Most people envision a garden as being something they enjoy during the day. On a sunny spring or summer day, it certainly can be a pleasure to visit a garden but if you plan things properly, you will enjoy visiting at night as well. What you have to do is add moonflowers, a type of Flora that blooms at night.
Not only do moonflowers bloom at night, but they also smell absolutely delightful when they do so. As the sun starts to rise, the flowers close but when the sun sets, they bloom beautifully and even have reflective qualities.
Most moonflowers are white but you might also find them in red and yellow to mix things up in your own moon garden.
Some caution is in order when choosing flowers for your moon garden. Some can be poisonous, so you may want to avoid them for various reasons. Moonflowergarden, a website dedicated to this type of flower, claims that mythology is often at the root of many of these flowers.
“In the Hindu scripture Vamana Purana, the thorn apple grew from the chest of the Hindu god Shiva, the lord of inebriants. Datura was first mentioned in the ancient Vedic scriptures as ‘Shivashekhera,’ showing the connection to Shiva was made very early. Shiva accepts offerings of Datura flowers even today. Datura flowers are depicted in Hindu Tantric art, and in many cultures, a small dose or smoked Datura is considered an aphrodisiac.”
Moonflower Growing And Care Tips:
You will enjoy growing moonflowers in your garden because they climb, so they don’t take up a lot of ground space. As long as you provide a trellis or other form of support, you can give them the guidance needed to grow in the right direction.
Thanks very much all your beautiful hearts and souls blooming in this life's garden 😉Ces🍂
Ipomea Alba/Moonflower pic.twitter.com/pzS6kzWKz3— Ces Rey (Plants) (@CesPlantsRey) April 20, 2019
Some moonflower plants can reach up to 20 feet and will climb on anything they can reach. If you pinch the top of the vine, it will keep it from damaging nearby plants and force flowering on the downward vine.
One thing that you can do for your night-blooming flowers is to water them regularly, especially as they are growing. They do well with phosphorus, half-strength fertilizer. Try to avoid using a nitrogen fertilizer if you want more blooms.
Moonflowers are part of the Ipomea family and are related to the sweet potato vine and morning glory.