I can think of several white flowering shade lovers, but I guess it would be nice to actually see the moon from your moon garden, LOL.
Does anyone have a moon garden?
ok , i have calla lilies outside my bedroom window and they are so vivid in the dark with the light from my bedroom. These flowers are nice in the black night not just dusk. they are blooming now in zone 9. they are in part shade and like lots of water. here they like to pop up other places but i don't know if they're hardy in you zone.
Callas overwinter in the ground here, or at least have for me for the last 5 years.
i don't know why i didn't think of them before. Maybe because they are such thugs for me
Gemini,
That's great that they overwinter in the ground for you. I have to keep mine in pots and break them, but I shouldn't complain because it's really easy. But Wonderearth, when you talk about thugs, are you talking about callas? What do they do in your climate?
Donna
I hear the big white callas grow like weeds in much of California.
they grow six feet tall and try to come up between the sidewalk cracks. lol I saw some growing in a creek bed wild.
Now THAT's scary. Our climate is tough, but it has the advantage of killing off bugs and rampant tender plants. Even if things seed, they can only get so large in one season.
Donna
I was doing some research on calla lillies, and found that there is one called Hercules that grows up to 7 feet! I don't know if that would happen in my zone, but that is probably what you are seeing Wonderearth.
how about a night blooming cerris. I met a 90 old little lady and she told me she used to have champaigne partys at midnight , waiting for this fragrant plant to open. Sounds fun to me.
My white wisteria is just about to be in full bloom, and it is a full moon right now, so that has been a reminder, that it makes a nice moon garden plant(for a week or two, lol) , if you have the room...
Also, lamb's ear is a moon garden favorite...the silver foliage kinda sparkles in moonlight.
This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 6:21 AM
seedpicker, you should try for a photo of the moon with that wisteria---sounds dreamy! And calla lilies, I have never grown them but if they do well in CA maybe I can grow them here? Off to look at their hardiness zones. LOL!
Cactus-
I was think about you the other day...ever get any sunrise cupido going? :0)
Callas do iffy here...barely hanging on. They don't do well here, but don't die, either.
If they did well, I'd have lots of them. I think they are pretty.
I'll definitely see If I can take a photo...need to see my manual to change the Fstop on my camera so I can take a night picture...
I never did any of them to root, they would just rot! Very discouraging after the success I had with the orange one from my DD.
Looking at the calla lily description, they seem to prefer acid conditions and we are very alkaline. Oh well, just may try a pot of them one day anyhow. You might put your camera on a tripod and set it for a long exposure.
Cactuspatch-
ok, I tried, but it looks much better in person
Wow it looks great. I know it is much better in person, as much as I love photography--the real thing is always so much better. Thanks!
BTW the first rose to bloom in my yard was today and it was the Sunrise mini. I will try and root it again once it starts to get more growth on this summer.
I've kept my eye open for that one, but still have not been able to locate one.
I hope these will root happily for you ;0)
If I do get any to root, will dmail you first and save one for you. But I wonder if the fact that I couldn't get any to root after 3 tries last year means this one is difficult. Maybe that is why they are no longer available in nurseries?Joyce
Another plant that I would definitely have in a Moon Garden is Nicotiana "Fragrant Cloud". Mine grew about 2 feet tall, and they were covered with flowers for the best part of the summer.
A vine that is worth growing is Mandevilla laxa - beautiful white flowers, and the fragrance is to die for.... even during the day.
My all-time favorite is the Nicotiana - I refuse to not grow it!
Other favorites are:
Sweet Rocket - white or purple perennial/biennial, which will grow in full sun to light shade, late spring to early summer, night-scented.
Night Phlox - annual, during the day, the flowers are tightly closed, just showing a hint of color. As dusk comes on there's a "magic moment" when they open like a display of little firework stars! They have a delicious almond/honey/vanilla-like fragrance.
Night-scented Stock - white, pale pink, or lavender annual. Full sun to part shade.
Thunbergia (Black-eyed Susan vine) - white, yellow, orange, annual, unscented.
Hemerocallis 'citrine' is a lemon-yellow daylily, but the scent at dusk is heavenly!
I've heard that Evening Primrose are lightly scented, too.
No but I want one.
I'm so SORRY I just couldn't pass this up.Again I apologize!
Don't be sorry - it's "perfect"!
LOL! My DD will love to see this one as she has been known to "moon" on occasion. ; )
Synda, I love that picture! Where did you find that?
www.icanhascheezburger.com
I have another one to.that is where I get most of my pics............LOL.
You can copy any of my pictures ,I don't care.Some people get fussy ,but I don't.Just here to grow plants and have fun.
I love that site.
I finally finished layering the new bed yesterday. I layed down layers of newspapers, which I topped with compost, leaf hummus, and mulch. Because I wanted more sun, the bed was larger than I initially planned.
Today, I actually began planting my perennials and bulbs. It's still too early for annuals in Northern Virginia. I decided to add a euonymus (emerarld gaiety) for provide year round color. This is a trailing green euonymus with white edging. During the winter, it has a pink tinge to it. I actually pulled this from the island in front of the house, and was able to divide it into multiple plants (free plants!) Then I added baby swan (white coneflowers), that I started from seed in February (almost free!) - no flowers yet, but they should look good later this summer. I also planted some white oriental lily bulbs, and white and purple liatris corms. There are also some light pink monarda (bee balm).
Next month, I will add the white cleome, shasta daisys, and zulu prince (a white annual with a dark center).
Tomorrow, I hope to post a shot of the bed before the plantings, and one after the plantings.
I don't know if I will be able to add 4:00 plants. I have had the hardest time getting these seeds to germinate. I should add some moonflowers next month. The foxglove also needs to be planted.
This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 9:17 PM
I came to the conclusion that the 4 o'clocks actually have a very low germination rate. I have a white one (in it's second year and about 4' tall) and from all the seeds it dropped the previous season, only two germinated - gave them to my mom.
I'd say from the other colors I tried, a 5-10% germination rate is about it....
I have a predominantly white one that has pink specks on it. You can sasbe for it, if you'd like it?
email me if you want it. It is two years old, and is a nice size tuber.
Thank you for your offer Seedpicker. I actually have three plants that germinated, but this is out of about 20 seeds. Its good to know that I'm not doing something wrong.
Rain today, no pictures.
Here's my perennial white salvia. It has a long bloom season if you deadhead individual flower spikes faithfully, which I admit is somewhat tedious to do. . . I'll paste it in:
Salvia nemorosa ‘Snow Hill’ or ‘Schneehugel’. Blooms early to mid-summer, repeats in fall.. Full sun. H 18-24". SP 18-24". Well-drained soil. Attracts butterflies. Hardiness Zone 3 to Zone 9. Striking flower spikes attract butterflies, and make outstanding cut or dried flowers. Complements many perennials, including yarrow, coreopsis, rudbeckia, grasses. Deadhead.
Mine gets shaded over by 3:30 or 4 pm, but it flourishes anyway.
Just came from an evening stroll, with more ideas for moongardens.
Nepeta x faasseni Snowflake
Fothergilla gardenii
What about gardenias? Are any hardy in your zone? Didn't get a good picture of the flowers, but this is the best I could find.
Oh, I wish!!! My mother-in-law just got some on Mother's Day, so I researched them. For me they would be, at best, a greenhouse plant. But wow, they are exquisite.
Donna
Donna,
I am going to look for snowflake. My nepeta low walker really likes my garden.
Penne,
You will love this plant. It's a low grower, and really sparkling white. It discreetly seeds about. I then take the seedlings and put them where I want them. And it's one of the first bloomers of the year.
Donna
Stumbled across this article about moon gardens:
http://www.weekendgardener.net/landscaping-ideas/moonlight-080708.htm
I love my white oleander and when I saw how this photo turned out it reminded me of this thread. I don't sit out there often at night, but when I do I enjoy it, all the stars we can see here, and watching the moon over the mountains. Our nights can be a bit chilly, but they should be warming a bit now with summer on it's way.
This message was edited May 21, 2009 12:43 AM
Donna,
I just orderd snowflake from Bluestone (1/2 price sale!). I couldn't find it locally.
I used to grow oleanders when I lived in Georgia. I never knew what a crape myrtle was until I moved to south. When we moved to Va from Georgia, I made sure to plant one in my new house.