A moon garden is a magical space where pale, night-blooming flowers glow luminously in the moonlight, releasing their redolence into the night air. While not all flowers in a moon garden have to be night-blooming, those that are, tend to be at their peak during this time, making a wonderful foundation to build upon.
Night-blooming flowers are often fragrant, releasing their scent at dusk and perfuming the air around them. These flowers are particularly wonderful to plant around an outdoor dining area or near a patio. They thrive where they can be enjoyed on languorous summer evenings when their aromas hang captive in the sultry night air or in the early morning hours when the garden has a meditative and serene quality.
Many night-blooming plants have fleeting blooms that open for only one night, fading quickly with the morning sun. The anticipation of these momentous blooms is a practice in patience and dedication, and their brief and magical appearance rewards the ardent gardener.
We garden for many reasons. Not the least of these are providing food for our families, feeding pollinator populations, or increasing the privacy of our space. While these are all worthwhile pursuits, there is something wonderful about a garden planted simply for the sake of those enchanted moments spent enjoying the fruits of one’s labor.
Let’s consider some wonderful, night-blooming flowers that are certain to charm and delight as they unfurl by the light of the Earth’s silvery satellite.
Angel’s Trumpet
Botanical Name: Brugmansia spp.
- Plant Type: Evergreen
- Season: Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 9-12
Angel’s trumpet is a small tree originating in South America. However, it is considered extinct in the wild. It is widely available as an ornamental plant, and if I do say so myself, it is truly breathtaking.
These evergreens can be grown as large shrubs or trained into the shape of a tree, reaching up to 30 feet tall in some regions. They can also be kept more compact as a container plant.
The large (6”-24” long) flowers of the Angel’s Trumpet are how this plant garners its name. They are long and pendulous, trumpet-shaped, hanging downward like twirling skirts. Angel’s trumpet opens at night and can last between a single day to several days. They emit their fragrance at night and are pollinated predominantly by moths.
Be cautious about placing this plant near living spaces if you have young children or pets. Every part of the Angel’s Trumpet plant is poisonous to humans and animals. As long as care is taken to prevent ingesting any part of the plant, the magic of the Angel’s Trumpet is undeniably magnetic.
Casa Blanca Lily
Botanical Name: Lilium ‘Casa Blanca’
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Season: Mid to Late Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Zones: 4-9
The much-loved flowers of the Casa Blanca lily are commonly found in the bouquets of summer brides. The large, creamy white flowers unfurl their petals in the evening, releasing the greatest amount of fragrance. The flowers can remain open for up to 2 weeks under the right conditions.
Casa Blanca is an oriental hybrid that grows 3’-4’ tall on strong stems that support clusters of up to 8 of their large (6”-8”) blooms. They also make excellent cut flowers, so you can leave them in the garden or bring them indoors to enjoy their strong, sweet scent.
These lilies bloom so prolifically that there is no reason not to have it both ways. Their stunning white flowers will glow in the light of the sun and the moon.
Chocolate Daisy
Botanical Name: Berlandiera lyrata
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Season: Spring through Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
- Zones: 4-10
Chocolate daisy is a member of the Aster family and has an extensive range where it can be grown with very little maintenance. Native to the Southwestern United States, this drought-tolerant plant is known to bloom for many months and nearly year-round in warmer climates. Deadheading this plant will lead to continuous, increased blooms.
The pretty, yellow flowers bloom at twilight, although they are most fragrant near dawn. For the early riser, the chocolatey scent of these blooms perfectly complements that first cup of morning coffee. With a height and width of only 1’-2’, these plants make a wonderful border for a patio or walkway.
Deer-Horn Cactus
Botanical Name: Peniocereus greggii
- Plant Type: Perennial Cactus
- Season: Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Zones: 9-10
Here we have one of the most elusive and interesting night-blooming plants, the deer horn or Arizona Queen of the Night cactus. This native of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts is a wonderful, although inconspicuous, addition to a succulent garden. For most of the year, Deer-Horn looks like a run-of-the-mill cactus, with thin branching arms covered in small, sharp spines.
The crowning glory of the deer horn cactus is its waxy, white flowers, which bloom for only one night per year remaining open just long enough for early daytime pollinators to do their work. These blink-and-you’ll-miss-it flowers are heavily fragrant in their many-petaled glory and are followed by slender, edible, red fruits which draw birds and other wildlife.
