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How to Create a Moonlit Garden!

Friday, June 10th, 2022

Disclaimer: Product stock and prices are subject to change after blog publish date.

Have you heard of a moonlit garden before?

A moonlit garden incorporates plants that show off their colour and texture more so during the evening hours as opposed to during the day.

Cool-coloured flowers, like white and blue, are more pronounced and luminous in the evening. While warm-coloured flowers, like red, orange and yellow, tend to stand out more when illuminated by the bright summer sun. Keep this in mind if you are interested in planting a moonlit garden this year!

If you would like your garden to shine at dusk, incorporating plants with textured or silver foliage is encouraged. As the sun sets, textured foliage creates more contrast and shadows, which makes a garden more intriguing. Similarly, silver foliage reflects the moonlight beautifully, thus adding interest to your garden.

Keep reading to learn more about the perennials and shrubs we recommend to help you create the perfect moonlit garden.

Featured varieties are available while quantities last.

Spike Speedwell (Veronica spicata ‘Snow Candles’)

One of the most popular varieties of Veronica available. Upright spikes of white flowers appear throughout the summer months. This perennial is very attractive to butterflies!

Exposure: Full Sun/Part Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Height: 8 – 10”
Spread: 10 – 12”
Price: $19.99 (5.5” pot)

Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’) &
Heartleaf Brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Queen of Hearts’)

Heart-shaped leaves have a silver overlay and dark green veining. Enjoy baby blue, forget-me-not type blossoms that appear in the spring.

Siberian Bugloss 

Exposure: Part Shade/Shade
Bloom Time: Spring
Height: 12 – 16”
Spread: 12 – 18”
Price: $19.99 (5.5” pot)

Heartleaf Brunnera

Exposure: Part Shade/Shade
Bloom Time: Spring
Height: 16 – 18”
Spread: 28 – 36”
Price: $23.99 (1 gallon pot)

Evergreen Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens ‘Purity’)

You will often see Evergreen Candytuft cascading over rocks and walls or used as a groundcover. The glossy green foliage forms a compact mound. Small, pure white multi-petaled flowers bloom profusely in the spring.

Exposure: Full Sun/Part Sun
Bloom Time: Spring – Early Summer
Height: 6 – 8”
Spread: 12 – 36”
Price: $5.99 (3.5” pot)

Silver Mound Artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’)

A popular perennial that is soft to the touch! Silver Mound forms a low cushion of ferny, silver-grey leaves.
Exposure: Full Sun/Part Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Height: 10 – 12”
Spread: 12 – 24”
Price: $14.99 (5.5” pot)

Creeping Lamium (Lamium maculatum ‘White Nancy’)

A tough perennial groundcover. Forms a spreading patch of small silver leaves with green edges. Spikes of white flowers rise above the foliage in the spring and continue to appear on and off until the fall.
Exposure: Part Shade/Shade
Bloom Time: Spring – Fall
Height: 6 – 8”
Spread: 12 – 24”
Price: $5.99 (3.5” pot)

McKay’s White Potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa ‘McKay’s White’)

A compact, low-growing deciduous shrub with textured foliage and clusters of creamy-white flowers.
Exposure: Full Sun/Part Sun
Bloom Time: Summer – Fall
Height: 2’
Spread: 3’
Price: $24.99 (2 gallon pot)

Henry’s Garnet Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’)

Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder

A shrub with long, fragrant white flowers. It has green deciduous foliage that turns a spectacular reddish-purple colour in the fall.
Exposure: Full Sun/Part Sun
Bloom Time: Early Summer
Height: 4’
Spread: 6’
Price: $34.99 (2 gallon pot)

Pale-coloured planters, trellises and benches, reflective gazing balls, light-coloured stone pathways and solar lights are other additions that will enhance your garden under the light of the moon.

Are you more inclined to plant a moonlit garden this year?