'Black Boy' Bachelor's Button Flower

About 6-7 years ago, during my Gothic gardening phase, I received a packet of seeds labeled ‘Black Boy’ Bachelor’s Button. I put the seeds away in my seed pack keeper bin with the intention to sowing it one day. I love black flowers, but there was something about this flower that nagged me without me truly understanding.

'Indigo Rose' Tomato: Another Blue Garden Tomato

If you're a regular reader of this blog you may remember that last year I grew some 'OSU Blue' tomatoes in my container garden. This year I'm growing 'Indigo Rose' tomatoes. 'Indigo Rose' is another blue tomato by the same plant tomato breeders at OSU. You should read the post on 'OSU Blue' if you want to know the history of the tomato and what causes this unique blue color in the tomato fruits.

Petunia 'Black Cherry'

Petunia Debonair 'Black Cherry' is a new introduction from the Ball Horticultural. I believe this black petunia will be widely available next year. I received a few plugs of the 'Black Cherry' petunia this spring from Ball to trial in my garden. As a lover of black plants and flowers I was really excited about trialing another dark blooming plant.

Black Iris Flower

I've written before about this unknown iris that I grow in my garden. It was a mislabeled perennial in a box from Menards a few years ago. I've also shared pictures of it in the past, but I couldn't resist sharing this picture of my "black" iris flowering this spring. Just look at this Gothic-looking beauty for yourself.

'Mahogany Splendor' Hibiscus

I haven't grown a tender or tropical hibiscus in my garden since the year I forgot to bring one in before the first frost and it died. The joy of growing a potted hibiscus all summer long doesn't make up for the stress at the end of the season caused by deciding between attempting to overwinter it inside or composting it. I was pretty sure I was done with non-hardy hibiscuses in my garden until last year when I toured the gardens at Ball Horticulture. I saw what I thought was an amazing Japanese maple from a distance. When I ran up to it I discovered it was a 'Mahogany Splendor' Hibiscus.

'Purple Ruffles' Basil

The year before last I tried to grow 'Purple Ruffles' basil from Burpee seeds which unfortunately didn't come true. The seeds did produce basil plants-they were just some genetic green basil. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Last spring I managed to find 'Purple Ruffles' seedlings at a community garden's plant sale and purchased a few.

OSU Blue Tomato

Over the winter Colleen from In the Garden Online offered me OSU Blue tomato seeds. Having never heard of this tomato variety and seeing how cool the fruits looked I figured I’d give them a try. Yes, there is a blue tomato and it is as unusual a tomato as you imagine and will see below. My first experience with these tomatoes was trying to get the seeds to germinate, a task that seemed so daunting I was about to throw them away before I noticed the seeds had sprouted. This blue tomato was developed by Jim Myers, OSU's Baggett Frazier professor of vegetable breeding and graduate students Carl M. Jones and Peter Mes. The first thing you should understand about the OSU Blue tomato is that it wasn't developed using genetic engineering, but using traditional plant breeding techniques.

Garden helper holding OSU Blue Tomatoes.

Salvia 'Black and Blue'

As a gardener who is always seeking out dark flowers and plants I can’t believe that salvia ‘Black and Blue’ has escaped my notice all these years. The salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ cultivar is remarkable for the bright blue flowers, dark stems and almost black calyx. Unfortunately, ‘Black and Blue’ is hardy USDA Zones 8-11, and here in Chicago it would be grown as an annual. I encountered it by accident after brushing against the leaves of the plant growing in a public planter and released the most wonderful scent and discovered why one of the common names is ‘Anise Sage.’

Petunia 'Black Cat' The World's First Black Petunia

I have loved black plants since I discovered gardening. More time has been spent day dreaming of being a Victorian or Edwardian gardener than I care to admit. If last year you had given me access to a TARDIS and allowed me to go back in time and experience gardening then- I would have jumped at the chance. It's a good thing that nobody showed up with a TARDIS last year because I would've missed out on the opportunity to grow petunia 'Black Cat,' billed as "the world's very first black petunia" by W. Atlee Burpee & Co.

