Does anyone have a moon garden?

The first time that I heard of this, I thought it was crazy nonsense - Who would grow plants just to look at during the evening? I want to see my plants in the light of day, when I can see the details, and admire the pretty colors. Just recently, I began to change my mind.

I have an area not far from the back of the house that we haven't touched since moving in three years ago. Azaleas are in the background, underneath what I refer to as our wooded area, since this is the only area that boost trees other than the maple in front of the house. I think that this would be the perfect place to have a moon garden since it is almost directly in front or our back door. We get an excellent view, whether we are sitting at the dinner table or relaxing on the couch.

So this is going to be one of my any projects this spring. I've already begun a lasgana garden there this fall, but I have also already made the decision to deepen the bed as soon as it is warm enough to turn the hose on, and not worry about freezing the pipes or my hands.

Currently, I am planning to plant lilies, white swan coneflowers, astilbe, liatris, and possibly shasta daisies if the deepest part will give me full sun, otherwise I am dealing with partly sunny. I may include some stella d'oros since I have plenty of these also. This past fall, I planted some karl foerster grass (love it), and white guara, although I'm not sure if there is enough sun for that. We do have a resident rabbit, whom I almost ran over in the car today, but I missed him by a hare (I couldn't resist that one!)

What else could I put in this area? I would love to see pictures of any moon gardens that you have done or are planning in the future.

I love the idea of a Moon Garden! Great choices on your list so far. Some plants that open their blooms in the evening would be nice too, like Datura, Moon vine, Brugs, Night scented Jasmine, and there are some night blooming daylilies too.

Not exactly a Moon Garden, but I am working on a "Sky Garden" in all blue, white, and yellow. It is in view of the deck, so I'm using a lot of white and night blooming plants that show up and/or are fragrant in the evening.

I'm zooming out the door to work...but...

I've grown 4 o'clocks in the past and they are more fragrant at night (but not all are super fragrant)...and there are also actual MOON FLOWERS that open after dark. They attract those whopper moths (like the butterfly moths).

As plants "go over the hill" in my yard I'm starting to go with more fragrant varieties. We've hybridized flowers so much that many are no longer smelling good. So...back to deeeelish scents for me.

Four o'clocks
http://www.plantanswers.com/four_clock.htm

Moonflowers
http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/tropicalflowers/moon-flower

I have always wanted to do a Moon Garden!

I am going to watch this too. I want to do a fragrant moon garden around our hot tub, because the only time we use it is at night after the kiddos are in bed.

I have moonflower vines, all white four o'clocks, and nicotiana affinis so far. I do have some Daturas too, I will have to plant those there.

I do not have a moon garden ,but would definitely have the nicotiana ,it smells so wonderful and I think it only smells at night or at least mine tend to.

Thanks for the great links. I have never grown four o'cocks or moonflowers, and didn't really know anything about them. This sounds like two more great plants to add to my list. Since I am in the mist of starting a slew of plants from seeds, I will add those two to my list. So far, the only ones that I have to buy are astilbe, and some additional liatris corms but they aren't terribly expensive.

I was reading up on the datura as well as it sounds interesting. I didn't know that this was the same plant as the jimson weed. I like Georgia O'Keefe's Jimson Weeds.

Just in case someone is NOT aware of this... Datura (while awesome) is highly poisonous. I have grown it before...and it's really beautiful..but I dont' have any little kids around or puppies. I think it's related to Nightshade (there's some old rule of thumb about dark purple or black stems).

I also love Castor beans for a wild backdrop plant, but again... not family friendly. They're not fragrant...just wild looking...kind of "Little Shoppe of Horrors" alien-ish...LOL

I love to sit on the front porch and on the pond dock in the evenings. I've been thinking about a moon garden too, and want to load it up with fragrance. I think you've touched base on most of the white, scented plants I've been putting on my list - moon flower, jasmine, nicotiana, brugs, datura... I am also thinking about evening stock for scent, but I'm not sure if it is white. All the ideas I've been getting from DG are making my head spin - I want to try everything!!! I'm anxious to hear how your moon gardens are taking shape as the spring and summer progress... Terri

Hi guys. Don't post here too often but I do read here now and then and saw this thread.

