Evening gardens, also called moon gardens, are favorites of busy gardeners who return home from work in the evening.
The gardens are especially nice for gardeners in the Southeastern United States who try to avoid working outdoors in the daytime during the summer's hottest weeks, said Jessica Noble of Signal Mountain Nursery.
"At night, we are unable to see the weeds, so guilt does not drive us to work in the garden," she said. Noble offers the following tips for building a moon garden:
FIVE TIPS
1 Choose plants with pale blooms, especially white, because they remain visible even in the dimmest light. In darkness, the light portions of variegated leaves seem to float; white flowers appear stalkless and seem to hover above the ground. Some flowers bloom only at night, or are only fragrant at night (i.e. nicotiana).
2 Mix a variety of plants into your night garden - some for nighttime blooming, some for fragrance, some for brighter color, and some for texture and foliage. Ideal plants for night gardens are Night Blooming Cereus, Moonvine, Evening Primrose, Carol Mackie Daphne, Silver Mound Artemisia, Blue Fescue, Dusty Miller, Threadleaf Coreopsis, Bluestar Creeper, Angel's Trumpet, Flowering Tobacco, Tuberose, Daylilies and Evening Glow.
3 As with a regular garden, you need to begin with well-drained soil. If you're unsure about your garden's soil quality, add some mushroom compost, peat, and Nature's Helper. You may also mix in some topsoil with these materials if you know your soil is bad.
4 Make sure you have enough sun for the plants that need it, and some shade for the plants that don't. Also, water your garden first thing in the morning to allow it to dry out throughout the day. If you water in the evening, you can breed fungus.
5 Fertilize your plants with either a slow release fertilizer (such as Osmocote) every two months, or a water-soluble fertilizer (such as Daniel's or Miracle Grow) once a week. For organic gardeners, compost makes a great fertilizer, too. Make sure you fertilize in the morning when it is cool.