Oh, yea - it's like a whole other world out there after dark! Especially in terms of fragrance. One of the joys of life is experiencing the olfactory pleasures emanating from plants on a warm summer evening....

Have you tried Datura? It's an annual up here but has large trumpet-shaped flowers and a strong, sweet fragrance. I'm partial to the white ones, single form, but I believe a light yellow one is also available as are double forms.

While not a night bloomer, I also love how my Annabelle hydrangea look at night, especially on a moonlit night.

I am a big fan of visiting the garden with flashlight in hand. :-) There is just something about being in the garden late at night when it is quiet and dark and the air is warm. Fragrance from Four OClocks last summer was wonderful and the year before, one pot of them were noticeable from 25 ft away. So far this year, they are late and I have no bloom yet. I have had to steer clear of skunks this year wandering around in the garden, but so far so good.

Here are some photos from last year....

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Yea it is not so hot and it is a good way to find out what is eating things.

Earwigs...especially! Sometimes beetles still munching away.

I used to grow moonflowers, but they bloomed so late in the season that I stopped growing them. They smelled wonderful, though.

I have some evening scented jasmine, which used to sit on my back patio but hasn't made it out there yet. It's still on the front steps from when I stuck it outside this spring (it has to spend the winter indoors and isn't too happy about it). It has been sorely neglected this year. I need to baby it a bit so it will recover. It is very nice when it is in bloom. My DH loves it, although sometimes I find it overpowering. But it did make for some pleasant evenings out on the patio.

I don't usually wander around my yard at night. I'm scared, lol. I don't really want to come face to face with any bugs that do their thing at night, and you never know what kind of critters are around here. Last summer there was talk of a mountain lion, and it was allegedly spotted on my road. While I'm sure it wasn't lurking in my garden, goodness knows I would be thinking about it and scare the bejeezus out of myself, lol. And even if there is no mountain lion, skunks and coyotes and raccoons are enough to keep me close to the house. I stay on the patio at night and venture no further.

:)
Dee

I'm with you diggerdee - My fear is the snakes and since my gardens are packed with shrubs and flowers with not much space inbetween, it's hard to spot any critters hiding. I enjoy the photos, but I am way too scared to go out at night - also, a coyote was spotted nearby - Nope, I stay in at night.

Carrie

Those are gorgeous four 'o clocks.

Long time ago, I had a moon garden down in the orchard under an old apple tree which was surrounded by wild shrubs and some tree suckers that formed a "secret hideaway". Planted all white flowers, and it really did seem to glow in the moonlight. The only flowers left there are the white gooseneck loosestrife - no surprise. One or two plants have multiplied to a big patch, and that spot is in dappled to full shade all day now. Amazing that they still thrive there. If I recall I had white nicotiana and a moonflower vine,too. Others I can't remember.

Nice photos (including the menacing creature in the web).

White flowers are usually talked about as showing up well at night (and I have some that make a good show, including currently phlox "David" and Eupatorium purpureum "Bartered Bride) but some other colors are also special after dark. There's a clump of Monarda "Jacob Cline" near my patio, and those scarlet flowers really glow in the soft light from the house doorway lamps.

Speaking of nighttime critters - I was in the garden a couple of nights ago and heard an odd, loud snorting and snuffling coming from over the fence in the neighbor's yard, near her house. I saw a dim brown form and thought for a minute it was one of the horses from the corral down the road (a bunch of them got out the other day, and they had to close down the road until they were rounded up). When I went closer, I discovered it was a deer (apparently one with a head cold). I made encouraging snorting noises back at it, but it fled.*

*good thing that fence is a deer fence, or there would be fewer perennials to talk about.

I can completely understand the reluctance to wander around out there at night in some locations. I am almost urban here, with no habitat for anything of any size for miles. There are only small little creatures to think about. No mountain lions, bears, or coyotes, that I've heard of or seen. No snakes either. Just the usual ground hogs, which are out in the day, rabbits, again out in the day, and skunks and possums which are out at night. Both of which are usually not in a hurry to meet up with me either.

I did try moonflower a couple of times too, Dee. Stopped growing them for the same reason. I had leftover seed this year and sowed them, but not sure if what came up was a morning glory or a moonflower vine. Hmmmm....now that I think of it, there hasn't been a bloom on it yet, so maybe it is a moonflower vine. Tried the jasmine too and it was a bust. Four Oclocks are definitely consistent and easy. Casa Blanca Lilies are smelling up the place now. [g] When honeysuckle is in bloom...that permeates the whole yard at night.

Would enjoy seeing more night photos if anyone wants to brave it. :-)

pm2

Yes, I had white plhox ,too; there are still some stragglers down there. All this talk makes me want to give a moon garden another go, and I found out there's a moon garden forum on GW!
But, I wondering if there are too many mature trees and taller shrubs now that may not let the moonbeams thru.

(Note: Perseids coming soon Aug.12th.(copied from web site):
When we say August 12, we mean that morning  not that night. These typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus, and, like all meteors in annual showers, they cover a large part of the sky. The Perseids are considered by many people to be the yearÂs best shower when the moon is out of the way during the showerÂs peak. This yearÂs moon is not quite out of the way during the Perseids, but there is a window for meteor-watching in the hours before dawn. The first quarter moon comes on August 8, but full moon is not until August 16. On the morning of the Perseids peak, the moon sets around 3 a.m. (look here for a custom calendar that can give you moonset in your location) After moonset on the morning of August 12, be sure youÂre already in a dark sky location. Lie back and watch meteors until dawnÂs light washes the stars, and the meteors, from view. )

We have skunks. Lots and lots of skunks. And possums. And I don't want to meet up with either in the garden after dark!

Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only wimp here, lol! I thought I was going to catch heck for admitting to that!

I do venture out sometimes after dark, but usually only when I work late, and then realize I need a tomato or some herbs to make my dinner. Then I get a flashlight and make it quick, lol!

schoolhouse, we used to get up to watch the Perseid shower and other astronomical events when my kids were younger. It was rough getting up at that time but worth it. Now that they're teenagers, they'd rather sleep, lol!

:)
Dee

What always surprises me is how much bigger plants look at night! Without all the colours, they become 3-dimensional objects with somehow a great deal more mass and physical presence than during the day - I really feel that I'm walking amongst the plants, rather than just walking past them.