Goth Garden Sourcebook

[[email protected]]

Moody cultivars, weathered iron and dramatic relics from Chloe Hurst’s ultimate noir shopping guide.​

STORY CHLOE HURST

A goth garden is built from more than black blooms. Dark foliage, dramatic contrasts and weathered relics create beauty throughout the growing season – and as fall approaches, decay isn’t the end. It’s part of the design.

Whether you have always been a goth at heart or simply enjoy a little black here and there, creating a goth garden gives everyone an opportunity to play with a little dark magic. Of course starting any new garden theme or hobby can feel daunting, but don’t let it scare you. A goth garden is less about following strict rules or layouts, in fact it’s more about creating a space that has a feeling. Specifically something that feels mysterious, romantic, haunting and entirely your own.

Starting a goth garden​

If you are only beginning, start small. Dark plants are typically harder to find, so allow yourself to slowly curate a container or portion of your garden that you want to feel a little spookier. Start with a large dramatic plant like a Black Coral Colocasia or Tropicanna Black Canna Lily as your centrepiece, then surround it with smaller darker plants like black petunias, Dark Star or Wicked Witch coleus, and Black Heart ipomoea. For added contrast to ensure your plants don’t disappear into a muddy mass, consider adding white or silver plants like Indian Summer Silverberry heuchera or Lamb’s Ear or B&W Craztunias.

• 
  
  Hellebore ‘New York Night’
• 
  
  Ninebark ‘Panther’
• 
  
  Heuchera ‘Obsidian’

Mixing foliage with flowers in your goth garden​

When shopping, look beyond flowers. Dark foliage provides drama for a much longer period than a seasonable bloom. Black Mondo Grass, Obsidian Heucheras, Cookies & Cream Hibiscus, and Black Beauty Snakeroot are excellent perennial possibilities for northern gardeners.

Finding unusual dark cultivars requires patience. There is rarely a one-stop shop for black plants, which is why I visit local garden centres throughout the growing season. New varieties appear as spring turns to summer, and some of my most treasured plants were discovered tucked between much brighter neighbours. For me, the hunt is part of the thrill.

• 
  
  Coleus ‘Dark Star’
• 
  
  Basil ‘Dark Opal’
• 
  
  Calla Lily ‘Arabian Night’

Adding hardscapes to a goth garden​

Plants establish the palette, but objects create the story. Before buying new, browse thrift stores, yard sales, or even curbsides on garbage day for urns or other potential garden decor. Some of my favourite statues were snatched entirely for free by curbside like this dancing couple statue and solar light moon. Gargoyles or angel statues are always welcome as well, as they instantly give any garden space an eerie feeling.

Consider upcycling things from inside your home as well! For example, I had a fairly cheap chandelier in my office that had some faulty wiring. Rather than tossing it, I stripped the wires and hung it outside on a shepherd’s hook in the middle of my garden. And of course, it would be foolish not to mention iron trellises that you can buy at the dollar store or local garden centre. They are a great way to add subtle goth elements without being overly obvious. Imperfect pieces often become more beautiful once vines begin winding around them and their surfaces develop a natural patina.

Planning your goth garden for autumn and winter​

When approaching autumn and a time for our gardens to be sound asleep, your goth garden can continue to be at its finest. Fading flowers, blackened seed heads and bare branches bring a different kind of beauty to the landscape. Though it might be tempting to cut everything down, allow your garden to naturally enter the mourning phase. Spent plants feed birds and shelter beneficial insects, while fallen leaves insulate beds.

Above all, remember that a goth garden does not need to be completely black – or even traditionally gothic. Begin with one shadowy plant, one timeworn object or one dark corner that intrigues you. Let the garden develop slowly, embrace the unexpected and allow it to tell your story through the soil.

• 
  
  Begonia ‘Black Mamba’
• 
  
  Purple Shamrock
• 
  
  ZZ ‘Raven’

If you would like a bigger list of gothic plants ranging from perennials, annuals, house plants and more, Darkness in Bloom: A Gothic Guide to Dramatic and Moody Plants is launching September 1st in all retailers.

Hexes and oh’s,

Chloe

Chloe Hurst is a full time senior graphic designer, fashion lover, thrifter and home decor enthusiast. She is the author of Darkness In Bloom.

@itschloehurst

The post Goth Garden Sourcebook appeared first on Northern Gardener.