Black flowers for a gothic Halloween

From the garden

Black and orange are Halloween colors. Orange is seen everywhere in the autumn—pumpkins, squash, gourds, mums, and (a teaser for next week) marigolds. True black flowers have yet to be bred but there are some blooms that are the deepest, darkest purples, reds, magentas that come close to black. The Old Farmer’s Almanac (almanac.com) has named some flowers with colors so close to bla…