part shade. Normal, sandy or clay soil are fine. Average to moist soil.

Chen says, "I have had this Geranium for years. It is a reliable and forgiving beauty."

Geranium sanguineum var. striatum

Geranium sanguineum var. striatum: Height: 15-20 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Full sun to part shade. Normal, sandy or clay soil are fine. It tolerates a range of soil conditions: dry to average or moist soil. Zones: USDA 3-9

 Chen Notes: " I like its pale pink flowers and nice green foliage for the front of borders. It spreads fast,  bordering on weedy."

Lavender, Lavandula

Plant Combination: Pale pink Geranium sanguineum var. striatum and Lavender, Lavandula. 

Why this works: Delicate and pretty in combination is always charming.

On the subject of Lavender, Chen writes: 

"This is one of the 'must have' perennials in my garden. I grow them for their ornamental foliage and flowers, and for their easily controlled, neat habit. Most of the Lavandula in my garden are from seeds I sowed many years ago. They self-sow a little, but not enough."

Those of you who regularly follow my blog know that I have struggled to grow Lavender successfully, so I asked Chen if he gave his plants any special treatment:

"The only thing I pay attention to for Lavandula are: not to locate them in a wet spot, give them as much light as possible and a pruning to keep a tidy shape. I do not have any special soil preparation for them. In fact, they seem to do equally well in poor soil. Some of them have even self-sown in the crevices of standing rocks."

Plant Combination: Another mix using Pale pink Geranium sanguineum var. striatum. Here it is combined with ground cover Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'.

Sedum rupestre 'Angelina': Height: 15-20 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Full sun. Dry to Average  conditions. Zones: USDA 3-9

Astrantia major 'Roma': Average to moist soil and part shade to sun are best for Astrantia. Height: 60-90 cm, Spread: 45-60, USDA Zones: 3-9

Plant pairing: Chen combines his Astrantia major 'Roma' with a Japanese Iris and purple Geranium 'Rozanne'. See a picture of the mix of all three plants on Chen's website.

In Chen's garden, a problem with voles means he has to struggle to keep his Astrantia flourishing. This area of the garden gets morning sun and passes into shade mid-afernoon.

Giant White Fleece Flower, Persicaria Polymorpha: Height: 90-120 cm, Spread: 80-90 cm. Full sun to part shade. Average to moist conditions. Zones: USDA 3-9

Chen writes:

"This is a lovely giant perennial. I am fortunate to have enough room in my garden to accommodate it. It is used as a bold structure plant and has attractive creamy-white plumes that bloom for a long time from late spring."

Plant Pairing: Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' and Penstemon 'Husker's Red'. You can see Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' in the foreground on the left. The front of a border is a perfect place for it.

Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising': Height: 30-45 cm, Spread: 30-45 cm. Full sun. Tolerates a range of conditions: dry to average and moist soil. Zones: The jury is still out on the true hardiness of this cultivar.

Plant Pairing: Coreopsis verticillata with burgundy Heuchera 

Why this works: The soft cloud of ferny Coreopsis verticillata makes a nice backdrop for the wands of tiny Heuchera flowers. 

On the subject of Coreopsis verticillata, Chen notes:

"I have had this for years. I don't particularly like the yellow flowers, but the ferny, refreshing green foliage makes it worth having around."

Coreopsis verticillata: Height: 30-45 cm, Spread: 30-45 cm. Full sun. Tolerates a range of conditons: dry to average and moist soil. Zones: USDA 4-9.

Gypsophillia cerastoides: This little pink flower caught my eye in Chen's rock garden. On his website, he warns that it self-sows to the point of being weedy. It sure is pretty though!

Lychnis coronaria: is a short lived perennial. Height: 60-90 cm, Spread: 45-50 cm. Full sun. Normal, sandy or clay soil are fine. Average to dry conditions. Zones: USDA 3-9

Chen notes,"This flower color is a little too bright to mix easily with other plants. The silvery foliage is what I want. It self-sows quite a bit, bordering on weedy."

Chen:

"The 'Dragon's Head' is an interesting group of perennials with various shades of attractive bluish flowers. It is most commonly grown by rock gardeners. Some books have warned that this is a highly invasive group of plants. It is my belief that only some of Dracocephalums behave badly."

See Chen's collection of Dracoephalum and read his full notes here.

Final Plant combination: Dianthus and Heuchera' Paris'

Chen:

"I used to think of Dianthus mostly as fillers, because they are easy to sow from seeds. Over the years I have come to like them as much as other ornamental perennials... 

Dianthus propagates from seeds and grows easily. Although they produce tons of seeds each season, so far, I find that they mostly self-sow in their own little patch and do not run around wildly like Forget-Me-Nots. 

I find the taller varieties have floppy habits. All my Dianthus look like brown patches in late summer. You can easily do a clean-up by pruning off the brown tops, but if you want some self-sown babies, you need to save some for seeds. If you are willing to address these shortcomings in your composition and maintenance schedule, Dianthus belongs in your garden."

In the final post on Chen's garden we will look at his impressive collection of conifers and see how he has combined them beautifully with other plants.

Have a wonderful weekend!