Just as I finished a post about the darkly veined beauty of an abutilon named 'Red Tiger', I learned about two deeply dark new plants. What is the attraction for such dark plants, you might ask, in a spring of mostly dark, gloomy days? Deep purple and chocolate brown add richness and depth, emphasizing the chartreuse haze of fresh new leaves, pastel flowers, and brights like red or orange tulips and showy fritillarias. Think of these dark colors as backdrop and counterpoint to all the vividness of spring.....speaking of, did you notice that just this week (finally!!) the maples are opening their leaves, and lilac buds are plumping up?
A stunning new magnolia from New Zealand hit nurseries this spring; Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’. We've been tantalized by reports of this glossy dark beauty for the last several years, and finally it's promised to be generally available. 'Black Tulip' (left) has the darkest flowers of any magnolia. It grows quickly to 25 feet, and the goblet-shaped blossoms appear in early spring before the leaves emerge.
To keep the deep, dark theme going through the summer, there's a new licorice-colored phormium named 'Black Adder' - I like the plant much more than its disquieting name. This is the blackest flax ever bred, but take note it's only hardy to about 20 degrees, which means that in many areas around Puget Sound it might been killed off last winter. Still, most years if you planted 'Black Adder' in a protected place with good drainage, it'd make it through the winter. The unusual color, described as "deep burgundy black with a high gloss overlay" (sounds like a car!) doesn't fade out in the sun. 'Black Adder' is a strong and healthy grower, reaching three feet tall and wide, ideal for containers or accents. Picture its dark blades growing as backdrop to some of the new golden or orange coneflowers, or amidst a tangle of hot-colored dahlias....or as shown here growing out of a sea of golden Japanese forest grass.
