Guess what bloomed last night? This is also on the winter sowing forum because it was winter sowed!

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Oh Man, I am jealous...It's beautiful! Seed sown, too? Wow!..I still have mine in a pot indoors. That is incredible, it looks huge. Thanks for the photo..

I posted earlier today on another forum about the White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle, England.

If you click here there are four links to this beautiful place.

Thank you for the link, they are beautiful pictures. I would love to be there at dusk. It looks like quite a large area. I really enjoy having a white garden. When all the other gardens in my yard are 'sleeping', this one pops! I love color too, but, for now, I have to say this is my favorite. It is full and I planted a few things in there that I've never planted before, so I have a bit of anticipation with it too. Yesterday my Peruvian Daffodils bloomed, which is a nice contrast to the other flowers.

Anyone know of a moon garden design I can follow. I was going ot start one this year But with colege gradustion and grad party money and time was not available. I have a 20x15 garden all ready to plant and I also bought a metal arbour with a gate. As you walk through the gate the first thing you see is my lake. It will be quite beautiful when finished. It would be soooo much easier if I had a set of plans to get it going quickly next year as I can buy plants early. Shade

Hi Shade, sorry I don't have a written plan or design. Mine sort of just happened. There are hundreds of plants in there. As maybe you can see, some things (cleome) self seeded all over. I left most of them. When they did, they are much taller than some of my other plants, so they are burried and you can't even see them. Up close it is fun to spot something behind something, but that is not how I would have planned it. My white coneflower planted in front of my clethra is too tall, as is the phlox David, so next spring I am going to move them.

I think there are books out there specifically for white gardens. I know someone here directed me to a magazine article featuring a white garden. I think it was the summer issue of the special issue publication of Better Homes and Gardens. If you have a local library sometimes they carry books or you can have them get it for you. (that way you are not commited to buying it if you don't like it.)

Good Luck, JoAnn.

Well, it's August, and things are big in the white garden..hibiscus, dahlia and a new liatris I tried called Floristan Alba. I am still awaiting the moonflowers, I have buds, so I am hopeful..The clethera is blooming, the echinacea are blooming, the cleome have taken over. The species lilies and the formanosanum are still in bud.. Any pictures of your white's out there? Here's a few... I need to take a new ' long shot'..we'll have to see what's left after the storm today...yikes! Enjoy!

JustJoeyGirl..your garden is wonderful. I have mine as a Secret Garden and it is also shaping up, might add, not as nice as yours.
Give the Moonflowers a good dose of coffee grounds and it will shock you how the grounds make those flowers pop!!
Thanks for sharing your garden.

Hi, and thank you. I think I will try and control the cleome next year. This year I just let ALL the reseeders stay where they landed. Although it was a nice display, they totally hid some of my favorite whites, and actually took away from the garden. I have different flower sizes and shapes, and things that are just nice to get up close to. A lot of that was hidden by the cleomes. The seeds have started falling already, and I didn't catch them, so next year I will leave a bunch towards the back..maybe move some to another garden, give them away, whatever. I started with a four pack for 99 cents last year, this year it turned into fifty or more plants..and they are tall. I get lots of compliments from passersby..but I want to say..hey come look and see what you can't see...( a little obsessed, ya think?) I also am worried that they blocked the sun for the other plants foliage..my iris' are completely burried as well as many of my other plants. Live and learn. The white garden is my joy this season. The others are too, but I am having fun with this one, planting a lot of things I never planted before.

So, what will the coffee grounds do? I know coffee is acidic, will it change the ph? I guess if it is granular it may improve drainage..I can't figure out what they do, act as a mulch? I'd be willing to try it, just curious.

Thanks, JoAnn

Oh yes, I am thinking about hitting Starbucks. I guess if you leave a bucket with promises to pick up the next day, some will fill your bucket.

My white/moon garden is a jumbled mess too. But it's year one, so I can fix things as the years go by.

I've taken my cleome and whipped then around the bed. Perhaps I will have the came crowding problem. Oh well.

The coffee grounds have much nitrogen in them and some say that does the trick. All I know is that it works for me. One of my Datura plants is so large that it has taken over the front of my house. Have left it alone this year but it will have to find another home next year.
oops..the grounds also have Phosphates(sp) in them and that will also make the plant produce more blooms and keep them producing. MIne have been loaded this year. Love them!!
Sorry it took so long to get back..have been on vacation..needless to say, the catch up work in the gardens had to be done.

It sounds like it would work, and you are living proof. I remember my aunt putting coffee grounds and egg shells in her gardens a long time ago. I never new why...thanks for letting me know!

Merriss, thanks for the email, I see I can't answer your question directy..so I'll do it here: Thank you, and I got the Peruvian daffodil ( hymenocallis Festalis) from Brent and Becky's Summer Flowering Bulbs Catalog. It is not hardy here in my zone 5 garden, I planted it in the spring and it flowered nicely. The foliage is still quite nice tall thick wide straplike leaves of a nice light green. They were inexpensive at 5/$9. I am going to try and overwinter the bulbs this year. I have to check and see if they overwinter and flower the following year well first.

Glad to hear you are doing better, gardening is theraputic for me too. The only thing I might do differently with them is group them together, maybe a few more than 5, and watch what crowds them..I let cleome take over the garden, and it hid many of my special flowers. Take care...JoAnn

I snapped a few photos today of a few 'new' blooms in my white garden. A species lily, which has been open about a week now, and actually on the decline..I should've grabbed the camera a few days ago. Also formanosanum lilies, not a great picture, but they are blooming now too. I am still waiting for the moonflowers.

The coneflowers, butterfly bushes, clethera, phlox, geraniums Rozanne and Johnson Blue, liatris, annual geranium, cleome, salvia, portulaca, nicotiana, petunia, impatiens, begonias, alyssum, chrysanthemums, and more are in bloom now. I'll actually have to take a look to remember what else I saw out there today.

