How to Plant a Moon Garden
Moon gardens extend the beauty of your garden into the night. White, silver and pastel flowers shimmer in the moonlight, while night blooming flowers envelope you in sweet fragrance. Whether you choose to create a rambling moon garden complete with statuaries and shrubs, or simply want to enjoy a container garden under the stars, is up to you. Either way, you can create an enchanting garden by following a few simple tips.
Choosing Flowers for a Moon Garden
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Choose a variety of flowers in varying sizes. Whites, silver and pale pastels work best as they catch and reflect the moonlight. But, don't limit yourself to pure white. Variegated flowers such as sweet William can create a dazzling show in the moonlight. Consider adding potted plumeria in shades of white and yellow to create a stunning show of color at sunset.
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Plumeria creates a stunning show in late evening.
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Include Night Blooming and Fragrant Flowers in Moon Gardens
Night Blooming Jasmine
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Select flowers that bloom or release their scent at night. Night blooming jasmine, four-o-clocks and nicotainia are good choices, but don't forget to add a few herbs as well. Lavender may not reflect the light, but it will fill the night air with its sweet fragrance. Garden phlox create a heady scent that exudes romance.
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Backgrounds in Moon Gardens Matter
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Consider the background when designing and planting a moon garden. Dark colored trellises blend into the night giving the illusion of flowers floating in the air. The same applies to hanging baskets filled with trailing flowers. Try a green basket filled with cascading white petunias to add both fragrance and beauty to the night garden. The rose arbor at the right will blend into the night, while the light colored roses will appear suspended in midair. Plant climbing vines in front of wrought iron fences and trellises to highlight them by day and create a magical illusion by night.
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Dark trellises are invisible at night.
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Plant Moon Gardens Under the Path of the Moon
Sunflower in the moonlight.
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Place flowers where they will receive the light of the moon. Although this sounds obvious, it is sometimes overlooked by well-meaning gardeners. Check the path of the moon on a moonlit night to be sure that other garden structures or nearby trees to do obscure it from view.
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Extending the Blooming in Moon Gardens
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Choose flowers that bloom at different times to keep your moon garden aglow all summer. Adding Shasta daisies and white petunias help to extend the effect you are looking to achieve as they bloom from early summer until frost.
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Cosmos bloom from early summer until fall.
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Supplemental Lighting for Moon Gardens
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Add lanterns or glowing lights to the garden to enhance it beauty even when the moon is not visible. To create the illusion of moonlight, hang lanterns from trees or on shepherds hooks to illuminate the garden from above. Or try adding potted flowers in a solar plant pot that gives off a gentle glow at night.
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Water Features Enhance Moon Gardens
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Water features add sparkle and soothing sound to the moon garden. These include garden fountains and birdbaths. While a white or light-colored fountain will stand out in the night, darker fountains create contrast with the light colored flowers by day. To make the most of both daytime and nighttime viewing try installing a dark fountain and add a string of miniature lights or a solar light to highlight the fountain at night.
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Include Seating in Moon Gardens
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Add seating near the moon garden for those relaxing summer nights under the stars. Stone benches, wooden chairs or simply an old log or flat rock to sit on creates a romantic get-a-way for whispering sweet nothings under the stars.
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