Dark Elegance: Transform Your Garden with Stunning Black Plants

Embrace the allure of the dark side in your garden with the captivating charm of black plants. There’s an ongoing debate at my place about who the coolest superhero is. Without a doubt, I always vote for Batman. With his haunting past, brooding demeanor, and a Batcave that screams Gothic, the Dark Knight’s dark color palette is far more stylish than the bright primary colors of other superheroes. Dark-colored plants can add that same edge to your garden. Think of them as the black velvet curtains of your planting scheme, setting the stage for drama and adding a touch of the unexpected.

Using Black Plants in Your Garden

Unless you’re aiming for a full Addams Family vibe, it’s best to use black plants as a foil to enhance other colors rather than planting them en masse. Fortunately, like apparel, black goes with everything. Pair it with white and silver plants for a modern, monochromatic look, or combine it with orange and lemon hues for a vibrant kick. Black plants can also make pretty pinks and purples appear more sophisticated and less sweet.

The Rarity of Black Plants

What makes black plants even more desirable is their rarity in nature. In fact, no plant is truly black. Most are deep shades of burgundy, purple, or brown. Here are some brooding beauties that are doing their best to enter the shadows and add a touch of noir to your garden.

Petunia ‘Black Velvet’

Petunias have long been considered cheerful but slightly old-fashioned hanging-basket flowers. That changed in 2011 when plant breeders in the UK released ‘Black Velvet,’ touted as the first truly black flower in the world. The result of four years of plant breeding using pollen from a mutant petunia, it’s a velvety black bloom that adds a touch of elegance to any garden. Some may argue that it’s actually a very dark purple, but it’s still a striking addition to your garden.

Taro ‘Black Magic’

Foliage lovers, this one’s for you. Taro, or colocasia, with its magnificent heart-shaped leaves, is already a striking plant. But when adorned in a dusty black cloak, as in the ‘Black Magic’ variety, it becomes even more stunning. These tropical beauties are frost-tender and like boggy, damp areas in a garden. They can be grown along the edge of a pond for a dramatic effect.

Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’

With their architectural rosettes, these hardy succulents are a statement on a stem. They’re ideal for growing in pots as they require very little watering. Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’ is a deep burgundy variety that’s equally striking. This Moroccan native can grow up to 60cm tall and half a metre wide if given space. These plants are easy to propagate – just break off a stem, leave it to form a callus, then replant it.

Tulip Varieties

The quest to breed a black tulip has captivated plant breeders for centuries and was the subject of Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Black Tulip. Since its publication in 1850, several incredibly dark tulip varieties have been released, including ‘Queen of Night,’ ‘Ronaldo,’ and ‘Black Diamond.’ While they may veer more towards dark wine than true black, they’re still striking in a spring garden, particularly when planted with pink, white, or orange tulips.

Hollyhock ‘Jet Black’

These cottage favorites become glamorous when they abandon their usual pink shades for deep burgundy varieties like ‘Jet Black’ and ‘Ebony Towers.’ For a modern palette, grow them along a white gravel pathway or in large white planters. Hollyhocks are biennials, so they usually spend their first year establishing roots and leaves. If you don’t want to look at a pot of green leaves for a year, grow them in large plastic pots out of sight, then move them into the planters once they produce their tall spires of flowers.

Hellebore ‘Slaty Blue’

Known as winter roses because they bloom during the coldest months, frost-hardy hellebores in their daintily speckled pinks, maroons, and whites brighten up dull winter gardens. Black versions like ‘Slaty Blue’ have a romantic quality and bring to mind rustling taffeta Victorian gowns in somber mourning shades. Pick them on a wintry day and pop them in a vase to be admired while you read a classic novel.

Bat Flower (Tacca chantrieri)

This tropical herb is also known as the bat flower, the devil flower, and the cat’s whiskers. It’s definitely a collector’s plant – you won’t stumble on it at your local garden center. But it can be viewed in some botanical gardens, adding a touch of the exotic to your visit.

Chocolate Cosmos

Although it leans towards dark mahogany rather than black, chocolate cosmos gets an honorary mention because it actually smells like chocolate! Unlike other types of cosmos, which grow from seed and are annuals, chocolate cosmos is a perennial that grows from a tuber. It’s a unique addition to any garden, offering both visual and olfactory delight.

Elder (Sambucus nigra ‘Black Beauty’)

Anthocyanins, the pigments that give red, blue, and purple plants their dark coloring, also have many health-giving properties. Blue-black elderberries are packed with these pigments. Sambucus nigra ‘Black Beauty’ also has striking black foliage, which looks magnificent as a backdrop for its frothy pink umbels of lemon-scented flowers. Grow it as a shrub or small tree and enjoy the berries in autumn.

For more information on rare and exotic plants, you can visit The Royal Horticultural Society.