Viola 'BlackJack'

If you've been reading my garden blog for a while you may know how much I like to start plants from seeds and how much I like black flowers and plants. At one time I wanted a completely Gothic garden, I still do actually, but that hasn't come to pass. This year I started Viola 'Blackjack' from a pack of Burpee seeds and eagerly anticipated having these beautiful "black" blooms decorate the container garden. Now, I should mention for all the budding black plants enthusiasts out there that "black" plants and flowers are usually just a deep purple or blue. Sometimes, as in the case of Viola 'Blackjack,' there will be some color in the bloom.

Tulip Black Parrot

I want to share a photo from my garden from last month. The picture is of tulip Black Parrot that I planted last fall. I purchased it a cool garden center here in Chicago called Sprout Home because the photo of the tulip on the package was stunning. The tulip bulbs were packaged by a garden wholesaler named VanBloem Gardens that sells plants and horticultural equipment across the U.S and Canada. While not as large and nuanced as the product pictured on the package makes the Black Parrot tulips look they are still pretty stunning. The ruffled petals start a wine-red and darken to an almost black and the petals open up semi- flat and horizontal to the stem and reach a height of about 20 inches. The Leaves of this bulb are a grayish-green color and look the same as any other tulip. In my garden I also have Flaming Parrot tulips and the flowers of Black Parrot are smaller and not as flamboyant by comparison.

Self-Rooting Coleus In My Garden

Six days ago I noticed my black Coleus had started to rot in a few places up the main stem. I cut off the pieces that were rotting and just dumped the scraps in the garden among other plants. Today before the big storms hit us I was in the garden trying to capture photos of a butterfly that was visiting and noticed that the Coleus cuttings still had not died.

Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie'

Probably the most common plants used in planters in the Chicago area has to be these ornamental sweet potato vines. You can find the chartreuse colored vine and this darker form growing in all parts of the city in the planters the city maintains. They spill over planters or are used as ground covers to great effect. My favorite is the two common ones you see is "blackie" even though it has a politically incorrect common name I love the dark foliage. I have one planted with my "black" calla lily and oxalis.

Viola cornuta 'Bowles' Black'

We've been experiencing some heavy rains in the Chicago area which my garden must really appreciate because I've been treating my garden like a xeriscaped garden-which it isn't. Aside from a couple of cherished plants in pots nothing has been getting supplemental watering this year. Because of the rains and horrible humidity I've not been spending much time in the garden looking at plants or looking for bugs to photograph so when I went out today I was surprised to find this little violet blooming in a pot.

Oxalis Charmed Wine

This is number two of two Oxalis plants I own. The other one is Oxalis 'Iron Cross' and this one is named Oxalis 'Charmed Wine.' The name 'Charmed Wine' is a trademark of a gardening company called Proven Winners that supplies these to Home Depot where I picked up this plant.

Zantedeschia 'Blackjack'

I bought this Calla Lily last year at a Lowes garden center. When I walked into the garden center my eyes were immediately drawn to a display of black Calla Lilies that were labeled 'Hot Chocolate' and I picked one up. I'd been purchasing all the black flowers I could find last year for the black and green theme I want to develop in my garden. 

Black Hollyhocks

Alcea rosea is an old fashioned plant that I remember from my childhood but I don't see in many gardens now. When I was a kid there was an eccentric woman in my neighborhood that we called the "crazy bird lady" because her old Victorian knock-off was always covered in pigeons.

Black Iris-A Garden Surprise

I had wanted a black Iris for my garden for a while now but every time I bought one it turned out to be a color other than the "black" was looking for in the garden. I eventually gave up on trying to find this color flower and one day found a boxed rhizome of an Iris that was suppose to bloom brown. Well a year after I planted it the first blooms have emerged and I see that I didn't get the brown flower I purchased-instead it is "black."

Columbine Blooms

I got Columbine seeds from a seed trade last year and sowed them in the garden and had great germination success with them. Even though they germinated with ease all I got last year was foliage but this year they have really exploded and have put on quite a show in the garden.

 

Tulip 'Queen of Night'

Most of the Tulips in my garden are already blooming but 'Queen of Night' is stealing the show. It has grayish leaves and flowers on stems about 28"-30" tall and dark maroon almost black petals. I was extremely surprised to see it bloom because this is the third year it was planted and the first time it didn't turn out to be a yellow or red bloom.