I don't have a moon garden per se, but I do plant some stuff with night interest around my patio, including the moonflower vines that were mentioned above.

One thing I wanted to suggest is an evening-blooming jasmine. I don't know much about it, as I just happened to get it at a swap and it didn't come with much info, but it is an intensely fragrant, white-blooming plant, which puts out its wonderful smell at night. The flowers are much to look at but who cares, with that fragrance?

It is not hardy in my zone, so I have to drag it in every winter, but I've been able to keep it going for several years now.

I would definitely have a moon garden if I had a place to enjoy it. My patio is surrounded by the house on one side and the asphalt driveway on the other, so it's mostly containers for me.

http://msucares.com/news/print/sgnews/sg02/sg020422.html

Dee

Penne: You definitely want some moonflower vine, both for the blossom and the perfume! It's heavenly. Some white roses would be nice, white balloon flower and white mums for the autumn, too. If there's room and the exposure is right, a white hydrangea would also be a lovely backdrop.

My moon garden consists of, in one bed, Madame Hardy, two Icebergs, 3 Crystal Blanca lilies (a shorter Casa Blanca with a shorter stem), white borage, double feverfew, and salvia cocinea snow. In another bed nearby, I have about half a dozen lilium regale, a handful of casa blanca lilies lilies, nicotiana alata, a white deutzia and more salvia snow.

It's on the north side of our house, and we like sitting on our porch, from which we can see it, and talking evening walks with a glass of wine (white, of course).

Scattered around with other plants are white borage and datura, white bouncing bet, platycodon grandiflorus in white, and white four o'clocks. I'm growing some white avalanche petunias and white wave petunias to add to them.

I read about the concept in an old issue of Garden Gate. It really is a wonderful thing to have.

Donna

Donna: That sounds lovely. I hope that you will post of pictures of your garden from last summer.

For todays shopping expedition, I purchased moonflower, datura, and petunia seeds to add to the garden. I also got four o'clocks, but they are mixed colors. I started a zillion foxglove about a month ago, so I will have plenty to put in the back of the bed. I am ordering the astilbe from a nursery on Ebay that I have purchased from before.

I wish that I had more sun in this area, so that I could add some zinnias and roses, but I don't they would make it here. Hydrangeas are lovely, but they would take up too much room for this bed. If I make the bed too deep, it will be sledded upon by the kids come winter. I am going to give in and order some more seeds, since the nursery doesn't have white in four o'clocks. I also want to try some flowering tobacco.

The more time that I spend thinking about this, the more options I am finding. I found this photo on Fine Gardening's website

Donna,
I see you are in zone 5 , is the salvia snow a perennial for you?

Here is a fun little moment, try googling Moon Garden and look at the pics that come up. So inspiring!

Wow, Pennefeather, that's beautiful. I only have "day pictures" of my plants but I'll go have a look. I will definitely record the developments this year and post them.

Gardengus, snow is an annual, but it comes up fast. I start it in April each year. The borage, feverfew, nikkis and four o'clocks self seed. So does Victoria salvia in white, another plant I utilize.

To give you an idea how dazzling white roses can be, here is Madame Hardy.

Really pops at night.

This is one of the 2 Icebergs, with Salvia Cocinea Snow, and the plant next to them is reblooming borage. Once you put in borage you never have to plant it again. It blooms so readily that I can get three setsof bloom in a season by simply tearing out the spent plants.

Here a nice shot of double feverfew (seed grown).

Here's saponaria bouncing bet in white, and salvia verticulata 'White Rain', both perennials.

A great white plant that blooms in fall - alium ramosum.

White platycodons to the right, and salvia snow to the left.

Found a pic of of Iceberg in shadows as the light is fading.

Crystal Blanca in the rose bed.

