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February 8, 2011

What blooms black and gold?

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Amy Davis

Garden Variety is back behind the plow today after a weekend in Pittsburgh, soaking up the black and gold fun of a Super Bowl weekend with family and friends.

Alas, victory did not go to the Steelers, but the "seeds" of future football victories are no doubt there.

Speaking of black and gold....

Black is the Holy Grail of plant hybridizers. The black dahlia, the black tomato, the black rose. This is what those in plant science seek.

Mostly what they get, however, is a very deep purple or a very deep blue or a deep burgundy.

This season entry is the black petunia, hybridized by Ball, and named, very appropriately, Black Velvet.

There are also black blossoms gently striped with yellow or cream, named Pinstripe or Phantom.

However, I am not sure if black blossoms do not work at cross purposes for the gardener seeking "color."

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Flowers

Comments

While these are lovely and interesting, I am a bit leery of how they'd look hanging from my porch or in the mid-range, as I survey the kingdom from the deck on a summer morn.

I wind up with enough dead stuff as a result of experiments gone awry. I mostly like to start out with something that looks alive.

Eve: You are too funny! I imagine there are ways to combine them with some other striking colors, but I am not good at that stuff. -- Susan

Posted by: Eve | February 9, 2011 10:50 AM

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About Susan Reimer

Susan Reimer has spent 16 years writing about raising kids - among other topics - in her column for The Baltimore Sun. And every time son Joseph or daughter Jessie passed another milestone - driver's license, college, wedding or a move to a new military duty station - she has planted another garden. Now she will be writing about those gardens - and yours - here on Garden Variety.

Susan isn't an expert gardener, but she wasn't an expert mother, either. Both - the kids and the gardens - seem to be doing well in spite of her.

She lives in Annapolis with her husband, Gary Mihoces, who loves to cut his grass but has noticed that there seems to be less of it every time the kids pass another milestone.

Follow @susanreimer on Twitter