Dive into Darkness: 10 Ultimate Goth Garden Plant Picks
Cover image: Vinho Verde® Weigela (#4 on this list) courtesy of Spring Meadow Nursery via provenwinners.com.
Transform Your Garden with These Dark Foliage Plants
Looking for Goth garden ideas? We’ve got you covered with these dark foliage garden picks.
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Creating a Goth garden design isn't just about embracing the dark and mysterious - it's about choosing the right plants to add a touch of drama and elegance to your outdoor space.
If you're looking for ways to infuse your garden with a brooding and sophisticated ambiance, look no further.
We've curated a list of ten stunning plants with dark foliage that will transform your garden into a captivating, shadowy retreat.
From deep purples and inky blacks to rich burgundies, these Goth garden plants will provide the perfect backdrop for a truly enchanting and gothic-inspired landscape.
Black Lace® Elderberry (#6 on this list) is a lacy, elegant Goth garden plant. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Designing a Goth garden involves more than just selecting dark plants; it's about creating a space that is visually engaging and full of intrigue.
To avoid a monotonous look, vary the shades of foliage by incorporating different hues of purple, black, and burgundy.
Mixing leaf sizes and textures will add depth and interest to your garden, preventing it from becoming a uniform blob of dark colors.
Consider adding a few evergreens to provide structure during the winter months and to serve as a contrasting backdrop that highlights the dark silhouettes of your chosen plants.
Enhance the theme with Goth garden decor, such as wrought iron accents and unusual statues.
If you're not ready to commit your entire yard to this theme, start by creating one Goth garden bed or dedicating one area of the yard to dark foliage plants.
Dark Side of the Moon astilbe (#7 on this list) is a Goth garden plant for shady spots. Image courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
If you are planning to DIY your Goth garden, choosing your plant palette involves carefully considering your gardening zone and the mature size and specific growing requirements of each plant.
If you don’t know your gardening zone, you can look it up on the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map. It's essential to choose plants that thrive in your local climate to ensure success.
Pay attention to each plant's watering needs and light requirements, and don’t forget that a newly planted garden needs extra watering sessions to help the plants get established. Read “How to Water Your Plants: The Ultimate Guide” if you need help getting started.
By taking these factors into account, you can create a lush and thriving Goth garden. Read on to discover 10 great Goth garden plant picks!
First Editions® Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Bailmacseven’
The First Editions® Eclipse® bigleaf hydrangea is a dramatic flowering Goth garden plant. Image courtesy of Bailey Nurseries.
Description: A dark foliage hydrangea with cranberry to purple mophead flowers and deep purple to black foliage. Read more about the Eclipse hydrangea here.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Best for: Spots with morning sun, afternoon shade, and moist, well-draining soil.
Zones: 5-9
Size: 3-5 feet tall and wide
Tip: Flower color varies based on the pH of the soil.
* Buy First Editions® Eclipse Hydrangea from Fast Growing Trees *
First Editions® Eclipse® bigleaf hydrangea, a Goth garden plant with dark leaves and cranberry-red tinged flowers. Image courtesy of Bailey Nurseries.
2. Jazz Hands Bold® Chinese Fringe Flower
Loropetalum chinense 'Kurenai Daiou'
Jazz Hands Bold® Chinese fringe flower, a striking dark purple Goth garden plant. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: An eye-catching plant related to the witch hazel, with striking dark purple leaves and pink spring flowers.
Type: Evergreen shrub
Best for: Borders and containers in dappled shade
Zones: 7-9
Size: 5-6 feet tall and wide
Tip: Leaves stay on year-round, making this a great plant for adding winter interest to your Goth garden.
Jazz Hands Bold® Chinese fringe flower has unique spidery flowers. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
3. Summer Wine® Black Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius 'SMNPMS'
Summer Wine® Black Ninebark Goth garden plant. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: Large, full, round plant with saturated, nearly-black foliage and white summer flowers.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Best for: Wide open areas in full sun. Give this plant some space!
Zones: 3-7
Size: 5-6 feet tall and wide
Tip: This plant is a cultivar of common ninebark, a popular native shrub that grows wild in the Eastern U.S.
Summer Wine® Black Ninebark, a Goth garden plant with dark bronze to almost black foliage. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
4. Vinho Verde® Weigela
Weigela florida 'SMNWFBGV’
Vinho Verde® weigela, a Goth garden plant with black-edged green leaves. Image courtesy of Spring Meadow Nursery via provenwinners.com.
