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Black has been Denied its Rightful Place in the Garden

By Maureen "MO" Gilmer
October 9, 2006

An outstanding new black leaf elderberry, Sambucus
"Black Beauty."

It's not a color you'd find in grandmother's garden. It's the universal hue of Halloween, funerals and those infamous little cocktail dresses. But black lurks in that bottomless pool of genetic traits hidden in the DNA of some our most ordinary garden plants. Formerly green species continue to yield surprises, among them plants that venture into this realm of Johnny Cash and Harley-Davidson.

Ever since the English designers began experimenting with pop art and recycling. the emerging melange of modern and post-modern retro ideas has put plant color in transition. It's driven by short growing seasons where flowers exist for too limited a time. Gardeners there want more long lasting color, and those in warm climates demand it all year around.

For pots and beds, annual black coleus is a
fast-growing foliage accent.

Black foliage is actually an extension of plants that featured dark red or red-purple leaves. There are few, if any, that are truly black. In the early days plants with bronze-like foliage featured hints of brown, much like the patina of an old bronze sculpture. Gradually breeders darkened these parents to a very deep purple, and finally to black. Still, until the recent surge of modern style, there was little to no demand for dark leaves and so they rarely were brought into the retail mass market.

You'd be hard pressed to find concrete tips on how to use black in your garden. The old adage to choose the right plant for the right place never applied more perfectly because black is not as simple a color as you think. In fact, black is downright tricky!

Gorgeous glossy black ornamental pepper
"Black Pearl" loves the heat.

Above all, know that black disappears in the shade. It takes its best color only in the full light of the sun, much like heliotrope.

Black also is highly influenced by its neighbors. Because it is a dark value color, you need to use light value colors beside it to exploit the contrast. It is the dynamic of contrast that gives black its punch in the garden. If you pair it with more analogous colors such as burgundy and purple, you will lose it entirely in a muddy mass of hues. With black plants being rare and sometimes more expensive, you don't want companions to rob them of their magic.

It can be hard to find black foliage plants to buy, but there are widely distributed standouts to get you started.

In next year's annual garden, start with fast growing seasonal black beauties such as black leaf yam vine, Ipomaea batatas 'Black Heart'; black elephant ear, Colocacia 'Black Magic' elephant ear, and a stunning new ornamental pepper, Capsicum 'Black Pearl'.

For long-lived additions of dusky foliage plants to your garden, start (up to Zone 5) with black mondo grass, "Ophiopogon planiscapus" also known as Ebony Knight. It's a small grass-like perennial with truly black strap leaves in a mound about eight inches tall and wide. As edging or in masses, be sure to interplant with lime green sedums, Japanese forest grass or 'Lime Ricky' heuchera to give that all-important contrast.

Fall flowering Sedum Purple Emperor features nearly
black leaves.

Nearly black leaves of "Heuchera" (Ebony & Ivory; Zone 4) are accented by the small white bell flowers in spring. This fabulous example of purple-black foliage is a highly versatile small perennial. Contemporary breeding took the emphasis off flowers and brought out their incredible range of foliage colors. This one is outstanding with heuchera varieties Pewter Moon, Marmalade and Amber Waves.

The new Black Beauty elder, "Sambucus nigra" (Gerda, hardy to Zone 4) makes an exceptional choice for colder climates. It's a big burly shrub for that produces a mass of near black color with a bonus of high contrast pink flower heads. Combine it with the closely related native golden elder, "Sambucus Canadensis" (Aurea) for a high power long-range color show.

In the sun filled garden, in exotic potted combinations and as bold accents in stark modern landscape, black is beautiful. Take a fresh look at an oft-maligned color brought out of recessive gene pools by the magic of modern science.

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