Inspiration from the White Garden
When I was about fourteen, I begged my parents to visit Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, UK. I was fascinated by the idea of Vita Sackville-West’s White Garden — a garden that took center stage after the sun had set. I was not disappointed. The monochrome garden was beautiful in the daytime, but, of course, the castle closed, and I was unable to see it in its intended full glory under moonlight. However, one visitor wrote about this special garden:
“The pearl glimmer at night, when the garden was designed to be seen – when walking home to bed after dinner, when the whites glow in the dark, floating free, and the greens absorb what light there is. Ideally, just then, a barn owl flies through.”
Why Plant a Moon Garden?
A nocturnal or moon garden provides soothing relief from our scorching summer days, offers a buffet for night-time pollinators and a haven for fireflies and other animals.
As with all gardens, the gardener needs to consider soil type, moisture level, sun or shade levels, and all elements specific to your garden. Vita Sackville-West’s White Garden was packed with plants from all over the world. However, here I consider native plants that might be at home in your moon garden. The gardener can choose plants for their flower color (the palette can include soft grays, lilacs, pinks, in addition to white), fragrance, texture, and structure.
Background Plants
Magnolia
To create an evergreen backdrop for a moon garden, one punctuated with large, showy white flowers, consider our native magnolias. Magnolia blooms glow in the moonlight, and their fragrance intensifies in the evening. The large southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and smaller sweet bay magnolias (Magnolia virginiana) are two options. Beetles and other pollinators visit magnolia flowers.
Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) flowers profusely.
Sue Watts, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) produces flower panicles that last for the whole summer
Sue Watts, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Hydrangea
Consider native hydrangeas for an abundance of white, cream, or dusky pink flowers and silvery gray-green foliage. In my yard, my oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) produces an incredible number of flower panicles that last for the whole summer. Their blooms line my front porch and produce a soft glow at night. Similarly, the smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) flowers profusely. Moths, bees, and butterflies are all attracted to hydrangea flowers. Additionally, the smooth hydrangea is the host plant for the Hydrangea sphinx moth (Darapsa versicolor).
Pops of Texture and Light: Tall Plants
Yucca
Yucca’s spiky leaves and tall, luminous flower stalks add drama and illumination to the moon garden. There are some fifty species of yucca in the United States. Perhaps choose Yucca filamentosa, which is native throughout South Carolina. The additional adornment of curly filaments to the bayonet-sharp leaves increases the texture they add to the space. Yuccas have a fascinating mutualistic interdependency with yucca moths (Tegeticula sp); one cannot survive without the other.
Culver’s Root and Black Cohosh
Add a candelabra-like effect to the moonlit landscape with the white flower spires of Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum) (2-6ft tall), which does well in sunny to partly shady spaces. This plant is a bee magnet, attracting a variety of native bees and a myriad of other pollinators. In shady areas, the gardener can obtain a similar effect by planting black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) (4-6 ft tall). Cohosh also attracts pollinators and is the host plant for Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), and the Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor).
Goat’s Beard
For a hazier look, choose goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus) (4-6 ft tall). This native perennial has tall flower plumes with feathery or fern-like foliage that adds a delicate texture to the landscape.
The trumpet-shaped white blooms of Datura wrightii open at dusk.
The trumpet-shaped white blooms of Datura wrightii open at dusk.
Sue Watts, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Shorter Plants and a Vine
Evening Primrose and Datura
The very well-named evening primrose (Oenothera sp.) comes alive at dusk as the flowers open, sometimes so quickly that you can watch it happen. The showy evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) has soft, delicate pink blossoms that reflect the light, making it an excellent addition to a moon garden. Similarly, the trumpet-shaped white blooms of Datura wrightii open at dusk, timed to coincide with the most active time of their primary pollinators, the hawk moths. This is also a host plant for the Carolina Sphinx Moth (Manduca sexta).
Moonflower
I cannot end without mentioning vining moonflower (Ipomoea alba). Although not native to South Carolina, its native range includes nearby Florida. This is another plant made for moonlight. The luminous blooms attract nocturnal moths, and the leaves feed the hummingbird moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) and sphinx moths (Sphingidae spp.).
Make It Wild and Welcoming
If you “leave the leaves” and do not spray chemicals, your moon garden will be a haven for fireflies, who will light up your landscape. Add a water feature, a simple fountain or more elaborate pond, and frogs and toads will add a rhythmic soundtrack to the night noises.
My fascination with night gardens was rekindled through this research. I’m going to add some more “moon” plants to my garden, and I want a pond!
Additional Resources
Romantic Garden at Sissinghurst – World of Interiors
Moon Gardens – Chicago Botanic Garden
Creating a Spellbinding Moon Garden – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
