Moonlight gardens are pretty during the day but it is at night, when the moon is out, that they truly stand out. Moonlight gardens are made up of white and silver plants, that reflect the moons light, and, plants that have a lovely evening fragrance. They add an element of romance and cool relaxation to the landscape.
When creating a moonlight garden the first thing that needs to be done is choosing the right site. Look at the yard at night and see where the moon shines down. Once the site has been chosen the next step would be choosing the plants. Choose plants that have white flowers, or foliage plants that have silver or white leaves. Look for plants with different bloom times so that there is always something blooming, throughout the season. The nice thing about choosing plants with silver or white foliage is that they will add beauty to the moonlight garden throughout the season. You may also want to look for plants that have different textures and heights giving the garden more interest.
It is surprising how many plants there are that will look beautiful in a moonlight garden. Starting with early blooming bulbs such as snowdrops, white crocus, and then daffodils and tulips. Don't forget about the white flowering alliums which bloom in early summer. There are lots of perennials that when planned carefully will give season long, reflective colour. Snow in Summer is a low growing, light silver, soft feeling, leaved perennial that has the added bonus of little white flowers in late spring/early summer. Another low growing perennial is the white creeping phlox which produces white flowers in mid spring. Later in the season, the tall garden phloxes come into bloom with very fragrant white blooms. Candytuft is another choice for a low growing, white flowering perennial. Taller flowering perennials include the late spring blooming, Bleeding Heart -Alba and later blooming Campanula. Perennials that have bright foliage are the many varieties of Hostas which have a lot of white or cream in their leaves. Lambs Ears are a favourite as they have the textured, fuzzy silver leaves, that look just like a lambs ear. Edelweiss is a beautiful silver leaved perennial that produces silvery white flowers. There are also several different varieties of Sages (Artemisia) such as Silver Mound that are hardy for our zone 3 climate.
Flowering shrubs include a few varieties of white flowering hydrangeas, such as PeeGee, and Annabelle. The variegated red twig dogwood will give season long interest as it is creamy/green foliage. Also look for white flowering lilacs and roses. Both of these will not only add the white but also add the fragrance.
The list of white flowering annuals is long. It seems that almost every type of annual has at least one variety of white in it. A white flowering annual that is also scented is alyssum, or evening scented stocks. Silver foliage annuals include dusty miller.
For added fragrance you can plant some herbs such as Lavender which has silver foliage.
A moonlight garden can also have a water feature which adds to the romance of it, as you sit and listen to the trickle of water. A silver gazing ball placed in the centre of the garden would be the added bonus as it reflects the light, and image of plants. Sometimes moonlight gardens will have a few small solar lights added to it, for some added depth.
If you like to entertain in the evening or just to sit and relax and enjoy a romantic evening outdoors, why not add a moonlight garden to a small corner of your landscape!