Description: A neat, tidy, easy to grow flowering shrub with unusual black-edged leaves and dark pink late-spring flowers. The foliage is the true star!
Type: Deciduous shrub
Best for: Containers and mixed borders in full sun.
Zones: 5-8
Size: 3-5 feet tall and wide
Tip: Rabbit and deer resistant.
The dark pink flowers of Vinho Verde® weigela, a Goth garden plant with variegated black and green leaves. Image courtesy of Spring Meadow Nursery via NGB.
5. Pearl Glam® Beautyberry
Callicarpa x ‘NCCX2’
The Pearl Glam® beautyberry has bright purple berries and dark purple leaves. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: An upright, space-saving plant with deep purple foliage, white summer flowers and purple orchid-colored berries.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Best for: Borders, screening, and mass plantings
Zones: 5-8
Size: 4-5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide
Tip: Needs at least 2 hours of direct sunlight per day to produce berries. This variety produces fruit on its own and does not require a separate pollinator plant.
The Pearl Glam® beautyberry is a dark-leaved Goth garden plant pick. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
* Dig into your next great read while supporting independent bookstores - browse my favorite picks on Bookshop.org *
6. Black Lace® Elderberry
Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’
Black Lace® Elderberry for the Goth garden. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: A black foliage plant with soft-textures, lacy leaves and pink summer flowers.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Best for: A specimen plant or planting along the fence line. Give this plant space!
Zones: 4-7
Size: 6-8 feet tall and wide
Tip: To produce berries, a compatible pollinator plant is needed (Black Beauty®, Instant Karma®, or Laced Up®).
7. Dark Side of the Moon Astilbe
'Dark Side of the Moon' Astilbe hybrid
Goth garden plant Dark Side of the Moon, in full bloom. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: An astilbe with intense dark chocolate brown colored leaves and feathery, purple, plume-like summer flowers. The perfect dark foliage plant for shade!
Type: Perennial
Best for: Cool, rich soil and dappled sunlight to full shade.
Zones: 4-9
Size: 20-22 inches tall and 28 inches wide
Tip: Divide plants every 3 years to maintain vigor. Transplant extras in other areas of the garden, or share with friends and family!
The intense dark chocolate brown leaves of the Dark Side of the Moon astilbe. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
8. Decadence® Dark Chocolate False Indigo
Decadence® ‘Dark Chocolate’ Baptisia hybrid
Decadence® Dark Chocolate false indigo for the Goth Garden. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: An easy-to-grow flowering perennial with deep burgundy brown to black flower spikes.
Type: Perennial
Best for: Borders in full sun and dry, poor soil.
Zones: 4-9
Size: 3-3.5 feet tall and wide
Tip: The small green leaves of this false indigo variety are great for providing contrast and texture in a dark foliage garden.
Decadence® Dark Chocolate False Indigo, a Goth garden plant with dark flower spikes. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
9. Dolce® Frosted Berry Coral Bells
Dolce® ‘Frosted Berry’ Heuchera hybrid
Create contrast in the Goth garden with Dolce® Frosted Berry coral bells. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
Description: Versatile plant with a tidy, mounded habit, black-veined silver leaves and light pink to white flowers.
Type: Perennial
Best for: A groundcover or edging plant in partial shade and moist, rich, well-draining soil.
Zones: 4-9
Size: 10-14 inches tall and 16-20 inches wide (up to 28 inches tall when flowering).
Tip: If you prefer to showcase the striking foliage rather than the flowers, simply snip the blooms off at the base of the stem to maintain the focus on the leaves.
The leaves of Dolce® Frosted Berry coral bells have black veining, perfect for combining with other Goth garden plants. Image courtesy of Proven Winners, provenwinners.com.
10. Merlot Redbud
Cercis ‘Merlot’
The Merlot redbud can be used to create a dramatic focal point in the Goth garden.
Description: A small, compact spring-flowering tree with stunning dark burgundy foliage. Read more about the Merlot redbud here.
Type: Deciduous tree
Best for: Accent or small specimen in full sun to partial shade. Great for planting at the corner of the house, back of the border in a large garden bed, or using to create a dramatic focal point.
Zones: 6-9
Size: 9-12 feet tall and 12-15 feet wide
Tip: Pink spring flowers are a favorite of bees and other pollinators.
* Buy the Merlot Redbud from Fast Growing Trees *
The dark burgundy foliage of Merlot redbud is a dramatic addition to any Goth garden.
