Plant a Moonlight Garden

Moonlight gardens incorporate a variety of plants that excel in the evening hours. For instance, some plants only bloom at night and others become more fragrant in the evening. To take advantage of this, design a moonlight garden that can be enjoyed after the sun goes down. Moonlight gardens are colourful and fragrant and provide a fun evening sanctuary. To plant a moonlight garden, start by choosing light coloured plants that are fragrant at night. Once you have selected the plants, design the garden for optimal evening visual effects.

Steps

Choosing Plants for their Colour

1. Plant flowers with white blooms. White shows up the best in the early evening and night. Try planting flowers with white blooms in your moonlight garden. There are so many options available. Try adding the following white flowers to your moonlight garden:
   • Summer snapdragon (Serena white variety)
   • White Trillium
   • Hydrangea
   • Lilies
   • Rhododendrons
2. Select plants with cool hues. Flowers with cool hues, such as violet, light blue, lavender, chartreuse, and even light yellow also show up nicely in the evening light. In fact, cool colours show up best in the evening and night because they don’t have to compete with bright flowers in the garden.
3. Try plants with silver or light foliage. Plants with silver or light foliage will provide texture and reflection in your moonlight garden. These plants will stand out in the evening and will complement the other white and cool hues present in a moonlight garden. A few plants with silver or light foliage include:
   • Silver mound
   • Lamb’s Ear
   • Hostas
   • Japanese Painted Fern
   • Lamium
   • Silver Sage
   • Licorice Plant

Selecting Plants that are Fragrant at Night

1. Include plants that bloom in the evening. Some plants only bloom during the evening and attract nighttime pollinators, such as moths. You should include nighttime bloomers in your moonlight garden because they will add both colour and fragrance to the garden. If possible, purchase night blooming flowers in white or other cool hues. A few night bloomers to consider include:
   • Evening Primrose
   • Moonflower
   • Night Phlox
   • Evening Stock
   • Night Blooming Cereus
   • Four O’Clock
2. Try plants that become more fragrant at night. Some flowers that bloom all day become more fragrant in the evening. These flowers will give your moonlight garden a beautiful fragrance and will make walking through your garden in the evening a sensory experience. Some fragrant evening flowers include:
   • Petunias
   • Japanese Wisteria
   • Jasmine
   • Lilies
   • Honeysuckles
3. Include light coloured fragrant flowers. There are also a variety of flowers that are fragrant throughout the day and come in light colours. These floral varieties are perfect for a moonlight garden. For example, lavender has a cool purple hue and is also extremely fragrant.

Designing a Moonlight Garden

1. Border your garden path with white booms and silver foliage. One way to use nighttime foliage is to border your garden beds and garden paths. This way, the white flowers and bright foliage will help light your way through the garden in the evening.
2. Spread nighttime plants throughout your garden. For the best effect, you want to spread out your nighttime plants. Try not to confine them to one section of the garden or one garden bed. This area will look monochrome and washed out during the day and will not have as impressive of an effect in the evening.
   • For example, you could plant a rose garden with a variety of different colours. Include some white as well. These ones will stand out at night, giving a pop of colour to an otherwise dark garden.
3. Try a climbing plant to give a backdrop. You can also use nighttime plants to give depth and texture to your garden. For example, try planting a white flowering vine that can climb up the side of your house or fence. Use a trellis of jasmine as a backdrop for colourful flowers. This will look appealing during the day and at night.
4. Add a water feature for moonlight reflections. Water features, such as small ponds, will reflect the moonlight and the white flowers found within your moonlight garden. This reflection will provide additional light and will make your moonlight garden stand out.
5. Use white pots and planters. You can also use white planters and pots to add more brightness and light to your moonlight garden. You can fill these pots with cool hued flowers or silver foliage.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Build a Backyard Vertical Farm
• Garden
• Pick Garden Pots
• Fumigate Wood
• Harvest Chicory
• Clean a Pond
• Plant a Cocktail Garden
• Harvest Chickweed
• Start Pepper Seeds
• Use Citrus Fruit Peels in the Home and Garden

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