A Little Black Magic Power
THERE was a time when gardeners across the country were copying Sissinghurst and Hidcote and planting gardens and borders full of white flowers.
Well, times change and now black flowers are all the rage. And, boy, do they look good. Deep, rich and sultry, black flowers captivate gardeners and non-gardeners alike. The buds on my Dusky Challenger iris are poised to burst open in a display of shimmering black satin, and my black pansies are not far behind.
In fact, there are quite a few varieties of pansy which are supposed to be black: Bowles Black has tiny flowers with a yellow eye, Molly Sanderson has large flowers and Black Moon has even bigger flowers. But let them self-sow around the borders and they will soon begin to look more purple than black.
The black hollyhock is one of the most familiar black flowers. It comes with either single or double flowers and both varieties are stunning.
Some columbines are also nearly black, such as William Guinness, sometimes know as Magpie, a dramatic black and white bicolour.
Black scabious, such as Chile Black and Ace of Spades, are becoming more widely available in garden centres: its pretty buttons keep coming for weeks and weeks. Another iris which comes in a black variety is Iris chrysographes, a neater, more upright species than many other irises. Black Knight is the one to look out for - it's gorgeous.
While not quite black, there are other rich-coloured beauties available.
Chocolate-scented Cosmos atrosanguineus is the colour of Bourneville chocolate - definitely a candidate for a tub on your patio. Sweet william Sooty has deep crimson flowers and leaves of a similar shade.
There is, however, one rather obvious problem with black flowers: they don't really stand out in the garden. They are best planted close to paths and seating areas where they can be appreciated in close-up. Grouping them with sympathetic plants also helps, but there are two schools of thought on this. Some say the best approach is to plant them with silver or golden foliage - the black flowers will
show up well against the pale contrast. Silver helichrysums and artemisia are good partners, and a background of silver elaeagnus or sea buckthorn is ideal.
Yellow or gold foliage partners include the new Cotinus Golden Spirit (mentioned last week). Golden elders are also good background plants, while for something lower, there are golden euonymus and yellow-leaved lamiums.
The opposing faction insists that black flowers are best grown with purple and crimson foliage, creating a whole planting of sultry sumptuousness.
Try purple-leaved cotinus, purple phormiums and berberis, deep- red maples and the blackest plant of all, Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens, which has black leaves, not flowers. Long, slender and pure black, except right at the base, this neat ground cover spreads slowly but with impressive determination - I've seen it emerge through the tarmac at Kew Gardens. And the ebony leaves shine beautifully in the sunlight.
Black and almost-black flowers such as irises (above), pansies (below left) and cosmos (below right) are rich and sultry additions to any garden
Read all about it
Many of the plants mentioned can be found in garden centres, otherwise you should find most in the new edition of The Plant Finder (Dorling Kindersley, 12.99; www.rhs.org.uk).
There's also a book on black plants called Black Magic and Purple Passion, self-published by Karen Platt (15.99, including p&p). It's available from Karen Platt, 35 Longfield Road, Crookes, Sheffield S10 1QW.
Plant food giveaway
FEEDING houseplants regularly is crucial to their health and wellbeing, yet many gardeners never bother. To help you realise what a difference feeding makes, we've arranged with the Scotts Company for a free bottle of Miracle Gro House Plant Food to be sent to every reader who wants one. Not just the first 50 readers, but everyone who applies.
To receive your free houseplant food, write your name and address on a postcard and send it to Miracle Gro Houseplant Offer, 57 Kingsway Place, Sans Walk, London, EC1R 0LY.
Offer closes 30 June; expect delivery in July.
Gardening week
Stake tall dahlias (right) before they fall over. Use 4ft stakes, then mulch with 5 to 7 1/2 cm of weed-free organic matter.
Shade the greenhouse with Coolglass to keep the temperature down and prevent your plants being scorched.
Feed azaleas, rhododendrons, pieris and other lime-hating plants in containers with Miracid liquid feed.
Layer camellias by pulling a low branch down to the soil and weighing it down with a large stone.
Split flag irises when the flowers are over and replant the fattest pieces with a fan of leaves.
Cut back the foliage by half.
Remove suckers on roses by tearing them away from the root, not cutting them off with secateurs.
Sow extra sweetpeas for late flowers for the house.
