10 Plants with Dark Foliage

Looking for Goth garden ideas? We’ve got you covered with these dark foliage garden picks.

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.

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.

If you are planning to DIY your Goth garden, choosing your plant palette involves carefully considering your USDA gardening zone and the mature size and specific growing requirements of each plant. 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. 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’

A bigleaf hydrangea with dark purple black leaves and cream flowers edged with cranberry red for the Goth garden — **First Editions® Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea**
*Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries - baileynurseries.com*

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.

2. Jazz Hands Bold® Chinese Fringe Flower

Loropetalum chinense 'Kurenai Daiou'

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.

3. Summer Wine® Black Ninebark

Physocarpus opulifolius 'SMNPMS'

Dark black leaves and foliage of Summer Wine Black Ninebark shrub for the Goth garden — **Summer Wine® Black Ninebark**
*Photo 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.

4. Vinho Verde® Weigela

Weigela florida 'SMNWFBGV’

Description: A neat, tidy, easy to grow flowering shrub with unusual black-edged leaves.
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.

5. Pearl Glam® Beautyberry

Callicarpa x ‘NCCX2’

A shrub with dark green and black leaves and bright purple berries, Pearl Glam beauty berry, for the Goth garden — **Pearl Glam® Beautyberry**
*Photo 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.

6. Black Lace® Elderberry

Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’

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

Dark Side of the Moon astilbe, a low growing perennial with black leaves and lilac to dark purple flower spikes for the Goth garden — **Astilbe Dark Side of the Moon**
*Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc. - waltersgardens.com*

Description: A dark foliage astilbe with 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!

8. Decadence® Dark Chocolate False Indigo

Decadence® ‘Dark Chocolate’ Baptisia hybrid

Dark brown and yellow flowers on green stems of Dark Chocolate False Indigo, a Goth garden plant — **Decadence® Dark Chocolate False Indigo**
*Photo courtesy of Proven Winners - provenwinners.com*

Description: An easy-to-grow flowering perennial with deep burgundy 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.

9. Dolce® Frosted Berry Coral Bells

Dolce® ‘Frosted Berry’ Heuchera hybrid

Goth garden plant Dolce Frosted Berry Coral Bells, a heuchera hybrid with silver leaves and black veins — **Dolce® Frosted Berry Coral Bells**
*Photo 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.

10. Merlot Redbud

Cercis ‘Merlot’

A small, wide redbud tree for the goth garden with dark purple to black leaves. — **Merlot Redbud**

Description: A small, compact spring-flowering tree with stunning dark burgundy foliage. Read more here.
Type: Deciduous tree
Best for: Accent or small specimen in full sun to partial shade.
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.

Goth Garden Plants

10 Plants with Dark Foliage

Looking for Goth garden ideas? We’ve got you covered with these dark foliage garden picks.

First Editions® Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea