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achake01

moon gardens/newspaper garden writer

achake01
13 years ago

hi, all...i write about gardening for a national newspaper and am working on a piece about moon gardens...that is to say gardens meant to be enjoyed in the evening...typically planted with white blooms and/or silvery foliage and fragrance....

interested in any of you who have planted one?

email me here or off list at

amc@wsj.com

thanks!

Anne Marie

Comments (9)

  • daislander
    13 years ago

    Ive choose alot of plants to make my garden a 'moonlight' garden. It sounded to magical when I heard the term. A large iberis (candy tuft) I have to say has been my favorite, reeally pops. I actually went a little to over bored with the white flowers and found my garden looked really 'washed out' during the day.

    I thought Id post here as then other people can share the info as well.

  • nrsninnie
    13 years ago

    I have been trying to grow a moon garden, but for some reason, here in Texas, that is a bit difficult. We have a crescent shaped garden with native rocks outlining it, and every year I try to find things that are white to put in it. Any suggestions would be helpful!

  • girlgroupgirl
    13 years ago

    achake01:
    I'm not going to email you, I will however respond to this post. Are you writing in a particular area or are you syndicated. That makes a huge difference with the plants we are suggesting to you. Are you a gardener yourself?

    I would suggest a few things (that transcend garden zones). Silvery pinks, scented plants, very pale yellows, whites, - mix this with too much silvery foliage and it gets lost. Backing the paler colors with very dark foliage makes them stand out. I have a friend who has added tiny little solar LED lights to her gardens threading them through plants and this works very nicely to enliven it and keep it lovely in the dark. It means she can add more foliage and flower colors, wraps them trees and garden supports, even around her veggie garden. This keeps her from needing to only plant white flowers so her garden isn't washed out.

  • lavender_lass
    13 years ago

    There's a moon garden forum on the GW, but if you do a search at the bottom of this page, you should find more info, too.

    Moonflowers are the first flower I think of for a moon garden, followed by white roses, white nicotania, white phlox, white petunias and lots of white alyssum.

    While a moon garden can be very pretty, putting white flowers on the corners or along the edge of a more colorful garden, will compliment the other flowers, yet highlights the garden in the evenings. I have pots of star jasmine with white petunias on each corner of the porch. They're beautiful during the day, but really shine in the evening...plus they have a great fragrance :)

  • cindysunshine
    13 years ago

    I have an area behind my deck that has turned into a white and green garden - not really from plan but from what grew well there. It was shady and I have hydrangeas, oakleaf and Annabelle and beneath are hostas - some with the white margins and some of the 'blue' ones. I have a lovelely variagated solomon's seal that arches out, ferns, and some sweet woodruff which makes such a pretty carpet with little white flowers.

    I think moon gardens work best in shady conditions - they do rather wash out in the sun.

    In the spring there are daffodils and aconite "monkshood" pushes up with vibrant deep blue blooms in the fall in that area - I rather like a few touches of color with all the white and green.

    I have a couple areas that have potential to be converted to these colors. They rather appeal to me more as I get older.

  • ianna
    13 years ago

    well I developed my backyard to be something to enjoy during evenings as well as daytime. I painted my fence a black/brown colour to create instant classic design. It made the greenery pop out. And for flowers I chose ones that lit up the dark -- like trollius flowers and white lilacs, limelight hydrangeas, also foxgloves and sweet woodruff, also for shrubbery I chose variegated dogwood. Pretty neat. I also have upcasted lighting to create a romantic atmosphere

  • lavender_lass
    13 years ago

    Ianna- That sounds beautiful :) Do you have any pictures? What a nice place to enjoy the evening!

  • seamommy
    13 years ago

    When I think of a moon garden I think of scented plants first rather than just white and green. I like jasmine, pflox, and brugmansia. I think of a place to sit and enjoy the peacefulness of the night in the garden, so whatever is planted there can be enjoyed while relaxing in the cool air. I like the sound of running water too, not a torrent or a waterfall, just a soft splashing sound and the peeps of frogs and crickets nearby.

    This is the garden I have, and it's a half-moon shaped area inside the turnaround driveway in front of my house. The long straight side that faces the street of the half-moon is enclosed with a brick and iron fence. The half-circle side is marked out with stone that edges the driveway.

    There are two entrances to this garden, the main entrance has an arbor, the second entrance is just a little footpath. The paths allow you to see all of it, but also require some back-tracking so you get to see some areas from two directions.

    One circular path has a stone castle in the middle that is inhabited by fairies, or gnomes, I'm not sure which, since I've never seen them, but their tracks are all over the place. They leave their "stuff" laying around, ladders, chairs, dishes, stuff like that. They're kinda messy sometimes, but I let them stay anyway.

    Passers-by often pull over and peek through the iron fence since there is enough color and interest for it to be eye-catching during the daytime. Nobody stops at night though, because they can't see how wonderful it is in the dark.

  • ianna
    13 years ago

    I'll post photos in a separate thread. what I have is technically not a moon garden. Just lots of plants that stand out in the dark

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