Cut back early-flowering perennials to encourage fresh new foliage; water them well if we get a dry spell.
Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
Well, times change and now black flowers are all the rage. And, boy, do they look good. Deep, rich and sultry, black flowers captivate gardeners and non-gardeners alike. The buds on my Dusky Challenger iris are poised to burst open in a display of shimmering black satin, and my black pansies are not far behind.
In fact, there are quite a few varieties of pansy which are supposed to be black: Bowles Black has tiny flowers with a yellow eye, Molly Sanderson has large flowers and Black Moon has even bigger flowers. But let them self-sow around the borders and they will soon begin to look more purple than black.
The black hollyhock is one of the most familiar black flowers. It comes with either single or double flowers and both varieties are stunning.
Some columbines are also nearly black, such as William Guinness, sometimes know as Magpie, a dramatic black and white bicolour.
Black scabious, such as Chile Black and Ace of Spades, are becoming more widely available in garden centres: its pretty buttons keep coming for weeks and weeks. Another iris which comes in a black variety is Iris chrysographes, a neater, more upright species than many other irises. Black Knight is the one to look out for - it's gorgeous.
While not quite black, there are other rich-coloured beauties available.
Chocolate-scented Cosmos atrosanguineus is the colour of Bourneville chocolate - definitely a candidate for a tub on your patio. Sweet william Sooty has deep crimson flowers and leaves of a similar shade.
There is, however, one rather obvious problem with black flowers: they don't really stand out in the garden. They are best planted close to paths and seating areas where they can be appreciated in close-up. Grouping them with sympathetic plants also helps, but there are two schools of thought on this. Some say the best approach is to plant them with silver or golden foliage - the black flowers will
show up well against the pale contrast. Silver helichrysums and artemisia are good partners, and a background of silver elaeagnus or sea buckthorn is ideal.
Yellow or gold foliage partners include the new Cotinus Golden Spirit (mentioned last week). Golden elders are also good background plants, while for something lower, there are golden euonymus and yellow-leaved lamiums.
The opposing faction insists that black flowers are best grown with purple and crimson foliage, creating a whole planting of sultry sumptuousness.
Try purple-leaved cotinus, purple phormiums and berberis, deep- red maples and the blackest plant of all, Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens, which has black leaves, not flowers. Long, slender and pure black, except right at the base, this neat ground cover spreads slowly but with impressive determination - I've seen it emerge through the tarmac at Kew Gardens. And the ebony leaves shine beautifully in the sunlight.
Black and almost-black flowers such as irises (above), pansies (below left) and cosmos (below right) are rich and sultry additions to any garden
Read all about it
Many of the plants mentioned can be found in garden centres, otherwise you should find most in the new edition of The Plant Finder (Dorling Kindersley, 12.99; www.rhs.org.uk).
There's also a book on black plants called Black Magic and Purple Passion, self-published by Karen Platt (15.99, including p&p). It's available from Karen Platt, 35 Longfield Road, Crookes, Sheffield S10 1QW.
Plant food giveaway
FEEDING houseplants regularly is crucial to their health and wellbeing, yet many gardeners never bother. To help you realise what a difference feeding makes, we've arranged with the Scotts Company for a free bottle of Miracle Gro House Plant Food to be sent to every reader who wants one. Not just the first 50 readers, but everyone who applies.
To receive your free houseplant food, write your name and address on a postcard and send it to Miracle Gro Houseplant Offer, 57 Kingsway Place, Sans Walk, London, EC1R 0LY.
Offer closes 30 June; expect delivery in July.
Gardening week
Stake tall dahlias (right) before they fall over. Use 4ft stakes, then mulch with 5 to 7 1/2 cm of weed-free organic matter.
Shade the greenhouse with Coolglass to keep the temperature down and prevent your plants being scorched.
Feed azaleas, rhododendrons, pieris and other lime-hating plants in containers with Miracid liquid feed.
Layer camellias by pulling a low branch down to the soil and weighing it down with a large stone.
Split flag irises when the flowers are over and replant the fattest pieces with a fan of leaves.
Cut back the foliage by half.
Remove suckers on roses by tearing them away from the root, not cutting them off with secateurs.
Sow extra sweetpeas for late flowers for the house.
Cut back early-flowering perennials to encourage fresh new foliage; water them well if we get a dry spell.
Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
posted by VICKY at 7:03 PM
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