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 gardening. Designing a beautiful and productive potager can take many twists and turns, sometimes leading to shadows in the light of day. And who lurks about this Edward Gorey – inspired vegetable plot? Why black ravens and spiders and warty-toads – oh my. Imagine delicious, black-fruiting tomatoes; vines twisting and twining about a spindly trellis straight from the imagination of Tim Burton. Or how about  a plot of violet hued gourmet potatoes, guarded by a group of cackling black crows? Terrifyingly tempting, wouldn’t you agree? I see my vegetable garden growing into the shadows this year – with strange metal flowers, freakish pots, eerie Victorian bat houses, and fantastical feeders for my feathered friends. Who ever said a garden plot had to be straight-laced and boring? Morticia Addams had other ideas, and so do I…

Yes, it’s quite the eccentric picture – I admit it – but a tasty one too. Richly colored vegetables are all the rage with savvy chefs right now, and there’s a good reason! The produce harvested from dark fruiting plants, such as black peppers and eggplant, lies at the tasty base of some of the most exquisite culinary creations. And the best part of growing these black gems yourself? Gourmet vegetables like ‘All Blue’ potatoes and black ‘Pierce’s Pride’ heirloom tomatoes cost an arm-and-a-leg at the market, but the frugal gardener can produce exotic dinners with dark homegrown veggies for a fraction of the price.

So, even if you aren’t inclined to bring Edward Scissorhands decor into your backyard garden, adding a few black beauties to your potager will certainly add some rich flavor to your dinner plate. Gothic vegetable gardening is a horse of a different color – why not join me for a ride? Take a peek at a few of the magical things dancing through my dark, garden-designing mind…

Crow Garden Sculpture by artist Virginia Wyoming

Victorian Lace Plate by artist Virginia Wyoming

Rust Wire Edging from Terrain

Amethyst Basil – Johnny’s Seeds

Orient Express Eggplant from Johnny’s Seeds

The Tell-Tale Heart? Beautiful ‘Pierce’s Pride’, Black-Red Heirloom Tomato from White Flower Farm

Strangely Beautiful –  Copper Oriole Feeder from Duncraft

Nevermore © 2009 Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden

Shadowy Silhouettes – Bird Fruit Feeders from Duncraft

Purple Ornamental Peppers in the Potager at Ferncliff

Red Rubin Basil from Johnny’s Seeds

‘Black Pearl’ Ornamental Pepper – Johnny’s Seeds

Green Flower Pot from Terrain

Gothic Garden Beauty – Metal Mum from Terrain

Urn Planter from White Flower Farm

Toad Stool Garden Ornament from Terrain

‘Kolibri’ kohlrabi from Johnny’s Seeds

Victorian Bat House from Duncraft

Bat Guano Fertilizer from Down To Earth

Bat Cottage from Duncraft

‘Purple Beauty’ Pepper from White Flower Farm

Mustard Greens from Johnny’s Seeds

Royal Burgundy Round Bush Beans from Johnny’s Seeds

Rusted Iron Allium Stem from Terrain

Toad House from Duncraft

Metal Agapanthus Stem from Terrain

 

Bull’s Blood Beets from Johnny’s Seeds

‘Sweet Chocolate’ Peppers from Johnny’s Seeds

‘Black Plum’ Heirloom Tomatoes from White Flower Farm

Rust Obelisk from Terrain

‘Holy Moly Peppers’ from White Flower Farm

Bone Meal Fertilizer from Down To Earth

 

‘Black from Tula’ Heirloom Tomatoes from White Flower Farm

‘All Blue’ Gourmet Potatoes from White Flower Farm

Wire Basket from Terrain

Blood Meal Fertilizer from Down To Earth

Rosenblum decorative pot from Terrain

The Gothic Potager in Winter – Dark Cabbage in Ice at Ferncliff

Dark Gardening Inspiration from my gothic library collection: Edward Gorey’s “Evil Garden” and “Gilded Bat”……  Amphigorey Too (Perigee) – Edward Gorey

And the shadowy muse-conjuring tales of Amy Stewart’s – Wicked Plants

Copper Bean Trellis Encased in Ice – Ferncliff Potager in Winter

Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands, image © 20th Century Fox

Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams,The Original Addams Family, image © ABC

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Article and Photographs, (with noted exceptions: linked object photos via Terrain, White Flower Farm and Johnny’s Seeds, Lace plate photo: Virginia Wyoming), copyright Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden

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