Cultivating Drama in the Garden
I’ve been cultivating some dram a... in
the garden. Wait— this is sounding like
that game in which you end everything
with “between the sheets.” I’ve been culti
vating some dram a... between the sheets!
Okay, okay. This is a gardening column.
L e t’s keep it in the garden, shall we?
The drama all began when I squinted at
my garden. All I could see was a big mess o f
green. Green, green and more green. There
was no shape or form, nor elements to stop
the eye, no punctuation. T h at’s when I
knew I needed more drama— plants to h£lp
break up the monotony o f green and to
give pause, to emphasize their neighboring
plants and to punctuate that sea o f green.
I began to think o f drama in the garden
primarily through Black flowering plants or
black foliage. Thus began the two years o f goth
planting in the garden. And you know what?
It’s paid off. Black tulips nod their forlorn
heads in the spring, and they may as well have
The Smiths playing as a constant soundtrack.
Black foliage from a variety o f plants brings
the needed drama during spring, summer and
fall. Here are some o f my favorites.
Let's begin with some block
flowers.
T ulip s: Queen o f Night and Black Par
rot provide drama in the tulip department.
-I like the intrigue they bring, unexpected
THE
SASSY
GARDENER
S a m b u c u s B la c k B e a u ty p ro v id e s th e
p e rfe c t b a c k d ro p fo r so c ie ty g a rlic .
'* * *
v
Artisan Landscaping
& Tree Service, l l c .
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by LeAnn Locher
in the tenderness o f spring, in a typically
pastel time.
C hocolate cosm o: Cosmos atrosan-
guineus is an herbaceous perennial with a
uniquely scented dark maroon/black flower
that, yes, truly smells like chocolate.
Akebia quinata is also known as choco
late vine, not because the flowers smell
like chocolate, but because they are a deep
chocolate brown/black color. This sweet
vine grows happily in the garden, either
trained up an arbor or scrambling around
and among other plants.
Dork foliage pumps up the
volume, ranging from block
to plum to chocolate.
Sam bucus Black Beauty, a dark-leaved
elderberry, is my current favorite. C o p
piced to the ground in early spring, it
barrels through the season bringing new
black sprays o f foliage. In years when
I ’ve not cut it to the ground, it develops
darling pink bloom s that when backed
with the black foliage, really do stop you
in your tracks. I t ’s currently providing
the dram atic black background for the
purple flowering orbs o f society garlic. Its
cousin, Sam bucus Black Lace, has finely
cut foliage, more rem iniscent o f lace and
a Japanese maple. I f only I had room for
another.
Purple smoke bush, cotinus coggygria,
is grown for its blackish foliage more
than its smoky flower plume. I ’m patiently
training mine, but by fronting it with the
lime green glow o f spirea “magic carpet”
it’s at the center o f our garden drama.
Black mondo grass, ophiopogon
planiscapus “N igrescens,” is a
true black leaf in the garden.
DIYINIE
DECADENCE
W
a
Ire.
W hen paired with an underplanting o f a
neon green sedum, black mondo grass can
easily look like giant black spiders crawling
through your garden. I f th at’s not drama, I
don’t know what is.
Purple pineapple lily, eucomia comosa
“O akhurst,” is another point o f lovely dark
drama when paired with a neon green
sedum.
Black elephant ears, colocasia esculenta ,
is a classic for back patio pots. Underplant
them with a dripping, golden creeping
jenny and you take the drama quotient up
a notch. J A
LeAnn Locher is cultivating drama in her
North Portland garden but would love to visit
and write about yours. Do you have a garden
she should see? Em ail her at sassygardener@
gmail.com or visit her online at lelonopo.com.
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