June 06, 2022
The night garden in early summer glows with spires of creamy, bell-shaped blossoms.
‘Bright Edge’ yucca sends up these towers of flowers, perfect for a moonlight garden.
Paleleaf yucca (Y. pallida) gets in on the act too, sending up its own tall flower spike over powder-blue leaves.
‘Fireworks’ gomphrena and ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome add pinks to the scene, with the paler cleome showing up better at dusk.
Yellow Hesperaloe parviflora adds a little moonshine to the garden after dark. An uplight on the big Yucca rostrata gives it nighttime drama.
Yucca flowers get right up in your face, and what’s not to love?
Lanceleaf blanketflower (Gaillardia aestivalis) illuminated by an uplight on a metal prickly pear
‘Bright Edge’ yucca flowers seem to glow under string lights.
Variegated squid agave (Agave bracteosa ‘Monterrey Frost’) has a creamy-white leaf edge that shows up well when the sun goes down.
Out front, an uplight illuminates a Japanese maple’s filigreed canopy. At the patio’s edge, a datura opens a single fragrant flower.
A sweet scent and exquisite white flowers that open at dusk. Calling all sphinx moths!
An older, larger datura sprawls alongside the driveway. Recently there were a dozen or so furled trumpets that spiraled open before my eyes, releasing their sweet fragrance to the night air.
The perfect moon garden plant.
Another ‘Bright Edge’ yucca doing its thing. Somehow the deer overlooked this bloom spike for a few days. Oh and look — the white-painted house has a soft glow after dark too.
The island bed at dusk: ‘Old Mexico’ prickly pear and ‘Vanzie’ whale’s tongue agave in back; gopher plant, ‘Bright Edge’ yucca, and volunteer pine muhly in front.
But now, back to the datura extravaganza!
I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!
__________________________
Digging Deeper
Join the mailing list for Garden Spark! Hungry to learn about garden design from the experts? I’m hosting a series of talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance. Simply click this link and ask to be added. The 6th season kicks off in fall 2022.
All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
