title: Creating Contrast with Dark Plants
author:  Freya Martin 
description: Dark flowers and foliage can be dramatic components in a garden scheme. Martin suggests an assortment of plants that will contribute bizarre effects, like the odd appearance of the bat flower and the odorous dragon arum, with its black spadix and burgundy spathe. Lush summer color, on the other hand, can be found in tender specimens such as brightly variegated cultivars of coleus; the glowing red blooms of the cardinal flower lobelia; and stunning Bishop of Llandaff dahlias. Plant architecture is considered, with purple-leaved maple trees and the colorful stems of dogwood shrubs. Martin describes the attributes of a range of plants, and offers practical information contained in sidebars advising how and where each plant should be grown. A section on design focuses on splashy seasonal effects. <i>Alice Joyce</i><br /><i>Copyright  American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
zlib_text: The darkening sky cast gray shadows over Carson's face, but the clarity of
  his gaze never wavered. The rain plastered his hair to his head, sluiced
  smoothly over his torso and washed away the accumulated sweat and dirt. His
  muscles flexed and slowly he advanced; his movements sleek, stealthy, with a
  jungle cat's grace. Eva held her breath.
  He stopped. Inches separated their rain-soaked bodies. The air swirled close,
  the moisture thickened. The fog of Carson's body heat scented the air. Droplets
  caught in Eva's lashes and she raised determined eyes.
  He meant nothing to her any more; he was no longer a part of her life. But
  her thighs quivered, and her breasts tightened. And she knew the lie had run
  its course.
  Carson lifted a finger, hesitated, then flicked a raindrop from the end of her
  nose. A second kissed her lip, slipped down her chin, ran the length of her
  neck and soaked into the neckband of her T-shirt. Carson's gaze followed, then
  traveled lower. His eyelids grew heavy, his bre