Black and Dusky Flowers

Black spotted hellebore
Black spotted hellebore

Black flowers are relatively uncommon, and gardeners will understand that a breeder (or a blogger) calling a flower black does not make it so. Then when you do find inky black flowers, they’re not easy to photograph. The quality of light can highlight or conceal whatever blue, purple, red and even green tones are present.

My first shot is one of my favourites. Regular readers who visit my blog directly rather than via the WordPress Reader may recognise it from my sidebar, where I used to keep it. It is overdue an outing.

Double black hellebore
Double black hellebore

My second naturally lacks contrast, so will be difficult to make out if you’re visiting on a phone, but it is a hellebore too, this time a fully double one.

Black pansy
Black pansy

These violas are the blackest of the flowers I’m sharing today: it’s all downhill from here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Gold laced black primula with yellow centre
Black primula with gold lacing around each petal
Arisaema sikokianum
Arisaema sikokianum
Salvia discolor
Salvia discolor
Zantedeschia 'Memories'
Zantedeschia ‘Memories’
Dahlia 'Black Jack'
Dahlia ‘Black Jack’

Black Jack? This pirate is marooned.

Black sempervivum
Purple-black sempervivum

I’m ending with a houseleek that spends its life looking like a sumptuous double flower.

The blackest are shared for Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge – I’ll leave others to decide which qualify. The dusky ones are lagniappe.

52 Replies to “Black and Dusky Flowers”

  1. I love that inky hellebore! The double looks navy on my screen, but it’s all subjective. I thought your primulas were auriculas because they come in unusual colour combinations, but Jude didn’t correct you and I wouldn’t dare.

    1. I can understand that. I was looking for a black or bluish one to buy yesterday at a flower show, but didn’t see any that matched up to this one.

  2. Your association of the Black Jack Dahlia with piracy (great word play with ‘marooned’!) brought a smile. One of the most famous Irish pirates, Grace O’Malley (1530 – 1603) sometimes was known as the Black Rose.

  3. Impressed! I’m trying to recall if I’ve ever seen any black flowers, and none come to mind. You found quite a collection. I, too, like the pirate reference.

  4. Oh! Your black flowers are really beautiful, I didn’t like my hollyhock at all!

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