Garden: I Think I Found My Plant

So.  In the last post, I was wracking my brain to come up with a plant (or plants) with dark foliage to weave throughout the garden.

And then, yesterday, I made a quick stop at City People's Mercantile to round up some hose connectors and sundry parts to help get me and the garden through the recent bout of hot weather, and I think I found my plant--Trachelium caeruleum "Lake Michigan Wine Red".

Trachelium caeruleum, or Blue Throatwort--unknown cultivar.  Source:  Wikimedia Commons

For some, Trachelium caeruleum is a perennial (some sources list it as being hardy in zones 7-11) but I bought it as an annual--in fact, the grower's website says that it is hardy to only 40 degrees.  It is a common flower in the florist trade and is available in shades of blue, violet, white, and green.  I really like the look of the green-flowered one, but it seems to be not yet available to retail trade.  Trachelium caeruleum is said to grow in clumps to 3 feet tall and wide.  I doubt if it will do that here, in the course of a single growing season.  The growth habit I expect is a single longish stem or two of dark green foliage blushed with wine or purple and topped with a single loose umbel of dark wine-colored flowers.  I think the longish, darkish stems could be just the thing I am looking for to help better integrate the dense dark-foliaged plants with the rest of the garden.   I bought two small 4-packs of of this plant and dotted them around the garden.  I hope they do well!  If so, I will try (next year) to source the darkest and duskiest cultivar available.