Devil’s Trumpet
Botanical Name: Datura
- Plant Type: Annual or Perennial
- Season: Spring through Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 5-7 as Annual, 8-10 as Perennial
Much like angel’s trumpet, this plant is poisonous, so it should be planted cautiously in areas where pets and small children frequent. The flowers are similarly shaped. However, rather than hanging down like angel’s trumpet, the devil’s trumpet has upturned flowers, commonly white with bits of lavender or pink on the throat and at the edges.
Datura is a nightshade related to tomato and eggplant. When planted in full sun, the plant will grow thick, shrubby foliage with a bluish tint. It can also survive in partial shade, but the foliage may become leggy and will not flower as heavily. The flowers open in the evening and smell of honeysuckle, which draws pollinators like the sphinx month.
Dragonfruit Cactus
Botanical Name: Selenicereus undatus
- Plant Type: Perennial Cactus
- Season: Spring through Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 9-11
Many types of cacti have a habit of blooming at night, and the dragonfruit cactus is no exception. It also produces delicious fruit found in many grocery stores and farmer’s markets throughout the Southern United States.
The flowers bloom in the evening and emit an intoxicating fragrance. They are pollinated by bats and close up quickly in the next day’s heat. (Although they’re also often hand-pollinated to get good fruit development, too!)
The flowers of the dragonfruit cactus are very large and showy, as long as 14” and up to 9” wide. They are many-petaled and have a tubular appearance. Most flowers are white but can be pink or red, depending on the species. Both the flowers and fruit of the plant are edible, and one plant can bloom many times in a season.
Easter Lily Cactus
Botanical Name: Echinopsis oxygen
- Plant Type: Perennial Cactus
- Season: Spring
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
- Zones: 8-11
Easter Lily cactus is a winner of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, and it’s easy to see why. For most of the year, the plant is a sweet little mound of spheres with many ribs and sharp spines. In springtime, this cluster of cacti begins to produce green stems about 12” in height, atop which bloom large, fragrant, white or pink lily-like flowers.
The stunning flowers of the Easter Lily cactus open in the late afternoon when the temperature drops. They last only through one night and wither the next day as the temperature rises again. A mature cactus can continue to bloom through the summer, producing as many as a dozen of these stunning inflorescences.
Easter Lily cacti are resistant to pests and diseases and can be quite cold tolerant as long as they stay dry in the winter, but they also make nice container plants that can be brought indoors in the cold.
Evening Primrose
Botanical Name: Oenothera biennis
- Plant Type: Biennial
- Season: Summer and Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Zones: 4-9
This plant is perhaps more well-known for its use as a supplement than its actual flowers. As a plant, it is a fast-growing native to North America that also happens to be a night bloomer.
Evening primrose is biennial, so it won’t bloom in its first year, but it self-seeds, so each year thereafter, you should see plenty of flowers from this sweet little plant.
The blooms are delicate and yellow with a sweet, lemony fragrance that draws nighttime pollinators like moths to the garden. The four-petaled flowers open in the evening and close in the morning. Snipping off the spent flowers will keep this plant from self-seeding.
Evening Rain Lily
Botanical Name: Zephyranthus drummondii
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Season: Late Spring through Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Zones: 7-10
This pretty member of the amaryllis family is known as a wild prairie flower across most of the central United States. They grow from bulbs, so they are easy to control in terms of spread, and they prefer full sun but will do fine in partial shade as well.
Their lovely white flowers bloom in the evening, making them wonderful for a moon garden. They last for several days, during which time they are a good nectar source for bees and butterflies. These flowers commonly bloom after rain and begin white, changing to pink as they age. They also emit a pleasing fragrance.
Flowering Tobacco
Botanical Name: Nicotiana alata
- Plant Type: Perennial or Annual
- Season: Late Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: Perennial in zones 10-11, Annual elsewhere
Flowering tobacco, also known as jasmine tobacco, is a nightshade family member. Like most tobacco species, it prefers organically rich, moist soil. Unlike its cousin N. tabacum, this plant is not grown for its leaves but rather for its value as an ornamental. It is a delicate plant, topping out around 3’-5’ tall with long spatulate leaves.
This tobacco plant is best known for its nocturnal flowers. The long, tubular blooms are yellowish green to white and only open at night when they release their soft scent, commonly compared to jasmine. It makes a wonderful Moon garden plant and draws moths that pollinate its delicate flowers.
