13 Gothic Plants

Spring is here - a great time to get out in the garden and start growing things! If you're a Goth who isn't *too* adverse to sunshine, why not try cultivating a Gothic Garden of your own? Each of the 13 items on this list even includes links to shops where you can buy these plants.

13. Hop

Via hopshop.co.uk

The highly decorative hop is an old favourite of the more hippyish Goth types who love their beer! It’s also great for hanging up around the house at all seasons, as it looks good even when dried.

12. Tansy

Via crocus.co.uk

The bright yellow tansy flower may not look very gothic, but this plant was in the passed used to embalm the dead. Which is pretty goth.

11. Fern

Via crocus.co.uk

The Victorians loved their ferns, adorning many objects (including gravestones) with a fern emblem. Their ancient nature also gives them a real aura of mystery and an association with the faerie otherworld.

10. Mistletoe

Via englishmistletoeshop.co.uk

Anyone who knows their plant-lore will be aware that the symbolism of mistletoe extends way beyond Christmas! This mysterious, parasitic plant has for centuries been associated with magical powers and connections with the divine.

9. Poppy

Via plantmenow.co.uk

Poppies are associated with many of the things you’ll find in a Gothic novel – thunderstorms, bloodshed, death and opium.

8. Fungi

Via suttons.co.uk

Technically, fungi aren’t plants…but they have such strong connections with magic and darkness that they had to be included here.

7. Pennie Black

Via outsidepride.com

Yes, black flowers exist! The Pennie Black a very cute little flower that would be perfect in a Gothic garden.

6. Black Knight

Via mr-fothergills.co.uk

Another “black” flower (actually very dark, blood red), with a cool gothy name to boot.

5. Nigrescens

Via crocus.co.uk

This grass is not only jet black – it also looks rather unsettlingly like a giant spider…

4. Zwartkop

Via athelasplants.co.uk

This plant has to be a must for the Gothic arboretum! It looks like some kind of dark, alien creature!

3. Ivy

Via crocus.co.uk

Evergreen and therefore symbolic of eternal life, ivy is a common sight in cemeteries and is often seen growing over old ruined castles and churches. It’s also a popular plant with pagans and wiccans. To top it all, certain varieties of ivy are poisonous, making it a plant with lots of goth appeal.

2. Lily

Via callalilyshop.pacificcallas.com

With its association with funerals, the lily is an obvious Goth favourite, and especially the “black” calla variety, which is the colour of dried blood…

1. Rose

Via gardeningexpress.co.uk

Perhaps the most ubiquitous plant of all in Goth imagery is the rose. The red rose is a universal symbol of romance, and for Goths it is often associated with vampires due to its colour and sharp, fang-like thorns. The black rose was formerly a symbol of anarchism but these days has been appropriated by goths as an even gothier rose variant. And it *just about* exists in nature as the very dark red Baccara rose.