A friend is redesigning her tiny front garden. The large front yard tree, planted by the builder, had to be removed, its roots having infiltrated the home's water main. She is left with a totally exposed tiny front garden with a small patch of grass that has to remain. One of her interests is Feng Shui. Feng Shui has five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each is connected to a color and type of energy. Wood is growth and its color green so most plants would work for this element. Fire is warmth and the color red. Earth is the stable ground and colors include brown, yellow, and terracotta. Metal is clear precision with colors including white, silver, metallic grays and metallic gold. Water represents quiet coolness and flowing or shifting movement. Water's colors are black and a very deep blue. I can think of a lot of plants that could fit wood, fire, earth, and metal but a lot less plants for water. The easiest way to solve the water element would be a running water feature, but it is not practical for this tiny space.
I came up with a limited list of black or very dark plants that might fit the need for this zone 9 garden listed from shortest to tallest.
Black mondo grass – black grass blades
Black Scallop Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) ‘Black Scallop' – mostly black leaves, seasonal purple flowers
Black Velvet petunia or Black Magic petunia – green leaves, black flowers
Sorbet Black Delight viola or Blackout viola (Viola cornuta)- black flowers, green leaves
Obsidian coral bells (Heuchera ‘Obsidian') – mostly black leaves
Onyx Odyssey Hellebore (Helleborus ‘Onyx Odyssey') – mostly black leaves
Zwartkop Aeonium (Aeonium arboretum) – nearly black
Before the Storm bearded iris, Black is Black Kickstart bearded iris, Hello Darkness bearded iris – All have green leaves (blades) with black flowers
Black Coral Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Coral') – large black leaves
Hibiscus Holy Grail - The flower is red, but the leaves are almost black.
One challenge is that many of these plants only bloom in black and the rest of the time are green. It's also amazing how many blacks exist in the plant world. It's like trying to match black clothing. Some of the plants have a deep red base, others deep purple and a few a midnight blue. It will be interesting to see if the homeowner picks any of them. She may decide to leave out the water element all together. A Feng Shui garden actually doesn't have to have all five elements to be a Feng Shui garden!