Black Plants

Black Plants

I once went on a rant on garden trends I do not like, and that included all-white gardens (I have moderated my position on that a bit).  I thought it would be fun, however, to have an all-black garden, inspired by a recent post  in the Lewis Ginter Botanical garden blog.   Black flowers and plants are not true black, but they are very dark, usually colored by purple anthocyanins in their cells, compared to their kin.  They are great accent plants, though I find I like them by themselves too!

Originally published in the Richmond Times Dispatch Feb. 12, 2012 and at the Lewis Ginter Garden Blog at: LGBG Blog

Common Name	Botanical Name	Cultivar
Elephant Ear	Colocasia esculenta	‘Black Magic’
Purple False Eranthemum	Pseuderanthemum atropurpureum
Bromeliad	Vriesea vinicolor
Bromeliad		‘Mo Peppa Please’
Other plants:
Common Name	Botanical Name	Cultivar
Ajuga	Ajuga reptans	‘Burgundy Glow’
Ajuga	Ajuga reptans	‘Catlin’s Giant’
Begonia	Begonia	‘Black Fancy’
Rex Begonia	Begonia rex-cultorum
Coleus	Solenostemon	‘Othello’
Coleus	Solenostemon	‘Black Lace’
Coleus	Solenostemon	‘Dark Star’
Coleus	Solenostemon	‘Apocalypse’
Columbine	Aquilegia vulgaris	‘William Guiness’
Columbine	Aquilegia vulgaris	‘Black Barlow’
Coralbell	Heuchera	‘Obsidian’
Coralbell	Heuchera	‘Chocolate Veil’
Cornflowers	Centaurea cyanus	‘Black Boy’
Cornflowers	Centaurea cyanus	‘Black Ball’
Cosmos	Cosmos	‘Chocolate’
Dianthus	Dianthus	‘Sooty’
Elephant Ear	Colocasia	‘Black Magic’
Geranium	Geranium maculatum	‘Espresso’
Geranium	Geranium	‘Mourning Widow’
Geranium	Geranium phaeum	‘Chocolate Chip’
Bronze Fennel	Foeniculum vulgare	‘Purpureum’
Basil	Ocimum basilicum	‘Purple Ruffles’
Hollyhock	Alcea rosea	‘Nigra’
Hollyhock	Alcea rosea var. nigra	‘The Watchman’
Millet	Pennisetum glaucum	‘Purple Majesty’
Moth Orchid	Phalaenopsis	‘Spring Prince’
Lady Slipper Orchid	Paphiopedilum	‘Black Bird’
Black Mondo Grass	Ophiopogon planiscapus	‘Nigrescens’
Purple Fountain Grass	Pennisetum setaceum	‘Rubrum’
Ornamental pepper	Capsicum annuum	‘Black Pearl’
Pansy	Viola x wittrockiana	‘Black Devil’
Pansy	Viola x wittrockiana	‘Black Moon’
Pansy	Viola	‘Bowles Black’
Pansy	Viola x wittrockiana	‘Black Prince’
Pincushion flower	Scabiosa atropurpurea	‘Ace of Spades’
Black Baccara Rose	Rosa	‘Meidebenne’
Dragon’s Blood Sedum	Sedum spurium	‘Schorbuser Blut’
Snapdragon	Antirrhinum majus	‘Black Prince’
Sunflower	Helianthus annuus	‘Moulin Rouge’
Sweet Potato	Ipomoea batatas	‘Blackie’
Tulip	Tulipa	‘Black Parrot’
Tulip	Tulipa	‘Queen of Night’