Dark Plants
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Color in the Garden, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Euphorbias, Exotic Plants, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hardy Succulents, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Spring, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Pots, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, Un-Flower Pots, Unusual Plants
Somewhere Over the Ascot Rainbow, Beyond the Sunset Clouds . . .
Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ & Sedum telephium ‘Sunset Cloud’ Catch the Morning Light out on My Balcony Oh, delicious, dynamic duo! Clearly, you can see that Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ and Sedum telephium ‘Sunset Cloud’ are a match made in heaven. But in the late days of spring, this pairing wasn’t so obvious […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Perennials for summer, Studio Garden, Succulents, Succulents in Containers
Bye, Bye Boring… Hello Blackbird! Euphorbia Euphoria in Pots
Euphorbia hybrid ‘Blackbird’: Here on the Studio Balcony in an Oxblood Pot with Senecio mandraliscae and Sedum ‘Sunset Cloud’ Oh my, would you look at this smoldering, velvety loveliness! What a dark, gorgeous beauty! From the moment I saw this stunning spurge, my heart went a flutter and all I could think was, “Bye, bye boring […]
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Chartreuse, Climbing plants, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Garden Design Photos, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native Plants, Perennials for summer, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Studio Garden, Summer Flowering Combinations, Summer Flowering Perennials, Summer flowering shrubs, The Seasons, Vines, Vines - Perennial, Wildflowers and Meadows, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Late Summer’s Bold Crescendo …
The Large Drift of Native Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) in my Garden Glows Bright as the Late Summer Sunset After the recent rain –almost overnight it seems– the gardens have exploded in a new wave of bloom. Stepping out with my morning coffee, I am seduced ’round the corner by the sweet and spicy fragrance […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Black Leaves - Trees, Black Plants, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Extending the Growing Season, Ferncliff, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hydrangea, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Summer Flowering Combinations, The Seasons, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
The Loveliest Ladies of August: Summer’s Beautiful, Late Bloomers are Well Worth the Wait …
Blush-tinged blossoms and gorgeous, season-spanning foliage make Hydrangea quercifolia one of my favorite native plants (shown here with Juniperus squamata ‘Holger’ and the lingering blue flowers of Adenophora confusa) . Check out this shrub’s autumn coloration here! After last night’s much-needed rain, I awoke to the sound of hermit thrush, sweetly singing in the hemlock […]
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Asian Natives, Black Plants, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, ornamental grass, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Cooling Off in the Dappled Shade: Deepest Violet and Shadow Blue Hues …
Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ with Fothergilla x intermedia ‘Blue Shadow’ Out working in the field during this week’s scorching heat and high humidity, I found myself dodging the sun whenever possible; ducking beneath the cover of every shade tree and arbor in order to hide from burning, mid-day rays. Over the past couple of weeks […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark flowers, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Poisonous Plants, Shade Gardening, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Woody Plants
A Bolder Shade of Summertime … Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’
 Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Golden’ with Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’ in the Entry Garden Some like it hot. And, some wither and fade in the mid-day sun. Blossoms come and go quickly at this time of year, but beautiful foliage lasts all season long. Does your garden go through awkward phases throughout the summer; gaps between […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, Climbing plants, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Dining Outdoors, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Structures, Living Walls & Fences, Plants for Texture, Vines - Perennial, Water Bowl, Water Features
Al Fresco Dining in the Garden: Fireworks Restaurant’s Lush New Courtyard & Bold Container Design …
My Tiered Container Garden Design and Installation at Fireworks Restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont Wrapped up a busy work week in the pouring rain yesterday with finishing touches on my garden design and installation for Fireworks Restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont. This lush, outdoor dining space will soon feature a stone water bowl created by a local […]
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annuals, Artful Garden Objects, Birds, Bowls, Children - gardening with, Climbing plants, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Drying, Garden Art, Garden Rooms, Gifts for Gardeners, Gourds, Holiday Decorating, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Seeds, Urns and Vessels, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Vines - Annual
Simply Lovely: Etched-Gourd Cachepots
This Pretty Etched-Gourd Makes a Lovely Cachepot for Peperomia caperata ‘Raspberry Ripple’ (and on the right, Colocasia affinis ‘Jenningsii’) Displaying plants indoors can be as creative and fun as arranging pots outdoors on porches, patios and balconies. Whenever I spot an new and interesting vessel —natural or man-made— I log it in my mental-file cabinet […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, Ferns, Foliage, Hardy shrubs, Home, Hydrangea, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, North American Trees, Ornamental Berries and Fruit, ornamental grass, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Autumn, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for Texture, Rain Gear, Raindrops, Shoes/Boots, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, The Seasons, Trees, Trees for Fall Foliage, Vermont, Viburnum, Wildflowers and Meadows, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Singin’ and Dancin’ in the Rain….. Vibrant Colors on a Late September Day