Foamflower
Botanical Name: Tiarella
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Season: Spring
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
- Zones: 4-9
Tiarella, or foamflower, is aptly named for its bounty of frothy, white flower spikes that grow abundantly atop red and green foliage. This plant makes a wonderful addition to any garden bed. It has beautiful, dramatic, bi-colored foliage that grows in a mounding fashion. It looks wonderful in a container, as a solitary plant, or in a grouping.
The bottle-brush-type inflorescences bloom at night and remain open during the day, emitting a light fragrance that is attractive to pollinators. This winner of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit is evergreen in mild climates. In cooler climates, the foliage bronzes as the weather cools. It blooms for about 6 weeks in late spring to early summer.
Four O’Clocks
Botanical Name: Mirabilis jalapa
- Plant Type: Perennials
- Season: Summer/Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
- Zones: 7-11
Four O’Clocks have a certain nostalgic charm to them due to their long-enduring popularity. These small, shrubby plants make an excellent patio or walkway border, particularly if the space is mainly used later in the day. These plants bloom profusely and in many different colors. The flowers open in the late afternoon in response to the temperature shift as the sun sets.
The blooming season for these flowers is spring in the Southern United States, but cooler climates will see flowers begin to bloom in the summer. Four O’Clocks splashy, colorful flowers are fragrant and attract early pollinators before wilting in the heat, making way for a new wave of blooms in the evening.
Gardenia Augusta
Botanical Name: Gardenia jasminodes
- Plant Type: Evergreen
- Season: Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 8-11
Gardenia plants are closely related to coffee plants and have similar glossy, evergreen foliage. The Augusta variety is a large gardenia with stunning, creamy, white blossoms that open in a swirling rosette of perfumed loveliness. Gardenias are cold hardy to zone 8, and I can tell you that even down to 20°, my gardenias were one of the greenest plants in my yard this winter.
Gardenias aren’t necessarily night-blooming. Their fragrance intensifies in the evening, making them a wonderful addition to a night-blooming or moon garden. Their gorgeous white flowers will glow in the moonlight, and their scent has few rivals in the world of flowers. This is a must-have. Gardenias make great container plants as well.
Mock Orange
Botanical Name: Philadelphus coroarius
- Plant Type: Deciduous Shrub
- Season: Spring and Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
- Zones: 3-8
Mock orange is a larger shrub with dense foliage, making it a wonderful privacy hedge. Named for its flowers similar in appearance to orange blossoms, the white flowers of the mock orange are typically fragrant and appealing to butterflies and other pollinators.
These shrubs bloom intensely in May and June. Clusters of four-petaled, white blossoms open in succession, at night, for several weeks. In full bloom, this shrub is a sight to behold and is luminous at night by the moon’s light.
Moonflower
Botanical Name: Ipomoea alba
- Plant Type: Perennial or Annual
- Season: Summer and Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: Perennial in zones 10-12
The name Moonflower is often used to describe another flower on our list, the Datura, but we will use this name to refer to Ipomoea alba. The large Ipomoea genus includes morning glory and sweet potato, among other popular plants. Moonflower is a vining plant that can reach up to 30’.
Moonflower makes a statement of delicate elegance on a trellis or arched entryway to an outdoor living space. The large, white blooms open at night and have a sweet, delicate fragrance. They are very attractive to pollinating moths. Even when not in bloom, the heart-shaped leaves of this vine are charming and attractive.
Night Blooming Jasmine
Botanical Name: Cestrum nocturnum
- Plant Type: Evergreen
- Season: Winter/Spring
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Zones: 8-12
There is controversy surrounding using the name Jasmine versus Jessamine, where this and some other plants are concerned. While some say the two names are interchangeable, others insist that they are different, so we will call this night-blooming jasmine, but if you look for it and see it being called jessamine, it’s likely the same plant.
No matter what common name you call it by, Cestrum nocturnum is simply a delight. This woody evergreen shrub produces a lavish supply of tubular white flowers that open in the evening, releasing an intoxicatingly beautiful scent.
The flowers close back up during the day but return each evening for the better part of the summer months and into the fall. The fragrance of this tropical beauty can travel as far as 500ft from the plant.
Night Phlox
Botanical Name: Zaluzianskya capensis
- Plant Type: Annual
- Season: Summer and Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 9-12
Night phlox makes a wonderful addition to a night-blooming or moon garden. The flowers come in shades of white, purple, and deep red, and they have a distinctive fragrance that will remind you of several different flowers blended into one. The aroma can be described as honeyed vanilla mingled with a sweet almond scent and a touch of spice.
The Midnight Candy variety is particularly beautiful both day and night. It has deep red buds that open to pure white flowers as the sun sets, releasing their wonderful spicy, sweet, complex fragrance as they open.
Night phlox are relatives of snapdragons. They like rich, well-drained soil and stay compact, so they are great for filling in spaces between larger plants.
Night Scented Stock
Botanical Name: Matthiola longipetala
- Plant Type: Annual
- Season: Summer
- Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
- Zones: 2-10
One of the only annuals on the list, the night-scented stock will be worth planting yearly, I promise. This incredibly low-maintenance and fast-growing plant is certain to win you over with its long blooming time and lovely lavender flowers.
Night-scented stock is delicate in appearance. The leaves are somewhat grasslike, and the graceful flowers bloom in great numbers throughout the summer. Opening in the evening, the flowers are very fragrant. They make wonderful cut flowers and will last for a week indoors. This European native likes full sun in all but the warmest climates, where it will appreciate some shelter in the afternoon.
Queen of the Night
Botanical Name: Epiphyllum oxypetalum
- Plant Type: Perennial cactus
- Season: Late Spring
- Exposure: Filtered Sun
- Zones: 10-11
Although technically classified as a cactus, Queen of the Night behaves a lot like an orchid. As such, it requires a different kind of care than most cacti. To put it, this one is a bit high maintenance, but so many of the best things are. Queen of the Night is an epiphyte, which means it grows in tree branches rather than soil. This plant’s best type of sun exposure is bright, filtered, or indirect light.
As a jungle epiphyte, Queen of the Night likes more humidity than the average cactus, but it doesn’t need to be watered often. Watering once every two weeks should suffice as long as it gets the right amount of humidity. In the home, it will do well as a hanging plant; in the garden, climate will make the difference in how to contain this plant.
If you’re lucky enough to live in a tropical climate, you can tie this plant to the branches of a tree. This will best mimic its natural environment. North of zone 10, it’s best to keep this Queen in a container to be brought indoors when the temperature drops below 50°.
Now for the good part. This is truly a plant for the gardener who enjoys the pursuit of a rare and wonderful bloom. The flowers are quite large (12” long and 7” wide) and about the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. Layers of pure white, elliptical petals unfurl overnight to reveal a lotus-like bloom. This plant only blooms once yearly, and the flower is finished with the first-morning sun rays. It is a momentous occasion worthy of pulling an all-nighter.
Red Flare Water Lily
Botanical Name: Nymphaea ‘Red Flare’
- Plant Type: Aquatic Perennial
- Season: Summer and Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 10-11
If you are considering the addition of a water element in your moon garden, I highly recommend it for the addition of this wonderful plant. Red Flare is an aquatic plant with very large (11”-12”) mahogany-colored leaves that float on the water’s surface. The blooms are deep, rich pink, nearly red, and quite large (7”-10” wide).
The flowers bloom for 3-4 days, opening at night and closing during the day. The blooming season is long and prolific, lasting through the summer and into the fall. As the temperature cools in the fall, flowers will remain open for more of the day. Red Flare prefers full sun but needs protection from the wind and should be planted in undisturbed water.
Tuberose
Botanical Name: Agave amica (Formerly Polianthes tuberosa)
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Season: Summer/Fall
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Zones: 10-12
This last flower is well known and loved for its intensely fragrant flowers. They are hardy only in climates that do not experience frost, but the summers are long enough in zones 7-9 that the bulbs can be planted in spring and dug up in the fall to be stored over the winter. They need a fair amount of warm weather to produce flowers, so north of zone 7, they are unlikely to have a very strong season.
Tuberose acts slightly succulent, needing plenty of sun, well-drained soil, and infrequent watering. The night-blooming flowers are best known for their extensive and long-lived use in perfumery. Marie Antoinette wore a tuberose-based fragrance, and the scent has endured, remaining popular today. Although heavily cultivated, Tuberose is no longer found in the wild.
Final Thoughts
Something is enchanting and perhaps just a bit magical about a garden where the flowers hide from the sun and bask in the luminous glow of moonlight. The beauty and perfume of a night-blooming or Moon garden is the most enjoyable and alluring thing to behold. Whether you are a night owl or an early bird, these flowers that hide from the sun deserve a special space to share their charm and fragrance with their dedicated caretaker.
