1486: Gardening Gone Goth

There’s a good possibility that I spend entirely too much time visually planning my ideal fantasy garden. This would be an amazing real life garden, but unfortunately I live in Las Vegas where even fake plants manage to die, so until I move to New Orleans Garden District and get to manifest this fantasy I will keep collecting pictures of fun, dark, and vivid flowers and plants to inspire your own magical gardens.

Black Forest Calla Lily, Hollyhock ‘Black Knight’, Gladiolus ‘Black Star

My favorites out of these 10 beauties are the Tacca Chantrier and the ‘Dracula’s Kiss’ Iris. The Tacca Chantrieri, or Black Bat Flower is a rather rare flowering plant that is native to tropical regions of South East Asia. The flower’s can grow up to 12 inches across and the “whiskers” up to 28 in. The Dracula’s Kiss Iris is a much more realistic flower for those of us in the United States as it is tolerant of a wide range of soils. They start out as a dark prune-purple and eventually darken to a black purple. I love them, the orange “beard” makes the color just that much more dramatic.

Persian Shield Plant,Tacca Chantrieri, ‘Dracula’s Kiss’ Iris

Black Satin Dahlia

This will be continuing to contribute to this garden through several posts over time as my collection is vast. I will also later include some incredibly awesome planters, garden decor, DIY projects, and tips to help you decide what flowers are best together not just visually, but what will result in the most healthy garden.