Raindrops on Birch – Late September at Ferncliff Grey skies and fog… Are those downpours drumming on my roof? Why yes! At long last, the heavens have opened up; two days and a forecast filled with showers! Suddenly saturated, the colors of early autumn seem to be singin’ and dancin’ in the rain. Chinese orange […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fragrance, Herb Gardening, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, North American Trees, Ornamental Berries and Fruit, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Purple and Maroon Foliage, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Spring Blooming Bulbs, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Viburnum, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Mellow Yellow: Lovely Lindera Benzoin, North American Native Spicebush…
Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) in front of the Secret Garden wall (see complete plant list below) The question comes up every September in my garden. The meter-reader, oil delivery driver and countless guests have asked: “What’s that bright yellow shrub over there by the wall  …The one covered with birds and red berries?” When I ask, […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Black Plants, Butterflies and Moths, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Ferns, Foliage, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Gothic Garden, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native Plants, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, The Seasons, Woodland plants
Fashionably Late & Dressed in Maroon: Sweetly-Scented, Autumn Fairy Candles Light Up the Shadowy, Secret Garden…
Actaea simplex/Cimicifuga simplex ‘Hillside Black Beauty {also known variously as Fairy Candles, Black Snake Root & Black Cohosh} Actaea simlex ‘Hillside Black Beauty’, here in the Secret Garden with Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Lamium maculatum, Helleborus x hybridus ‘Royal Heritage Strain’, Paeonia mouton x lutea ‘High Noon’, Stewartia pseudocamilla, and a background of bronzing Matteuccia […]
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Color in the Garden, Dark Plants, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, ornamental grass, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for summer
Glorious, Late Summer Garden Design: Combinations Featuring Light-Catching Texture and Bold, Contrasting Color…
Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ and ‘Matrona’, stunning in combination here at Ferncliff with bluish hues, such as the Juniperus chinensis, sargentii glauca (shown above) and later, with the tawny tufts of Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ (also pictured above, prior to inflorescence) It’s early September, and the garden has only just begun to glow with a warm, bronzy […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Black Plants, Color in the Garden, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden Design, Gothic Garden, Hardy shrubs, Native Plants, Plant Spotlight, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Summer flowering shrubs, Woody Plants
Midnight Maroon: Dark, Mysterious Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’…
When you’re strange, no one remembers your name – Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ Oxblood, maroon, deep violet and ebony; dark plants are one of my greatest horticultural passions. From the statuesque Cimicifuga racemosa ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ gracing my Secret Garden, to the massive, dark cloud of Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ forming a shadowy hedge at the back […]
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Conservatory, Dark Plants, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Terrariums, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants
Hello, I Love You. Won’t You Tell Me Your Name?
Peperomia caperata ‘Raspberry Ripple’ Look at this dark, smoldering beauty ! Have I introduced you to my latest crush? The mysterious, maroon-hued Peperomia caperata ‘Raspberry Ripple’ ? No ? Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been so distracted, I think I forgot. Shame on my recent preoccupation with mundane, practical things like snow removal. Well, here she is […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Birds, Black Plants, Cooking, Dark Plants, Garden Design, Gardening Inspiration, Herb Gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Spotlight, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Vegetable Gardening, Virginia Wyoming Pottery, Winter Garden
The Gothic Gourmet: Black Beauties and Dark Delights of the Potager…
Pasilla Bajio (the little raisin) – from White Flower Farm Imagine gleaming, glossy, black peppers, shiny as patent leather shoes. Picture dark red, tell-tale-heart tomatoes and ebony eggplant polished to a satiny patina. Now visualize amethyst hued basil, purple kohlrabi and blue-black cabbage. Intrigued? Welcome to the slightly sinister, and delightfully decadent world of gothic-gourmet […]
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Black Plants, Books, Dahlias, Dark flowers, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, Ferns, Gardening Inspiration, ornamental grass, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens
A Heart of Darkness…
Dahlia ‘Karma Choc’, available online at, (and image via): Â White Flower Farm Some gardeners adore bright colors, and other plant collectors crave pastels. There are those who prefer dramatic plants painted silver and gold and a few indecisive types who seek out green tonal shifts and mottled white variegation. These hues are all quite lovely, […]
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