In the summer, my favorite time of day is in the evening, right as the sun goes down behind the back hill. It stays semi-light (dusk) for about an hour, but the temperature drops down to a more comfortable 70 degrees and the mist comes up off the creek, behind the house. The birds are all flying around catching bugs and the horses start racing around, enjoying the cooler air. The fragrances from the garden start to travel across the yard, including the star jasmine. I'm looking forward to sitting on our new double bench/arbor, with the roses in each corner of the kitchen garden, overlooking the creek and enjoying the summer evenings :)

Audrey, I love Saturday mornings. Around 8am with a cup of cofee, is just fine with me. That is the time of the week that I can spend all morning in the garden. I go to each rose and appreciate each one for it's special qualities. I've taken great care to only keep roses that please me, after all. I also love the garden in the early evening on warm days. There is a certain magic at that time that is unforgettable.

Juliet

I love going out to my garden in the morning too. I like to go out right during/after breakfast. I agree about the fragrance usually being stronger then, and the sun isn't too hot or the bugs too buggy.

I'm with Lavender Lassie - evening is such a golden time as the sun backlights the flowers, especially the stipa and the cercis. My garden gets no morning sun as it is west facing but by late afternoon, it is lovely. My allotment, which is much more open, is at its best, I think, on late summer evenings when the birds have a sing-off and the light is dipped in syrup. Also, most of my work is done so I can actually just sit and cogitate. I am not, and never have been, much of a morning person - need many cups of tea, cigs and toast before I can manage a civil word.

I have to say I'm equally divided between the very early morning light, just before and as the sun comes up over the hills and the garden looks magical and fresh, and the golden light of evening when everything takes on a more intense color and portions of the garden are backlit by the waning sun. I never tire of being in the garden at either time of the day, when it's at its most beautiful.

Mnn very late after noon early evening.

Rarely am I up early as I prefer my pillow to almost anything and I'm a late, late goer to bed. A few times I've been out in the garden before 7 in the morning, and it was just glorious. The soft air, the super clear sounds of the birds, the incredible light. I told my DH we should have our coffee and breakfast outside, but we don't. :))

And I, too, love the evening for pretty much the same reasons, but early morning is truly magical and AWE-some.

Hmm, no lovers of high noon? I love the early afternoon from the shade of a big tree. It fools you into thinking the heat isn't so bad...until you step out into the sun. Whammo!

And while I'm at it, I'll put in a good word for midnight. There's just something about the cool, moist air in the darkness. If I didn't have a dog, I wouldn't know this. :))

Sherry

I go out every morning to admire each rose, deadhead, and look at the other plants, plan, etc. I take my time walking around. It's 'my time' and DH knows that I will come back inside when I'm through looking at everything.

My other favorite time is when I'm working in the garden, and I sit for a small break on one of the many benches placed around. It doesn't last long, but for the moment, I try to watch the bees, the hummers, look at the plants from a different perspective, just to admire and not to 'plan', and hopefully enjoy a breeze and perhaps a drink of lemonade in the shade.

My favorite probably would be early morning too, at about 5 am at dawn, but I rarely am up and in the garden that early.. I love a bit later morning too though, especially in the weekend.

I also love the rainy days, especially heavy rain in spring/summer evenings! Everything feels so fresh then!

DW and I both love to have morning coffee and read the newspaper in the garden. As Audrey and Juliet say above, the garden is special at sunrise. Our hummingbirds are sure to appear. Plus, you get to see all the changes that have occurred overnight.

I stroll through early morning.. but the bugs are very bad at that time.. I still try to sniff the roses, pull a couple of weeds before work..But nothing like seeing a rose or a new daylily seedling for the first time in the AM before the sun gets to it.. looks great..

As the day goes along the dragonflies come out.. thousands at a time, this is my favorite time to WORK in the garden, even with the sun.. there are no bugs with the dragonfly friends hovering around my head..

My favorite time to take pictures and enjoy the garden is early to late evening, it cools down (we can hit 90 in the day and 50 at night here) and the light is perfect to take some pics...

So I guess I have favorite times of day to do different types of activities in the garden..

Silverkelt

Mine is anytime I can spare to check things out. Lately it has been when hubby comes home and wants to go on 'walkabout' and check everything out. He doesn't like gardening but he sure gets excited about the garden, lol!

One favourite time is at 10.30 at night when the bats come out, black against the white summer sky after our slow sunset. It doesn't get really dark before 11. My husband and I never go to bed before we've seen them. We sit on the balcony in our bathrobes and watch them and sip our after bath drinks.

Marianne in Sweden

My favorite hymn----" I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses"----I Love this music which runs through my head while I check out the roses----

Can't stand the middle of a sunny day---much too hot for me.

At dusk, the skeeters come out so we stay on the screened porch.
Florence

oh sherry - i'm a pillow lover too - and I agree that night in the garden can be brilliant. I do a lot of watering in darkness with a headlamp on - the neighbours have got used to it by now - it really feels like you own the night. I love to walk in our local graveyard with my dog - great dark yews looming up, careful not to step on hedgehogs. I always mean to get up at dawn but.....sleep prevails

Teehee, I love all responses!

For those who go out to their gardens at night, how do you keep the critters from biting/attacking you? I live near a creek so mosquitoes are really bad. IÂve tried Deet products but those donÂt seem to work as well. IÂve tried rubbing rosemary leaves all over my body once, and all I got was a weird sniff from my DH.

Then there are those moths and spiders that dive boom down for your headÂ.goodness! Bats, oh, I donÂt even want to know theyÂre aroundÂ..IÂm too timid to fight the unknown at night.

You don't have to fight bats, unless they are very young and pregnant! They have their echolocation system and avoid you if you're not a gnat. My husband and I took a night class on bats and the instructor managed to catch only one specimen in his net, a young female. I enjoy watching them since that night.

I am sensitive to mosquito bites early in the season and use deterrents for the first few weeks of early summer. Unfortunately, mosquitoes have become immune to DEET recently.