We created a moon garden by accident! I realized this a few nights ago when, half asleep, I trudged outside with Gracie and Annabelle and saw the Man in the Moon perfectly situated in the sky above our backyard. It was like he was waiting for us. And, even though he was still one day shy of full, his brilliant spotlight made our plants glow.
We’ve created a moon garden, I thought, completely mesmerized by the scene.
Sometimes, darkness brings light.
The next night, under April’s Full Pink Moon (named Pink Moon in honor of the creeping pink phlox that blooms in April), I spent more time outside studying our moon garden. It was like seeing our plants for the first time.
The world certainly looks different at night, doesn’t it?
About a Moon Garden…
Several years ago, I became familiar with the concept while working at the Headquarters House gardens in Fayetteville as part of my master gardener training. The Headquarters House has a moon garden planted with silvery foliage and white blossoms visible under a full moon or even during dusk or daybreak. While I never planned to grow a moon garden, I’ve always been intrigued by anything involving the moon.
Sooo, maybe it happened subconsciously? I mean, who am I to question the pull of the moon?
Three Steps to Creating a Moon Garden
Creating a moon garden is not rocket science. Follow these three basic concepts, and you’ll be well on your way:
- Add flowers that are luminescent in the moonlight. This happens automatically with white or other pale blooms that don’t close at night. Our white, peach, and lavender iris, candytuft, dianthus, foxglove, rose, and allium are great examples. A moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) would be ideal, but I don’t have one. Yet.
- Add silvery, gray, or blue-gray foliage. Light-colored leaves glimmer when bathed in moonlight. Examples in our garden include foam flowers, variegated hosta, euphorbia, coral bell, lamb’s ear, and blue fescue. (Click HERE for Proven Winners’ recommendation of white and silver moon garden plants.)
- Add fragrant bloomers. Fragrance adds a touch of magic to the night air and may very well lure interesting night-nectaring moths or bats to your night-blooming garden. Our heirloom roses and iris provide a subtle aroma to our garden, but wisteria, lilac, and gardenia will take garden fragrance to an intoxicating level. (Note: Chinese wisteria is considered invasive, and I don’t recommend planting it unless you want runners reaching to the Milky Way and beyond. Instead, try native Wisteria frutescens.)
Other Moon Garden Considerations
Some gardeners add moon-shaped art to their gardens to enhance the theme. Some even design their garden beds in a crescent shape. Farmer’s Almanac provides design and plant tips HERE, including ways to enjoy your moon garden on a moonless night.
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Over the years, my husband and I have expanded our backyard beds with the primary goals of reducing turf, growing natives, and attracting pollinators. This means we are constantly moving and diving plants and adding new specimens. Turns out, we created a sun garden by day and a moon garden by night.
On a clear night when the moon is bright, turn off your outside lights and stroll through your garden. Look at your corner of the world through the moon’s eyes. You might be surprised to find you’ve created a moon garden too!
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Thanks for sharing your garden and thoughts Talya. I always learn something .. My Dad and my brother Bobby were great vegetable gardeners. Bobby would use the Farmer’s Almanac for his planting guide.
One day I was talking to to them and Dad said, “Bobby plants his in the moon, I plant mine in the ground”.
Hi Carol! Your dad must have been a character!
I love the Farmer’s Almanac and always find it to be interesting and helpful. I don’t plant by it though. Maybe I should…I can’t imagine it would hurt.
Enjoy evenings outside, maybe with a soothing glass or cup of something. So that you can keep coming up with creative plans for books and Monthly letters!