I am always on the look out for dark plants.....just fit well with my dark personality :)
I found the new deep red and black begonia called Lorraine Closson. Not a huge fan of begonias, just never could get them to grow without looking all stringy and the stems are kinda see through. Yes, those are technically gardening terms....at least at the Graveyard :D
But this begonia has tight leaves and a lot of of them and the colors are amazing. I had to have it. Thought that it would be a good contrast in the shadier grotto garden area by the shop - it would look good against the cream house color and the red trim. This pot is right outside the shop door....I have second one by the gate, they flank the entrance to the covered patio.
But the pot that I wanted to use as an old antique cast iron thingy in it - probably part of an old fence. So I needed to find something tall. I have enough grasses in the yard, so I went on a search for tall dark plants that can handle pots - at least for a year or two, no luck. So back to grasses and I find a purple millet called Purple Barron. Love it, I think it works well with the begonia. I just planted them so they are going to take a few weeks to fill the pot out.
I am very happy with what I have read about this millet and looking forward to moving it to on of the border beds in a few years. (If I really wanted this pot to look fuller - should have gotten two millets per pot - oh well, live and learn.) As for the begonia.....they usually do not survive our wet winters.....we will see.
Yes, that small plant to the right of the pot has citronella......we spend a lot of time out there so I am going to see if this helps keep the mosquito off us while we are hanging on the patio which we will be doing a lot of while we are building the new abbey facade.
What are your favorite dark colored plants?
I found the new deep red and black begonia called Lorraine Closson. Not a huge fan of begonias, just never could get them to grow without looking all stringy and the stems are kinda see through. Yes, those are technically gardening terms....at least at the Graveyard :D
But this begonia has tight leaves and a lot of of them and the colors are amazing. I had to have it. Thought that it would be a good contrast in the shadier grotto garden area by the shop - it would look good against the cream house color and the red trim. This pot is right outside the shop door....I have second one by the gate, they flank the entrance to the covered patio.
But the pot that I wanted to use as an old antique cast iron thingy in it - probably part of an old fence. So I needed to find something tall. I have enough grasses in the yard, so I went on a search for tall dark plants that can handle pots - at least for a year or two, no luck. So back to grasses and I find a purple millet called Purple Barron. Love it, I think it works well with the begonia. I just planted them so they are going to take a few weeks to fill the pot out. I am very happy with what I have read about this millet and looking forward to moving it to on of the border beds in a few years. (If I really wanted this pot to look fuller - should have gotten two millets per pot - oh well, live and learn.) As for the begonia.....they usually do not survive our wet winters.....we will see.
Yes, that small plant to the right of the pot has citronella......we spend a lot of time out there so I am going to see if this helps keep the mosquito off us while we are hanging on the patio which we will be doing a lot of while we are building the new abbey facade.What are your favorite dark colored plants?
How interesting! I immediately thought you had a red and black coleus not a begonia. Are you sure that's a begonia? If it is a coleus, that might be the reason it's not growing stringy this time. :) I love coleus plants. In fact, I tried some pink and green ones this year and they're looking great! I did google red and black coleus to see if those did exist, and a lot of beautiful pictures came up!
ReplyDeleteI just looked up Lorraine Closson and I stand corrected! Who knew begonias could look like this? Do you know what color flowers the Lorraine Closson gets?
ReplyDeleteThe nursery said that it does not flower. And it is flowering season and I do not see anything on it. I will go out and check to see if they are just really small.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I have seen some pink and black ones....but this red and black on is stunning up close.
He said that I could winter it indoors. But I have three house cats. No live plant in the house stands a chance :D
Cheers!
How interesting! It's not like this plant even needs flowers, since it's so stunning as it is! Oh, the cats really get into the plants, hey? We used to have herbs growing outside and our neighbor's cat put an end to that! The cat seems to have run off, because our herbs are doing fine outside this year.
ReplyDeletemy Mom use to have a huge collection of begonias, when we where kids! And we will eat the leaves , sour yummmm!!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite dark plants?
ReplyDeleteOh, dear.
Just about any dark heuchera- Silver Scrolls, Plum Pudding, Mocha Melba, Beaujolais...
'Summer Wine' ninebark, 'Raven', 'Bela Lugosi' daylilies, 'Monte Negro' Asiatic lily, 'Black Garnet' or 'Midnight Blue' roses, red shisho, 'Palisandra' coleus, dark leaved cotton, 'New Zealand Purple' ricinus, 'Black Beauty' sambucus, 'Queen of the Night' tulips... those are just the ones already in the garden. I hope for many more - I'm hoping to put in a dark leafed Norway maple this year. Oh! I forgot the four dark red Japanese maples! And the 'Mardi Gras Slate' helleborus!
That begonia is gorgeous! Is it a tuberous variety?? Begonias for me are such an easy thing to grow. I love to use them to fill-in the bare spots in the hosta bed. That pot is going to be gorgeous when the plants fill out. I hope you'll share pics!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! How beautiful! I have never thought of a dark plant I like.....thank you for sparking my interest!
ReplyDeleteBlack Mondo Grass- because it is one plant that can take our heat pretty well.
ReplyDelete@Laurie Brown: I may just show up on your doorstep for a garden tour someday! Your yard sounds like a delight delight.
Laurie - I have always wanted to get a Mardi Gras Slate helleborus!! Love my Queen of the Nile tulips too!!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely going to be looking for those lilies too!
Thanks for sharing everyone!
Cheers!
Great plants, thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love black hollyhocks and coleus. Heucherella is also nice with the dark burgundy leaves. There's also the chocolate cosmea, which is chocolate coloured and smells of it too ; )
Have a magical day.
Note me as another member of the black plant club. Just bought more Queen of the Night, Night Queen, and Black Parrot tulip bulbs to plant. My next load of black mondo grass is due in about a month. Plus I have a nightshade that grows wild in my yard with some interesting black leaf edging.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog!