If done right, you can create an enchanting night garden that is perfect for relaxed evenings or entertaining after the sun goes down. With a bit of hard work and some practical and decorative accessories, you can easily transform your garden into a nocturnal paradise. Here’s how…
To get that enchanted garden look, try a combination of night-flowering plants.
1. Appeal to the senses
Create a sensory experience by making use of three types of plants namely night-flowering, night-fragrant and night-reflective flowers. Night-flowering plants will open or bloom at dusk, while night-fragrant plants will produce beautiful scents and night-reflective plants have glistening white or silver foliage that glimmers under the light of the moon.
2. Choose the right plants
There are specific types of flowers, plants and colours that make up the best moonlit gardens. Be sure to stay away from deep, dark colours and focus on reflective colours such as white, silver, pale yellow and pale pink. Try choosing a few plants from each group and create a well-balanced composition using a variety of bushes, vines, ground cover and flowering plants.
Night-flowering plants
Garden lighting can be used to enhance and accentuate a night-time garden. You can go all out with solar-powered spotlights or keep things simple by putting out luminaries, lanterns or candles while you’re kicking back or entertaining.
To get that enchanted garden look, try a combination of night-flowering plants.
Evening primroses are white heart-shaped petals that open every evening. They have a light, lemon and honeysuckle scent.
Angel’s trumpet are huge white flowers that open at night and remain open into the next day. You could also use climbing hydrangea in your garden. These are large white flowers that bloom at night and have leaves that change colour, from pink to gold and dark green.
Night-fragrant plants
For that heavenly scent, try lavender. It has silvery-gray foliage and a sweet, calming scent.
The night-blooming jasmine offers an intense fragrance, and is a staple in many evening gardens.
Perfect for a night landscape, the gardenia is a decorative shrub with white flowers and a strong fragrance, while the moonflower has trumpet-like blooms. It unfurls from a vine at night and gives off a magical scent.
Once you have your garden planted, simply wait for night fall, then you can enjoy your lovely creation.
The tuberose is extra fragrant with tubular white flowers that bloom in late summer.
Night-reflective plants
When designing your magical landscape, don’t forget to include reflective plants like the licorice, which has furry, silver heart-shaped leaves and works well as an accent in a garden or potted arrangement.
The white verbena is characterised by small, white clustered flowers, and is great for creating ground cover or edging, and filling in gaps in gardens or containers.
Lamb’s ears is a hardy ground covering plant with silver-white leaves, and the maiden grass, which is also known as silver grass, is one of the most widely used ornamental grasses.
You could also weave in the hosta, which is known for its beautiful foliage that can comprise patches of white, yellow and shades of green.
3. Incorporate seating
If your night-time garden is big enough, add a table and chairs or a bench for evening entertaining. Light-coloured outdoor furniture such as white or silver will add a wonderful reflective quality to the area. If you’re working with a small porch or balcony, create a potted version of the midnight garden using some of the same plant suggestions and combinations.
4. Magical lighting
Garden lighting can be used to enhance and accentuate a night-time garden. You can go all out with solar-powered spotlights or keep things simple by putting out luminaries, lanterns or candles while you’re kicking back or entertaining. Either way, lighting can add an extra special glow and romantic ambiance to your night garden.
For homeowners that are more eco-conscious, be sure to take a look at a range of LED lights for the garden.
Once you have your garden planted, simply wait for night fall, then you can enjoy your lovely creation. If you populate your garden primarily with perennial plants, they’ll re-emerge each year, giving you the gift of a midnight garden that’s easy to care for.
Article courtesy of www.home-dzine.co.za.
Source: www.property24.com
