Is your heart as black as night? Do you love the idea of creating a garden that speaks to your soul? Not sure where to start? We're here to help! Here's a list of black flowers for your garden and tips to plan your space.

A Goth Garden can be your dark sacred space. A place to ponder the depths of humanity, and transmute all the emotions into the soil. It's a very healing process to garden. Getting your hands dirty and seeing things grow and nurturing their beauty. Add a table and chairs for a gathering spot, set an eclectic table setting - and you’ve got a natural extension of your beautiful home. Who knows: you may even attract bats - as well as butterflies, bees, and other helpful pollinators. We love pollinators, right? 

Maybe you'd like to take a stab at creating your own gracefully gothic outdoor space? Here are some practical steps to plan your gothic garden.

THE PRACTICAL DEETS

• Sketch out your space. Taller plants will do better near a fence or the side of a building (remember tall kids in the back for school pics?). This protects them from strong winds. 

• Got pets? Your enchanted garden may need a buffer from where your critters like to roam, so it’s a good idea to look at the ASPCA’s plant toxicity list before putting anything in the ground. 

• And don’t forget to check the USDA’s plant hardiness map (enter your ZIP code) to see what thrives in your neck of the woods. 

TALL PLANTS

BLACK HOLLYHOCK

Behold the black and purple varieties of hollyhock available online. Hollyhock are biennials; their  seeds may not sprout the first year, but they come back every two years. Their pods are packed with a dozen or more seeds, so you can harvest them and share the love.

 

 

VOODOO LILY

Behold the voodoo lily - also known as the Devil’s Tongue. The name itself is hard to resist, but the bloom is truly Mother Nature’s trippy masterpiece. 

CORPSE FLOWER

For the adventurous, there’s the aptly named corpse flower, with a scent that lives up to its name. It can be difficult to grow, but it’s (reeking) bloom is otherworldly. 

  

MEDIUM PLANTS

CROCOSMIA LUCIFIER

What's not to like about the Crocosmia Lucifer? Graceful stems with flaming scarlet blooms offset boldly against a sea of dark foliage. These are bulbs which multiply as they age, but divide very well. 

 

 
 

BLACK LILLIES

Channel your inner Lily Munster with (duh) lillies. They’re easy to grow from bulbs and fill your garden with an intoxicating scent. Who can resist the Black Wizard Lily?

 

 

 

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT TULIP

Queen of the night tulip is a stunner. If it’s hot where you live, this beauty may have to go into a pot. 

 

 

 

GLOBE THISTLE

If you’re in love with the thistles on the Elysian Fields print and are so inspired, make sure you choose the globe thistle. It’s the noninvasive variety. Still gorgeous, still dramatic, but it won’t take over your space.

SHORT PLANTS

BLUE EVENING PRIMROSE

Clutch your pearls before looking at the blue evening primrose. Yeah, we know: we’re fanning ourselves. It's a perennial too: plant once, and with proper care, it’ll keep coming back.

 

 

 

PURPLE SEDUM

For low maintenance, purple sedum (or any sedum, really) is your pal. It’s a relatively drought-tolerant ground cover that looks gorgeous against stepping stones (or gravestones).

 

 

 

 

BLACK CAT PETUNIA

Pay homage to your puss with a black cat petunia. Add a touch of cat magic with these lovely accessories from Sin in Linen for your outdoor table area. Good kitty.

 

 

 

 

EDIBLES
Red Rubin Basil is a moody, reddish purple herb that adds spark to a salad. Speaking of salads, black velvet nasturtium is a little workhorse: it thrives in poor soil, so it’s low-maintenance. It’s deep red blooms add a pretty and peppery taste to salads.

 

 

If you were lucky enough to get a free seed pack of gothic garden flowers from our recent gothic botanicals special, here are some growing tips from Hudson Valley Seed Co. 

Shallowly sow seeds indoors in individual pots, 1-2 per cell. As the sprouts put on their first true leaves, you will be able to distinguish them from each other. Transplant outdoors after the threat of frost is past, making sure to plant a good mix of seedlings for balanced bouquets. The tall plants may require some staking and support to remain upright and produce the best quality flowers. 

SHOW US YOURS

We’ve probably left dozens of your favorite plants off this list, so share your favorite plants with the Sin in Linen Insta fam!