Night Gardens

I was thinking of planting some night blooming flowers. The climate here gets very hot and humid. Can anyone give some suggestions for this project. Please include whether I should plant in full sun or shade because I have both available. Thanks

 

Moonflower vines, white datura or angels trumpet,they both like sun and can take some late afternoon shade, and anything silver such as dusty miller, artemisia, silver thyme, lambs ear and Lamium. Impatiens are good too, but like the shade. Also nicotania, roses, and night blooming jasmine for fragrance,all like the sun but can take afternoon shade too. These are just a few that I know of.

 

Mirabilis jalapa is one of my favourites.

 

I've had night blooming jasmine in the states and it was so heavenly. but only at night.

When the seasons permit planting here, there is no night. Do the rest of those plants smell during the day? or is it the night that triggers them to release their sent. The reason I'm asking is would maybe shade work the same as night? Of course I would have to plant in pots but remembering that jasmine,, i also would love a night garden.

 

As for the mirabilis, I do not know...you will just have to try it. I would be very interested to know how that turns out. If you can't find the seeds or roots, let me know.

 

I always had a night garden before moving to Kuwait. I am working one one here. In South Carolina, my best night flowers were moonflowers, datura and nicotania. My ginger lilies did well there too.

 

Hi,
I am assuming that fragrance is important to you, since thats the only thing thats apparent at night. Also the ice age was the last time we had snow, so some of the plants mentioned here may not be really hardy...

The most spectacular night flowering plants are the "Queen of the night" cactii - of the genus cereus / selenicereus. I have ones that flower in white, yellow and red and are as large as dinner plates. The white one has a fabulous scent but the rest have none. They are tender plants and bloom just once or twice a year, unfortunately. Another marvellous night scented plant is Hesperis matronalis (Mother of the evening / sweet rocket).

For continuous scent / flowering:
Cestrum / Night jessamine (and the closely related Carolina jessamine) has an intoxicating perfume that will fill up the entire garden. The flowers are tiny, tubular, greenish - yellow but borne in large clusters. The plant is poisonous to rabbits and other wildlife.

Nicotiana alata has a strong fragrance late in the evening. Night Phloxes (Midnight candy) have a vanilla like perfume at night. Other scented phloxes have a sweet honey perfume, according to the books, but I haven't gotten to grow any phloxes as yet.

The Star of Peru (Mirabilis Jalapa) has a late evening jasmine like perfume. I have a yellow, dark pink, red and white varieties. (Not all have a perfume). It grows easily from seed. Silene nutans (catchfly) has a hyacinth like perfume at night. There are also the night scented stocks (insignifigant flowers with a fantastic scent), the night "morning glory" (ipomoea alba) and evening primroses (this causes allergies in some children / people). We get these as part of a fragrant mix from a company called Mayford.

Night Gladiolus - Gladiolus tristus has a spicy clove-like perfume at night. I got these as part of a box of glads from Hedeco. (I think the variety is the one I have mentioned, but am not sure). Another clove scented flower is the pale pink Dianthus plumarius. It also flowers late evening.

Datura / brugmansia innoxia has lovely, large trumpet like flowers (white usually, but also yellow and pinkish-red). The plant is dangerously poisonous and a no-no if u have kids / pets. It has a sweet, sickly scent, most prominent at night. I have pups that just love to dig up anything I plant so do not grow this as such. It grows wild in these parts though.

Seasonal scented flowers:
August hostas have a honey scented flowers. Fragrant Columbines smell like the honeysuckle and flower at night. Both are easy to grow.

Fairy Lily: (Chlidanths fragrans) bears yellow, slightly fragrant flowers all summer. Several other lillies (they are called spider lillies here) are fragrant at night, but flower during the day as well. The tuberose also has a wonderful night fragrance that reduces (but does not vanish completely) during the day. Several day lilies and yuccas bloom at night as well (but have no scent).

Sorry for the long post; hope it helps. I am not sure of the spellings of the botanical names.

Cheers

 

Excellent post Sunshine! You have just given me some new ideas!