How about a moon garden? by Vicky Spelman

Silver mound wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana 'Silver mound')

Courtesy Wilson Bros Gardens

Are you planning this year’s garden envisioning plants bathed in daylight?  How about a moon garden too?

What is a moon garden?   Simply… a moon garden has primarily white (or silver) plants that are meant to be enjoyed by the light of the moon.  Moonlight causes the flowers to reflect light differently during these hours than they do in the daytime. They are designed to shine when bathed in the moonlight.  

In designing a moon garden:  choose fragrant flowers with blossoms that open at night with variegated or light-colored vegetation.  Open blooms that are visible by the moonlight can attract night pollinators like moths and bats.  Place your moon garden in an area where you can enjoy the plants and see some night pollinators.  

Here are a few suggestions:  

Moon Plant (Ipomoea alba)
Courtesy Burpee

Mix this vining plant with morning glories that open during the day.  This plant has a weedy nature and can become borderline invasive. To keep this plant from taking over a garden, pick off the seed pods. 

Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum superbum)
Courtesy Gardenia Creating Gardens

The Shasta daisy is a commonly grown flowering herbaceous perennial plant with the classic daisy appearance of white petals around a yellow disc.

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Courtesy Eden Brothers

Fragrant and easy to grow, sweet alyssum is a go-to plant for every gardener, with a pleasant fragrance and prolific blooms.

Here are some additional suggestions:  

four o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa)

snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)

evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

Think about your hardscaping, too. You can supplement the moonlight with some landscape lights, white fencing or trellises, a walkway with light paving stones or pebbles, and perhaps some larger light-colored rocks here and there.

From Morning AgClips