Gardening has been enjoyed for centuries, but who enjoys gardening when it’s 100 degrees or more outside? Not many folks I know. Maybe it’s time to enjoy a little moonlight in your garden.
There’s no rule that says gardening is a daylight-only activity. Enter the moonlight garden.
Here are a few elements to get you started:
- Choose plants with yellow or white blooms, and silver or variegated foliage to reflect the moonlight. Options include Jerusalem sage, artemisia, brugmansia, white or yellow antique roses and crinum lilies, just to name a few. All are drought-tolerant and perform well in our alkaline soil.
- Make your moonlit garden accessible. Include some mulched or gravel pathways that allow access to all of the garden’s features. Benches and a trickling fountain (that’s in good working order, of course) increase the appeal. Bonus: Creating hardscape — and eliminating water-needy turf — is also a great way to reduce your outdoor water use.
- Fall for fragrance. Flowering plants such as Confederate jasmine, almond verbena and nicotiana lure nature’s pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Stroll through a local nursery to gather more planting ideas. Gardening by moonlight could be the perfect indulgence for escaping the summer heat!
