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With the setting of the sun, the nocturnal garden awakens and the night shift begins.
Many plants bloom exclusively at night. Many more wait until evening to release their heady scent. White flowers and plants with variegated foliage glow softly as they reflect the moonlight. To those who work all day, the garden can be a peaceful refuge in the evening.
But for a few of our flying friends, the work goes on. The bright blooms of some plants and heavenly scent of some flowers attract nectar-feeding moths and bats. These pollinators work only after dark. Other bats are drawn to the night-blooming garden to prey on insects. They each can consume 600 mosquitoes per hour.
Why not plan a garden around the time when you can most enjoy it? When planting a garden that will shine at night, include plants from each of these categories:
Night-flowering Plants
Evening Primroses: (Oenothera ) are perennials with sweetly scented blossoms of soft white, pink and bright yellow that open each evening.
Moonflower: (Ipomoea alba
) is a night-blooming relative of the morning glory that perfumes the garden with five- to six-inch white flowers.
Angel's
Trumpet: (Datura innoxia
) produces fragrant, six-inch white flowers that appear from midsummer until frost on this viney annual. Note that this plant is poisonous and should be kept away from children.
Night Phlox: (Phlox 'Midnight
Candy'
) at dusk, flowers open to release a honey/almond/vanilla fragrance.
Evening Stock: (Matthiola incana
) has small pink or purplish flowers that are not showy, but emit an intoxicating fragrance at night.
Four
O'Clock: (Mirabilis jalapa
) is a sweetly fragrant annual with colorful trumpet-shaped flowers that open in late afternoon and release a jasmine-like perfume.
Nottingham
Catchfly: (Silene nutans
) offers a scent reminiscent of hyacinths. The flowers open on three successive nights before fading.
Night Blooming Cereus:
(Selenicereus
) is known for its large, fragrant, night-blooming white flowers. This cactus is not hardy below 55°F, so grow it in a container and bring indoors for the winter.
Daylilies:
(Hemerocallis ) that bloom
at night include 'Moon Frolic' and 'Toltec Sundial'.
Yucca: (Yucca filamentosa
) bears flowers that are open both day and night.
Night-fragrant Plants
Flowering Tobacco: (Nicotiana ) is a lovely annual with long, trumpet-like blooms valued for their intense evening fragrance.
Night
Gladiolus:
(Gladiolus tristus
) features creamy yellow blossoms with an intensely spicy night fragrance.
August Lily: (Hosta
) produce waxy, trumpet-shaped flowers with a honey scent.
Fragrant Columbine: (Aquilegia
fragrans
) offers creamy white flowers with a rich honeysuckle scent.
Pinks:
(Dianthus plumarius
) display pale pink flowers smelling of cloves.
Fairy
Lily: (Chlidanths fragrans
) bears yellow, fragrant flowers on stalks in mid-summer.
Evening-fragrant perennial vines can provide
beautiful coverage for walls, fences and trellises. These include
perennials such as climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala
petiolaris), sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata) and
honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica ).
Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius) is a
fast growing shrub that can reach 10 feet. In late May to early June, it
is loaded with fragrant, white, orange-scented blossoms. Look for the
locally-adapted Plant Select variety Cheyenne Mock Orange,
(Philadelphus lewisii 'Cheyenne') that grows to just 7 feet. It is more drought tolerant and hardy for Zone 3, which includes Colorado mountain gardeners up to 8,000 feet elevation.
White blooms and reflective foliage plants
Plants with white blooms that reflect light include 'Purity' cosmos, 'Armour White' verbena, 'Alba' foxglove, 'Bride' impatiens, 'Alba' bleeding heart , 'Moonraker' cape fuchsia, 'Perry's White' Oriental poppy, White forsythia, 'Alba' columbine and 'White lace' dianthus .
The silver or white hairs on some leaves contribute a distinct character to the night garden. Plant silver artemesia, lamb's ears, silver sage, caladiums or variegated cannas.
Vegetables and herbs
Candidates for the night garden are not limited to plants in the flower garden. The vegetable garden can be a moonlit and fragrant attraction as well. Look for herb varieties with white or cream-colored leaf variegation. Some plants you may want to try are 'Alba' white fruited eggplant, 'Casper' or 'Boo' white pumpkins, silver thyme, basils, mints and oreganos.
For more information on Gardening, contact your
local Colorado State University Extension office. |
