5 Tips For Creating A Night Garden
With summer and brighter evenings approaching, spending time in your garden at night is a treat. And if you love garden flowers but do not like the sun, a night garden is an excellent way to enjoy your evenings. Also known as a moon garden, a night garden is planted to enjoy at night or under the moonlight. It’s perfect for garden parties, dinners, or quiet and alone time. Indeed, seeing your plants reflect the moonlight offers therapeutic benefits. So, are you looking for another way to enjoy your outdoor space this summer? Use these tips to create a dreamy night garden.
- Incorporate seating areas and other garden designs
A night garden is perfect for sitting and relaxing or hosting friends and families for various night events. And you’ll need some seating areas. Consider adding some garden chairs, benches, or even hammocks, as long as they are comfortable enough for long sitting hours.
You can also add other things like a water feature to add to the calm and serenity.
2. Grow plants that smell sweeter in the evening
A night garden typically has flowers with a sweeter, stronger smell for night-time aromatherapy. Believe it or not, many plants release their fragrance at dusk to lure night-flying moths into pollinating them. And thanks to the warm, still air of the summer nights, the fragrance of these plants becomes maximized. So, grow plants that smell sweeter in the evening. Nicotianas, summer phlox, jasmine, night-scented stock, and honeysuckle will greet your evenings with a heavenly fragrance. Plus, their paleness also offers an amazing effect under the moonlight.
3. Choose night-blooming plants with pale flowers and foliage
Pale flowers and foliage are a must in your night garden. Why? Because they reflect light, producing a luminous glow when the day fades and the night sets. Flowers with lilacs, pale blues, white, silver, and cream colors will combine perfectly with other variegated foliage types. Although these plants will enchant your evenings, try to include other regular options you love. And that leads to the next point.
4. Light up your garden.
The disadvantage of non-night-blooming darker-colored flowers is that they can easily recede to the background in the presence of the pale and white night-time flowers. But you can correct that with a simple solution – light up your garden. Look for garden or landscape lighting solutions with a gentle glow but bright enough to highlight the beauty of your garden flowers. Lighting up your garden will reveal the receding flowers and enhance your night garden’s ambiance.
6. Encourage the presence of night animals
Of course, you don’t want squirrels and other rodents messing up your night garden, but some animals enhance this space. As mentioned earlier, night moths, for example, can help with pollination. But you can also attract other insects that act as pollination agents and bats to help grow your garden. You can also attract smaller birds that eat garden insects into your night garden. Building bat boxes, creating tiny birdhouses, providing small bowls of water, and growing pale flowers and shrubs are some of the best ways to attract the right animals.
I enjoyed reading this article for a night garden. I must admit I didn’t know some plants bloom at night – would be the perfect ambiance.
How pretty! I could try and make one of these.
I can’t think of anything more peaceful than sitting in a beautiful night garden and drinking a glass of wine under the stars! This motivates me to start a garden my own!
I need to create a night garden. I do love the way it includes lights.
I want to do this so bad. I just haven’t decided where yet.
Oh wow, there was so much information on night gardens that I didn’t know. Thanks for the info!
I have never considered having a night garden, but these are great ideas, especially planting pale flowers that reflect the light.
I had never thought of a night garden before but you have intrigued me! I am so making one! Love this and how magical!
Actually, I’m thinking lately to build one! It’s very timely that I’ve come to your post! It’s quite very helpful and gives me a great idea of where to start and how! Thanks for sharing this with us!
I would love a night garden and these tips are super helpful! 🙂
I have a flower garden and I would love to have a night garden. It would be a great place to unwind, for sure.
I love this idea but hate mosquitoes. So don’t forget to plant some mosquito deterring plants too like lemongrass, lavender, etc
I’v enever heard of a night garden, but this has piqued my interest. So cool! Thanks for sharing!
I did not know that a night garden is a thing but for someone who’s a night person — I love this idea. Will try to check the available night-blooming plants in our area.
I am not sure about having bats but would love to hear more suggestions on which night animals to encourage.
I love these tips. I’d not thought of creating a night garden until I read this but it seems like a beautiful idea
This is such great advice and perfect timing given the dryer warmer weather that we’ve had as of late. Jasmine, honeysuckle and night stocks would make a lovely addition to a garden, they’re both pretty and give off the most lovely aromas. Lights are also really important, they can make such a big difference to the look and feel of a gardening in the evening. There are plenty of great lighting options to choose from too!!
A night garden! What a brilliant and romantic idea! I love it!
I love it. The night garden sounds so romantic, I wish I could have one in my back yard/
Such great tips! I’ll share these tips with my gardener mom and friends 😍.
I really appreciate these tips, thanks for sharing them!