Moon Gardens Shine in the Dark
April 17, 2019 | By webadmin
If you are like most people, you aren’t able to spend too much time in your garden during the day due to work and family obligations. When it gets hot in Texas the best time to enjoy your patio is often after the sun goes down. So why not plant for the night? White-flowering plants will pop in the dark and bright up your space while you enjoy it after hours.
To create a truly spectacular moon-garden, follow the steps below:
Start with Shrubs
Choose some larger, white-flowering shrubs to anchor your space. We suggest spring-flowering snowball viburnum, azalea, or camellia. Roses, mock orange, and gardenia are always a crowd favorite & add a lovely scent to the night-time garden – extra calming factor! If you are looking for a way to attract and delight pollinators, abelia will do the trick while covering lots of ground.
Azalea, Abelia, and Mock Orange in bloom
Layer in Perennials
To keep your moon garden blooming and interesting throughout the year, it’s best to add in some white-flowering perennials. Phlox, lilies, iberis, and iris will delight in the spring. White gaura, coneflower, butterfly bush, and autumn sage offer up blooms in summer and fall. White-flowering Lenten rose brighten up your moon garden in winter. Fill in gaps with perennial white-flowering bulbs such as tulips and daffodils, which truly glow in the dark.
White Iris, Peony, and Tulips are crowd favorites!
Grow up!
Have a trellis or arbor or want to install one? Some of the best plants to include in a moon garden are vines. In addition to the even popular moonflower, clematis, jasmine, mandevilla, and stephanotis are must haves.
Who doesn't love clematis?
Bonus: Night blooming flowers, such as moonflower, attract night-time pollinators like moths and bats – a group of pollinators you may have not noticed before!
Annual Color
Each season offers up many options for white flowers. Winter has white pansies and violas. Spring is bursting with white petunias, lobelia, fragrant nemesia, and stock. In the summertime, pentas, lantana, and zinnia will brighten up your space. Don’t forget about designing your containers to match – brugmansia and tropical foliage like variegated colocasia and caladium add drama to your garden.
White zinnia is hardy for full-sun situations.
Add interest with Texture
Textural leaves, such as those on senecio, artemsia, and lamium will shine against a dark backdrop. Fun, texture-heavy flowers like spirea and agapanthus won’t blend in with the rest of your landscape when the sun goes down.
Artemsia and senecio glow in the dark.
If you’ve simply run out of time to enjoy your landscape in the daylight, and crave a place to wind down after a long day, consider planting a moon garden. You’ll be surprised how your plants really shine in the dark.
