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If you stroll through your flower garden at night you'll be hard pressed to differentiate between purple and red. Orange, yellow, and pink are a monochromatic muddy gray. Don't despair. There is an easy, beautiful, and sensually stimulating way to remedy the situation: Plant a moonlight garden. It will delight the senses -- smell, sight and touch.
White, gray, and silver foliage and flowers reflect light well so they will stand out on bright moonlit nights. Night blooming plants become more fragrant at night in order to attract pollinators. Many of the plants suitable for moonlight gardens are textural and pleasant to touch.
The purist will choose only white specimens, but you can throw in a few paler shades of other colors if you want. I like the all-white garden. Bear in mind you'll need to start your garden in a sunny, open area that will be exposed to moonlight.
The queen of the moonlight garden is none other than the Ipomoea alba, or moonflower. It is nothing more than a night-blooming morning glory, but oh, what a beauty! The large, fragrant white flowers grow on a twining vine that can cover a fence. Last year I planted three plants along a twelve-foot fence, and they covered it from end to end.
The flowers open in the evening, last all night and close when the sun touches them. It is an annual plant, so you'll have to cultivate it each spring. This is one of the few plants I start indoors from seed. Nick the small brown seeds with a knife and soak in water overnight. Then pop a few seeds in jiffy pots of soil, place in a sunny window and keep moist. When danger of frost has passed you can transfer them to your moonlight garden.
White impatiens reflect the moonlight very well and look especially nice if used as a border around your bed. They normally prefer shade but will tolerate the sun well enough, especially if tucked in among taller plants, to survive in your moonlight garden. Water them well during blistering hot days. Also look for SunPatiens®, a variety of impatiens that grows well in sun or shade.
White geraniums, tulips, petunias, million bells, osteospermum and African daisy are good choices because of their ease of care. If you need more information about the care of a specific plant, contact the Master Gardeners at MifflinMG@psu.edu.
You're not limited to light-reflecting flowers. There is an abundance of silvery white foliage plants that will enhance your magical moonlight garden.
Top of the list is lamb's ear. One of my favorites, this plant has large, velvety soft leaves about the size and shape of a … lamb's ear. I'll bet that's how it got its name! It's a perennial so look for it to return each year. It's in the mint family, and can become invasive if left unchecked, so divide it every 2-3 years.
A hot ticket plant right now is angel wings, Senecio candicans. It's a succulent, which means it is drought and heat tolerant. Soft and velvety like lamb's ear, its silvery color will look spectacular under a full moon. A fast growing annual, it also does well in a container.
Artemisia is a large genus of plants in the daisy family. You may have heard it called wormwood or mugwort. Dusty miller, an annual, is in the Artemesia genus and will look lovely next to your white impatiens.
Not all species are silver or white in color but a few, Artemisia absinthium and Artemisia pycnocephala, are. These plants have traditionally been used for everything from brewing absinthe to repelling intestinal worms to curing hangovers. Were I you, I'd steer clear of those uses and just enjoy the look of them under the moonlight.
Some plants rely on night creatures for pollination. If this is the case the plants become more fragrant at night to attract them. Win, win! Pollinators will visit and you'll have, not only a beautiful garden, but a fragrant one as well.
Four o'clocks bloom only at night and have a lovely, sweet fragrance. Night phlox, whose blooms are red on the outside and white on the inside, are night bloomers as are night-blooming jasmine and nicotiana (flowering tobacco). So, what pollinators work the night shift? Moths and bats. You're more likely to attract moths and less likely to attract bats as they are more active pollinators in desert and tropical climates.
Walk with me down the garden path
beneath the light of the moon.
Walk with me down the garden path
for morning will come too soon.