This message was edited Feb 28, 2009 1:06 PM

And Casa Blanca and Snow Nymph, opposite.

This year I'll try to get better shots of the bed itself.

Donna

Edited to add that the spent lilies to the right are Lilium regale, which bloomed a month earlier.

This message was edited Feb 28, 2009 1:42 PM

OH my gosh Donna! Can you just send me your beautiful garden? I will take one of everything. LOL.

Thank you so much for sharing.

You are a SWEETHEART!

Donna

Donna: Lovely, lovely. I'd stay up all night in your garden!

I have iberis sempervirens starting to bloom. That would look great in a moon garden and I didn't even think of it.

I just thought of another plant to add to the list - the tall white garden phlox 'David' - supposed to be mildew resistant and fragrant.

I have a nice little bush called 'little henery - It is an Itea It would look nice in a moon garden. It is a sweetspire.
I think a mock orange gets large but it would be a great backdrop and they smell sooo... nice.

All this talk makes me want a moon garden ^_^ I already have too much to care for..''.must not''.. add a new garden.

Go for it Gus!

you have to put in flowering tobacco. not the dwarf variety, but the scented tall kind. it has the most amazing evening fragrance. really easy to start from seed and will bloom that season so maybe it can be treated as an annual in your zone? very cottegy. the white, light pink and lime green stand out in the dark.

I goofed last year..I didn't know there was a difference and bought the dwarf Nicotiana. I was of course disappointed. Will try to get the right one this year!

I love Nicotiana sylvestris (Woodland Tobacco) for a Moon garden. I've had them reach 6' before, and they stood up without staking. The night moths love them. To me, they give a look of fireworks going off above the rest of the garden, kinda gives the feel of a celebration.

edited to add link I forgot,

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/218926/

This message was edited Mar 1, 2009 9:55 AM

Gemini: Wow, I love that nicotiana. Adding it to my list now. It doesn't even look floppy like the rest of them.

They stood up better than the shorter varieties for me. I've got a bunch of seed, but its from '07 and my first sowing resulted in only 2 germinating. I've done a 2nd sowing to see if it was just a fluke (I also got mold on that pot, but strangely it was after that that the 2 seedlings appeared). In a few days I'll know if the seed is viable, and will let you know. If it is, I'll be happy to send you some.
Neal

The old fashioned nicotiana is great! It goes with everything. It can be a bit droopy by day but at night when it opens (also stays open on overcast days) it's nit only lovely but incredibly scented. And it goes with almost everything.

Once you plant it, you will always have it. I planted it years ago and it's all over the place. I just pull out what I don't want.

Neal, I tried growing it in pots (and got mold) and starting it in seed cells. I found by accident that the best results come from sowing them where you want them to grow, although in my case the seeds got blown to another location - better than the ones I planned.

Donna

Can we still find/purchase the old fashioned Nicotiana you're talking about? Do you harvest seed or are they self seeders? If they are wintering over for you may I ask what zone you live in? I'm in 8B.

I would love to have some...and years ago I learned to love it (by fragrance alone)...but never realized there was such a difference between the varieties. I'm totally into flowers with DELISH fragrance in my old age. Pretty is pretty....but they things have to have some scent if I put them in now.

They do reseed for me, but seems the volunteers typically don't start flowering well till late summer, so I like to start a few indoors for a longer show. Seems the self sown plants don't reach the stature of those I start indoors, but I've heard from others that isn't the case in their gardens. This is the first time I've had the mold issue with seed started indoors- keeping my fingers crossed this 2nd batch will work.

Highmtn, since you're in zone 8b, I'd bet self sown seedlings would reach their full potential for you easily. If my seed turns out to viable, you're welcome to some too.

Thanks!!!

I've read several times that steeped (and cooled) Camomile tea water will ward off damping off (mold/mildew wiping out seeds at a tender stage). Also.. a gentle breeze (like a small fan running towards the seeds) will help too.

Just suggestions I've read over the years. I've only had that mass "MOLD" carnage happen to my seedlings once...and never again...THANK GOODNESS!