Into darkness: Dark-hued plants

There are some very recent examples of the trend reaching the garden industry. This spring, Bailey Nurseries released the Eclipse bigleaf hydrangea, notable for its consistently purplish-black leaves that set off cranberry-hued blooms.

The point of Eclipse was to create contrast — and it does just that.

“I think it offers a different palette for the garden,” says Bailey Nurseries Marketing and Communications Manager Ryan McEnaney. “We saw it as this opportunity to create something new in the landscape with a product like a hydrangea that everybody knows and loves. It shifts that perspective and opens the gate to use this plant in a different way.”

Bailey’s “different way” premiered at Cultivate’23, where darkness wasn’t just relegated to Eclipse. In a popular session, the Garden Media Group revealed its garden trends for 2024. Among them was an observation that gardening social media continues to be fascinated with “goth gardening” (see this month's Last Look for details). Along with social interest in fantasy, graveyard plantings and the occult, the group posited that the next year would continue to see a demand for dark-colored plants.

Monrovia Chief Marketing Officer Katie Tamony says they’ve been following the dark trend, too.

“We had been seeing a trend in home design, where home owners were painting their houses charcoal black or black and then really having the landscape pop against the house,” Tamony explains. She notes that those color choices began to flow into the garden, where dark leaves could highlight traditionally colored bright blooms. “We were seeing a lot of interest from consumers in darker foliage plants, and it was making us really think about darker foliage in our collection.”

Black is the new black

Breeding and cultivating plants are not the nimblest of occupations. Not only do you need to submit to the mercy of Mother Nature — selecting for traits like dark foliage takes an incredibly long time. Eclipse, for instance, started development in 2016. So, chasing a trend can seem like a foolish task. There’s no telling if, by the time your plant has been perfected, it will still be in style.

But the thing about black is that, at least in the world of design and aesthetics, it always seems to be in style. The first art ever created by humans on cave walls was black. Ink wash painting that dates to China’s Tang dynasty can create deeply evocative scenes simply with black ink and a brush. Black figures on Greek pottery were the first artworks ever to be signed. Vermeer dazzled the world with a girl wearing a pearl earring, bathed in light against a background steeped in black. And French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir is recorded to have said “I’ve been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black.”

In more recent history, the little black dress is still a wardrobe staple, a black motorcycle jacket still screams rebellion and rock n’ roll, and sleek black cell phones and high-end cars still signal class and luxury.

That speaks to one of the unique qualities of the darker hues: they defy seasonality. Sure, it might make sense to merchandise a collection of dark plants with orange mums in the fall, but they also work to help show off the abundance of a garden in spring and summer, while dark bark and stems offer visual interest in the winter months in snowy climates.

But the versatility of dark-colored plants does not necessarily mean that they have a universal appeal. They are a definite departure from the green backdrops that are most familiar to IGC customers.

“Understanding your audience is so crucial, especially when you're introducing something new to them and trying to shift their perception to ultimately drive sales,” explains McEnaney. He notes that consumers more tuned in to the gardening scene on social media may already be aware of the black plant trend and primed to buy. Others, though, may need some help. “Maybe pitch it as this cool added textural element. Talk about plant pairings and how you can use the dark foliage to accent flowers and other foliage that you're pairing with it.”

Black plant fad or trend?

The rise of black and dark plants is inextricably linked to social media. They are popular because they are striking and visually interesting, which makes them perfect for collecting likes and shares on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. But as with any trend connected to social media, there’s always the chance that popularity and shareability will fade.

A clue to the staying power of trending garden darkness is the fact that growers are willing to invest years in plants that meet the demand. And that investment is across all categories: from houseplants and perennials and annuals to trees and shrubs.

The variety and versatility of dark plants allows them to meet faddish hashtag movements like #gothgardening or #halloweengardens and then thrive once those fads have faded. That essentially de-risks the plants for IGCs looking to capitalize on the popularity of the somber hues.

“I think that that dark foliage plant is a true trend,” says McEnaney. “I think the application of it may be a little bit of a fad and a way in for people to start using this type of product.”

He recommends that IGCs keep a variety of dark plants to keep up with the shifts from short-term to long-term applications in the garden. He sees consumers going all in to create stark social media-ready spaces and then shifting to a more balanced application of the color in the garden.

“They might do this all-dark foliage garden for a season or two, but then that might evolve as those annuals die out,” says McEnaney. “They might swap out some perennials, and their style might change a little bit, but that dark foliage shrub is going to be that sort of foundational element that will stay.”

Prepping for a plant blackout

Considering the dark plant trend is strong enough to prompt major growers to invest years of effort into products that meet the demand, it may be time for IGCs to get in on the moody action — even if they feel a little apprehension.

“I feel like now is the time for garden centers to really act on it, honestly, because we've got the plants,” Tamony says. “This started with early adopters, and it was not very widespread. Now, I think it is more widespread. The average gardener is not afraid to try a darker foliage, black foliage plant.”

The good news is that IGCs will not necessarily have to order or grow new stock to meet the demand. Most garden centers will already have plants that fit the dark foliage bill. It’s simply a matter of creative merchandising and consumer education.

McEnaney suggests that IGCs lean into the stopping power that dark plants naturally have. “People are expecting to go and see all the green leaf product that is always there. This is like that built-in interrupter that is going to get people to stop and say, ‘What is that?’”

When it comes to merchandising, Tamony suggests IGCs pair dark and brighter plants to help consumers understand the value of the darker palette to make other plants pop. She says that gardeners are essentially artists with a living medium. If you present them with a vision of what they can create at home, there will be buy-in.

“Take a show-stopping white flowering plant and put it next to one of these dark foliage options. Catch the consumer's eye. That would immediately make people get the idea,” says Tamony. “And then they're leaving with two plants, not one.”

One word of caution that both Tamony and McEnaney offer is that dark foliage plants may resist the appeal of color blocking (see this month's Spotted!). Creating an end-cap display with all black foliage plants may not be as appealing without pops of color to create contrast.

Other opportunities for creative merchandising abound. Dark plants are exceptional additions to container designs at IGC potting benches. And there is always an opportunity to start consumer education by showcasing dark plants in fall seasonal displays. From there, IGCs can gauge customer interest and decide how much they’d like to invest in the trend.

In this dark future, the role of IGCs remains to help educate curious consumers about curious plants. That may require some educational signage or workshops. It will certainly require some social media to capture the hype — a particularly good opportunity as spooky October blends into the deep autumn abundance of the early holiday season.

The ultimate lesson for IGCs is there is no reason to be afraid of the dark.

Patrick Alan Coleman is editor of Garden Center magazine. Contact him at pcoleman@gie.net.