"Goth Garden"?

Question

I have a "Goth Garden" (all purple and black foliage) and have noticed some green plants in close proximity show darkening of there leaves. Has anyone else seen this? Is there a name? RScott

I'll go out in the morning and take a few pictures to show you what I mean. Didn't think this little question would get so many answers.

Answer 1

Could be volunteer seedlings from your dark plants . Could just be less light reflected onto those plants, or the dark color reflected onto them . Remember , most, or all of your plants do have color . It's not actually black like space, from lack of light . Also some plants will darken due to conditions (lack of phosphorus, drought, injury , seasonal changes, pests,diseases, etc)

Could also be your eyes still seeing the dark plants , as you look at the others .


Btw, have you seen Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' , or 'Black Knight' ? It's truly black . It's a lily family member , similar to liriope, that looks like a 6-8" tall grass , with little purple flowers , & berry-like seeds. The "blades" are ~ 6" long x 1/4" wide , semi-glossy , similar to black nursery pots . Waaaayyyy cool!

Here's a so- so pic. That site specializes in the horticultural dark side. ;D
http://j.b5z.net/i/u/2043349/i/Black_Mondo_Grass.jpg

http://www.chocolateflowerfarm.com/plants2

Answer 2

Is it possibly an optical illusion. Try pulling some of these green plants and see if they still look as dark outside of the garden. If possible, look for a similar plant growing outside the garden and compare the color of the two side by side.

Answer 3

Waiting for the photos. Cool, also have Goth Garden. Black Pearl ornamental pepper's new leaves start green then turn ebon. Beautiful. will send you some seeds. oh, it was supposed to be a surprise.

Answer 4

I've noticed that some weeds seem to look a lot like the non-weed plants they are growing near with differently shaped leaves and different colored leaves than ones growing by themselves or other non-weed plants. So it is possible, I suppose, for leaves to start taking on characteristics of plants near them, but I don't know for sure.

Answer 5

Many plants will cross pollinate. It depends on how long they have been growing near each other. You should check out the black pansies,they are beautiful. You can also find black roses and irises.

Answer 6

I just wanted to reccommend the Black Hollyhocks if you don't already have them:

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=en&q=Black+Hollyhocks&btnG=Search+Images

Answer 7

haha did my tumpkin question get you curious