Shimmering Design Options for Moon Garden Plant Arrangements: Explore 5 Stunning Combinations for Pots and Borders
Creating a Stunning Moon Garden: A Guide to Illuminating Your Evening Space
A moon garden is a unique and enchanting addition to any garden, filled with plants that shine in the soft glow of the moonlight. These gardens, typically featuring light and white blooms, silvery foliage, and fragrant species, offer a sensory experience that is amplified in the stillness of the night.
One such example is the Caladium (Caladium hortulanum), a plant with broad, heart-shaped leaves adorned with white- and rose-colored splashes. Another captivating choice is the Basket-of-Gold (Alyssum saxitale), a low-growing golden-hued perennial that adds prolific springtime color to the border of a golden moon garden.
For a more textured look, consider the Astilbe 'Visions in White' (Astilbe chinensis), which offers white feathery plumes that add texture and brightness to a moon garden from midsummer to fall. Additionally, the Shimmering Tropicals concept, a moon garden filled with tropical plants, adds an extra layer of allure with its exotic foliage and blooms.
Containers filled with white-flowered annuals and light-colored foliage, such as Lobelia (Lobelia erinus) and Bacopa (Sutera cordata), can prolong enjoyment of the evening garden. Bacopa offers dark leaves as a contrast to its yellow-throated white flowers, while Lobelia glows in the evening's pale light.
For height and four seasons of interest, consider the Golden Hanoki False Cypress 'Crippsii' (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii'), a bright golden evergreen that grows to 8-10ft tall. Another tall option is the Blue Grama Grass 'Blonde Ambition' (Bouteloua gracilis), a light-colored grass that adds movement to the garden with its stems and unique flag-like seed heads, growing to 3ft tall and wide.
Lamb's Ear 'Helen Von Stein' (Stachys byzantina) is a low-growing silvery foliage plant with a fuzzy texture and drought-tolerance, mounding habit. Dusty Miller (Artemisia stelleriana) is another silver-leaved and cascading foliage plant that can elongate the look of a container combo.
For fragrant nighttime enjoyment, consider plants like Angelonia (Angelonia hybrid) and Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens), both offering pendulous flowers in white and light colors. Mandevilla (Mandevilla hybrids) can also be used to illuminate dark corners or in containers with white and light pink-flowered versions.
In USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, the best plants for a moon garden are those with light-colored, white, silver, or pale foliage and flowers that reflect moonlight. Suitable options include Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), Allamanda vine, Gardenias, Ylang Ylang trees, Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’), and Moonflower (Ipomoea alba).
Combining these plants creates a visually striking and sensory-rich garden visible and enjoyable in moonlight, emphasizing pale blooms and fragrances suited to warm climates of Zones 9-11. Selecting plants that bloom or release scent at night enhances the moon garden experience.
For minimal maintenance and easy installation, a Moon Garden planting plan in collaboration with Plant By Number is available. Calibrachoa (Petunia hybrid) and Tickseed (Coreopsis hybrids) are cascading elements in a container, offering small bell-like flowers and a variety of pale to golden yellow flowers respectively.
With these plants, your moon garden is sure to become a captivating and enchanting space, perfect for relaxing under the moonlight.
- The Caladium (Caladium hortulanum), with its heart-shaped leaves adorned with white- and rose-colored splashes, is an ideal choice for a moon garden filled with plants that shine in the soft glow of the moonlight.
- A basket filled with white-flowered annuals such as Lobelia (Lobelia erinus) and light-colored foliage plants like Dusty Miller (Artemisia stelleriana) can extend the enjoyment of the moon garden into the evening hours.
