Skip to main content

How to Create an Evening Oasis of Bloom and Fragrance

I think it is equally important to turn your outside space into a place to feed your family, but not overlook the chance to escape into it. We have a suburban house, that has a backyard backed up to 5 other yards, so we wanted to create a perfect little oasis for ourselves to escape into. So, we are creating a moonlight garden, to give us a perfect little escape for those late-night bonfires.

 

moonflower bloomMany plants bloom in the evening, particularly in warm climates, and their delicious fragrance can be smelled on the breeze perfuming the whole area. The flowers are usually white or light yellow.

 

One vine that I especially like is an annual called, appropriately enough, moonflower. It’s in the same family as morning glories and the large white flowers can be up to 6 inches across and very fragrant.

 

The great thing about this plant is the way it opens its flowers. The large buds look like furled white beach umbrellas. But look again. Did you see the bud move? As the twilight deepens, the moonflower buds begin to twirl and as you watch them, the flower slowly opens out like a fan. There are usually a half dozen or so of these buds opening every evening and the amazing sight lasts for about a quarter hour until all the flowers are wide awake and glowing white.

 

The next thing you notice is the wonderful perfume–like a cross between gardenia and jasmine.

 

Many other evening blooming flowers such as the 4 o’clocks, also release their fragrance at dusk. Plant a bed of 4 o’clocks next to your patio and you will be able to watch the beautiful big sphinx moths that come to feed on the nectar from the flowers. They look exactly like hummingbirds as they hover in front of a flower extending their long ‘tongue’ into the blossom.

 

Moonflowers and 4 o’clocks are easy to start from seed and require no particular soil or care. For added beauty in your moonlight garden, choose white or yellow flowers that show up in the dark. White marigolds, nicotiana (also very fragrant and a favorite of moths), evening primrose, honeysuckle and night-blooming cereus are good choices but many common garden flowers have white or light-colored varieties. Plants with light green foliage like artemisia, dusty miller, lamb’s ear and sage that reflect light can also be added to your twilight garden.

 

So, grab your list and head for your home store or nursery. Get a variety of plants and see which one’s do best in your garden. You don’t even need to have an actual garden. You can grow your evening show-stoppers in containers that can be moved around or grouped for best effect. Make your next party a moonlight adventure and your guests will enjoy nature’s night time beauty.

The post How to Create an Evening Oasis of Bloom and Fragrance appeared first on Downtown Homestead.



from Downtown Homestead http://downtownhomestead.com/create-evening-oasis-bloom-fragrance
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fragrant Winter Shrubs: Perfuming Your Garden: Slideshow

Although sweet floral fragrances are usually associated with spring and summer flowering plants, there are a goodly number of shrubs, bulbs and bedding plants that   perfume   the air all through winter.   Fragrant Winter Plants Fragrant Winter Shrubs Best known of all winter fragrant shrubs is probably Daphne Odora – the flowers may be pink or white – the foliage dark green or green with a silver edge. It should be planted in a semi-shaded area along with another excellent shrub, Sarrococca, which has spicy, small white blooms and glossy pointed leaves – a plant of neat growth habit. Fragrant viburnums are a mid-winter favorite – nurserymen will have a selection of varieties. The Fragrance of lemon blossoms is most delightful in a winter garden – as is that of other citrus. For many months honeysuckle provides a favorite scent and holds great allure for hummingbirds. For a camera buff, what a picture with a humming bird drawing nectar from a garden flower. Insofar a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Air Condition Your Garden

July, it is the time of the year when air conditioning is as important in the garden as it is in the home. You, as the temperature rises, can cool off with an electric fan, a cool drink or by hiding away in a cool spot. Your plants are not quite that lucky; yet certain gardening techniques can be employed to help your plants through the summer months. The benefits of air conditioning in your garden will show up in the form of increased production, greater resistance to disease and pests and, in general, a more attractive vista. An improper over-heated environment during the warmer months often leads to wilt, dropping of buds and yellowing of foliage. Aeration of the soil is concerned with its exposure to the air. If this is lacking then your plants very likely will suffer this summer. Believe it or not but there are millions of tiny spaces between the soil particles and this is where air resides. Soils that become water-logged force out this air, a condition that leads to souring of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Save Your Own Set of Seeds

Saving seeds doesn’t have to be a frightening task and can even be absolutely easy, according to Fred Bove of the San Francisco Permaculture Guild . Instead of waiting for the last riffraff plants to flower, he instructs to look for the biggest, most colorful specimens that were among the first few plants to become ripe. He urges to resist harvesting the first beautiful flower, vegetable or herb of any one planting, and allow full maturity. “You want to save the best characteristics (of any plant) and pass them on,” explained Bove. Depending on the plant, you may want to select for size, flavor or how quickly it takes for the crop to reach maturity. “That way, you’re promoting the desired characteristics in the next generation of seeds.” The next important challenging task is identifying a seed that’s ready for saving. There are different ways to save seeds, depending on the variety. Plants in the apiaceae family, which includes parsley, fennel and cilantro, will bloom and form umbr...
Post a Comment
Read more