Moonlight Gardens

In today’s stressful world, moonlight gardens might just be the antidote we’re all searching for, so spend this month planning and planting your own.

It’s summer holiday time, a season to indulge ourselves and enjoy life to the fullest, appreciating everything around us. It should definitely include spending recreation time in the garden, just absorbing the sights and sounds that abound, courtesy of Mother Nature. An important element of suburban gardens is their night time appeal, yet this is often little appreciated and sometimes almost forgotten.

The unique atmosphere that permeates a garden after sunset is at its most enchanting when the moon is full and the skies are clear, creating a setting that is romantic enough to set most hearts aflutter. Take full advantage of the opportunities that this aspect of your garden offers and make a concerted effort to create an area that you and yours can escape to on balmy summer nights.

The main elements of a moonlight garden are plants with an abundance of white or pastel-shaded flowers, strong heady fragrances, aromatic foliage and a suitable bench or garden seat upon which to relax. Of course, privacy is also a significant factor and security is vital. Your very own moonlight hideaway can be as big or small as you like and as space permits. Size plays very little part in creating the ultimate nocturnal playground; rather it is the passion and energy that you channel into its creation.

Select the Right Plants
Careful selection of plants and precise planning are paramount in achieving the perfect moonlight garden. There are multitudes of plants that make ideal subjects, although some seem to be more favoured than others. Try to put together a palette of plants that flower in different seasons so that there is always something in bloom.

Also, ensure that you choose plants that thrive in your specific climate. Your local nursery or garden centre will be a reliable source of information in this regard. Consult with them, and consider the suggestions that follow, and you will be well on your way to bringing your romantic dreams to fruition.

Suitable Trees
Trees lend an element of maturity and add an extra dimension to a garden. They create a canopy of branches, leaves and flowers, and set off the under plantings. Hymenosporum Flavum, the Australian Frangipani, has pale creamy-yellow flowers with a strong, heady fragrance. It thrives in many parts of our country.

Magnolia Grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ is of a rather smaller stature than the usual magnolia species and sports handsome glossy foliage and huge, cup-shaped, creamy-white blooms, also with a distinct nocturnal scent. For colder climates flowering cherries, peaches and apples with pale blossoms are ideal. Citrus trees, including orange and lemon trees, are also perfect for moonlit gardens, adding to the mood with their heavily fragrant blossoms and sumptuous fruit.

Climbers for Walls and Trellis
In small spaces climbers can play an important role, covering walls or trellises. Trachelospermum Jasminoides (Star Jasmine) has attractive foliage year round and is smothered in fragrant, white flowers in late spring and early summer.

Some of the pale coloured Mandevillas (previously called Dipladenias) produce an abundance of shapely tubular flowers for months on end from spring to autumn. Clematis Montana is a deciduous climber that flourishes in the colder regions, putting on a spectacular spring display. Climbing roses, especially the ever popular ‘Iceberg’, are another excellent option and never seem to disappoint.

Large Shrubs for the Background
Large shrubs form the backdrop or foundation of most gardens. Select plants with evergreen foliage and a dense growth habit to enhance privacy. Shrubs that produce fragrant flowers will be a bonus, adding to the ambience. Brugmansia x Candida, the white Moonflower, fits the bill perfectly with its large, sweetly-perfumed blooms that appear to glow in the moonlight.

Other shrubs to consider include Mackaya Bella, Brunfeslia Undulata (the white Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), a large number of different Viburnums (snowball bushes) and Pavetta Lanceolata, the Weeping Brides’ Bush. The latter is undoubtedly one of our most striking indigenous white-flowered shrubs. The entire Camellia family, with its many different pale flowered-forms, is another splendid group of evergreens to consider.

Smaller Shrubs for the Foreground
The inclusion of numerous small shrubs will lend an element of permanence to the landscape and emphasize the seasonal changes that are an essential part of an exciting outdoor area. (Imagine if your garden looked exactly the same every day of the year.) Roses with pale blooms are wonderful for sunny positions and definitely add to the romantic aspect. For shaded spots, hydrangeas bloom during the all important summer season whilst rhododendrons or azaleas will stamp their mark in spring.

Plants with aromatic foliage, like lavender, rosemary, perennial basil, lavender cotton and the numerous scented geraniums (Pelargonium species), all add to the sensory experience.

Fill Gaps with Perennials and Groundcovers
Herbaceous perennials and ground covers are essential for covering up the open tracts between the plants that constitute the permanent garden infrastructure.

This all important group is vast and includes some of the most popular garden plants. Think of drifts of shasta daisies (Leucanthemum  Maximum), clumps of white irises, bold swathes of arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) and stately stems of white Agapanthus blooms rising above the lush foliage.

The list is long and comprehensive, with each vision being as dramatic and breathtaking as the next. Some low, spreading ground covers to consider are Viola Hederacea, Mazus Reptans ‘Albus’, Cerastium Tomentosum and Pratia  Angulata – again the range of suitable options seems endless. Selecting these filler plants to enrich your moonlight garden can be such fun. Be sure to include plants that flower at different times of the year.

Annuals for the Finishing Touches
Lastly, try to leave space for a smattering of annuals – even if they only feature in pots or hanging baskets. They are the cherry on the top, adding colour and sparkle to the moonlit landscape. Plant white Pansies and Violas for the winter and spring garden in sunny positions along with Virginian Stocks for their delicious fragrance.

White Primula Malacoides lend a fairy touch to the shaded parts of the spring garden – remember to plant out seedlings in autumn! In summer impatiens (use the New Guinea hybrids) and begonias reward with a profusion of flowers. In colder climates, add the sparkle of Columbines or Aquilegia to twilight.

Furniture and Features
Enough said about the plants then, for a garden is not ultimately about plants but rather about people and the pleasure and joy that they are able to derive from their gardens. Make sure that in your planning you make provision for seating and for visual focal points like strategically placed pots, statues, archways and even structures such as pergolas and arbours. These, along with ponds or other water features, will complete the perfect moonlight garden – the sound of the trickling water being the final romantic touch.

In today’s stressful world moonlight gardens might just be the antidote we’re all searching for, so spend this month planning and planting your own. Make it a fantasyland where you can escape to, a secret spot where you can share a tipple (and maybe even a cuddle and a kiss). Good night and happy holidays!

Article by By Gerald Schofield