Nighttime is a magical and mysterious time. The sun has set and the air cools, and the world just seems just a bit quieter. It’s also a fantastic time to spend in the garden!
Many night-blooming plants wait until the cooler twilight hours when a whole new world awakens once the sun disappears and the moon shines.
It’s the perfect excuse to plant a Moon Garden or Night-Flowering Garden! Take time out of your busy day to unwind, meditate and listen to the crickets chirp or watch fireflies blinking in and out of view.
Here are some great ideas to best start a nighttime garden of your own!
Moonlight Sonata:
White and creamy colored blooms or pale yellow flowers all seem to reflect the moon and starlight. While dreamy light blue, pale pink and lavender flowers always seem to glow and radiate in the twilight. So they’re the natural color choices for Moon gardens! Then of course you have so many options in variegated plants and silver foliage that are dazzling on their own day or night!
Often many flowers rely on moths and insects active only at night to perform the role of pollination while butterflies and bees sleep, so these only open at dusk. Perfuming the air with sweet fragrance and calling on the denizens of the evening to flock to their flowers. Here are a few great options for you to get planning your own Moon garden!
White & Pale Flowered Shrubs:
With a surface that reflects the moonlight, bright yellow, white and yellow flowers and other light-colored blooms have the faces of the moon themselves.
- Annabelle Hydrangea - or other white-flowered Hydrangeas
- White Roses
- Little Henry® Virginia Sweetspire
- Sageleaf Willow
- White Azalea
- Japanese White Spirea
- White Oleander
- Scentsational Honeysuckle Vine
- Gardenia
Perennials:
The flowers of many perennials attract night pollinating hummingbird moths and other moths, bats and beetles such as lightning bugs. There’s even a few nocturnal bees working diligently to pollinate after the sun sets.
- Amazing Daisies® Daisy May® Shasta Daisy
- Sweet Autumn Clematis
- White Lilies such as Casa Blanca Oriental Lily
- Festival Star Baby’s Breath
- White Flame Phlox
- Frosted Velvet Tall Bearded Iris
- Moonflowers
- Angel’s Trumpet Vines
Pale Blue, Pinks & Purples:
Gleaming in the twilight, the soft blues & purples of the night really shine!
- Arkansas Blue Star
- Russian Sage
- Wild Petunia
- Blue Hydrangea
- Korean Spice Viburnum and Burkwood Viburnum
- Many types of Weigela
Silver Plants:
Soft and silvery, these plants shimmer & shine in the soft moonlight!
- Artemisia
- Lambs Ears
- Brunnera
- Japanese Painted Ferns
- Lavender
- Russian Sage
- Lungworts
- Ghost Lamium
Blue Foliage:
The epitome of twilight, blue foliage stands out at nightfall.
- Blue Hosta: Blue Angel, Big Daddy or Elegans
- Elijah Blue Fescue
- Beyond Blue Fescue
- Variegated Hosta such as Patriot
- The Blues Little Bluestem
- Blue Star Juniper
- Papoose Sitka Spruce
- Moonglow Juniper
- Slenderina Weeping Blue Spruce
Variegated Grasses & Plants:
Lending motion & fine texture, Ornamental Grasses shimmer while waving in the breeze.
- Color Guard Yucca variegation & white blooms!
- Creme de Mint Siberian Dogwood or Ivory Halo
- Evergold Sedge Grass
- Overdam Feather Reed Grass
- Variegated Sedge
Moon Plants:
Be literal with plants named after the moon itself!
- Moonrock Hydrangea
- Moonglow Juniper
- Moonbeam Coreopsis
- August Moon Hosta
- Moonshine Yarrow
- Moonglow Sweet Bay Magnolia
- Magical Moonlight Buttonbush
Here’s a pre-planned garden to get you started, plus adaptable plants growing in a wide range of climates and conditions in the United States:
- Sweet Autumn Clematis - height & climbing element
- Creme de Mint Siberian Dogwood - a variegated shrub in mid-range height
- Moonrock Hydrangea - deciduous shrub & incredible blooms
- Slenderina Weeping Blue Spruce - a fantastic focal point tree
- Overdam Feather Reed Grass - variegated motion & texture
- Patriot Hosta - a fantastic variegated perennial & lavender blooms
- Wild Petunia - night-blooming stunner
- Blue Star Juniper - a wonderful year-round blue evergreen groundcover
- Silver Mound Artemesia - a silvery green soft foliage perennial
- Tuxedo™ Weigela - a small shrub with sparkling white blooms & leaves as dark as night
Final Touches:
Don’t forget the final touches that make for a great garden and outdoor room! Select garden Lighting and Lamps, glow in the dark stones, white rocks or path lights. A comfy seating area, a Hammock to relax in, a water feature or firepit, and a gazing ball to reflect the moonlight.
You’ll want a few candles too! Preferably citronella to combat the mosquitoes that are unfortunately also active during the evening hours.
Extend your garden time with plants that embody the evening and twilight, while also making it easy for you to care for. Plus they look just as great during the daytime too! Get gardening - day or night - with plants expertly grown at Nature Hills today!
Happy Planting!