I am awaiting the moonflowers, the anemone Honerine Jobert, Cimifuga Hillside Black Beauty, and the boltonia Snowbank. They all have buds, and are just waiting to bloom. I am glad I still have things to look forward to this season. Usually I am done after the Orientals..other than a few sedums and mums..over the last season or two I've added some late summer, fall interest.

I am also thinking of adding some hosta to the garden, My Aphrodite bloomed recently (photo below) I think the flower would fit right in, I am just concerned that the foliage would be too green..I'm not sure. Anyway, just a peek into my white garden in August.

These strawflowers pick up any little bit of light from the moon. I discovered it by accident.
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What a happy picture, dollmaker, it made me smile too. I see a few more things shining bright in that moonlight...your smiles certainly outshine the moon! Thanks for sharing your photo..it is wonderful.

I wanted to share the moonflower pictures I took this evening. My first moonflower ever finally opened.. It is beautiful and very fragrant..I think I will be planting many many more of these..They are great...they are bright white iredescent (sp?), large 6 - 8 inches across, beautifully scented, and so far nothing bothers them. I had a problem with the buds dropping off. I am still losing some buds, but the vines are covered with buds, so I am no longer upset with the fact some are being lost. All I wanted was 'just one'. Now that I see them..all I want is 'just one' (x 1,000,000)!

Here's the latest in the moon garden. The annuals are still going strong, the moonflowers and chrysanthemums are wonderful. Here are the anemone, boltonia and some sedum Frosty Morn with some Salvia. It has been a full season of blooms from March on. Enjoy.. what's blooming now for you?

What beautiful pictures! I too have a white garden, I hesitate to call it a moon garden because it is in the shade. I have purchased a Darlow's Enigma climbing rose for one corner. I have read that they do well even in shade. Has anyone tried them? Pure white and very fragrant I am told. I have only shades of whites and creams, with some greenery (hostas and ferns) tucked in as well as a cement statue (venus de milo)a small bird bath and an ivy covered obelisk. Plan to add plenty of lighting. We have recently moved to this house, so this is a new garden this summer. I'll be sure to post pictures next spring. Any suggestions for unusual but beautiful additions would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Hi FlowerAddict, thanks.. I love my white garden. I really enjoy speaking with others who have the same interest. I an curious about a few things you mentioned. I have a Blanc Double DeCoubert white rose in my white garden.. I have to say I am a bit disappointed in it. Although the petals are crisply white, I find the form unatractive, and it doesn't last that long. I heard they were fragrant, but I don't find them anything special. I have never heard of Darlow's Enigma, I'd like to hear more about them. I also have considered adding lighting to the garden, but I really can't think of a way to add lighting in an attractive way. My plants range from 4 inches to 8 feet, not including the vines. I like the white at dusk, but I am afraid putting lighting directly in the garden may take away from the hovering, glowing effect by lighting the foliage as well. Do you have any ideas on how you will light your garden. I 'd love to see pictures next spring. I am always 'touring' anyone's garden I can. I love finding out about peoples favorites and how they enjoy them. I do some garden photography, and painting, so I get to enjoy the gardens year-round. I have no talent when it comes to garden art. I see you have a statue, obelisk and bird bath...It sounds so lovely and peaceful. I picture some epimediums with your ferns and hosta. I have an area that has a lot of shade..although it isnt in my white garden. I have several ferns, hosta, epimediums, arabis, lamium, In the spring it has bleeding hearts, virginia bluebells and columbine ( I love this combination..the pink/purple/blue/white and green with silver) What kind of fern do you have? I recently added some maidenhair fern and some tatting fern..I like the different textures and heights. Looking forward to your garden photos...Good luck and have fun!

Hi, Your gardens are beautiful! thanks for sharing. I just love all the white flowers.

Suz

My moon flowers were just gorgeous for a few years and the vine was very thick a tough. I cut it back because it was growing over the driveway. This year I had no moon flowers at all. Any suggestions?

Barbara Spring

Here is a link that might be useful: The Dynamic Great Lakes

Barbara, here in my z5 garden, moonflowers are annuals. I am sorry that I can not offer any suggestions. Is it perennial in your zone, or are we talking about different plants?

Thanks Sue...I am finding out that there are more and more white varieties of perennials that I never knew of. I think next year is going to be even more fun than this year. I have the perfect spot for a new moon garden in the back yard. It gets lots of moon-shine, I just have to clear it and ammend it first. I don't know if I'll get to it next year, but I do hope to.

I hope to see some more pictures of your gardens, I find them inspirational. I am already planning my January reading box...I take magazines and catalogs and put them away for a cold day in January when I want to start thinking of my gardens again. I ordered two new books, they haven't arrived yet (gives me an idea for a new thread). One is the Evening Garden, fragrance from dusk till dawn..( I think) and the other is a booklet on planning and planting a moon garden. I'll share whatever I learn from these for next years moon gardeners...JoAnn

My neighbors' moonflowers are lush. I don't know too much about the variety I had, but they were thriving on scant water, sandy soil and lots of wind off of Lake Michigan. I will plant the seeds that I saved. I started the other plants from seeds.

I love the fragrance at night and in the early morning. It fades as the day goes on. I painted some water colors of these flowers, but I have not figured out how to send them to this site.

Barbara Spring

Here is a link that might be useful: The Wilderness Within

Hello
I just stumbled across the Moon Garden forum today!
I have a white garden about 4 years old now here in St. Louis. (have battled the cleome for 3 years!)
I don't have pics to share this year(next year for sure!)
But I must say my favorites in the white garden are the Lilies. Orientals, Asiatics and their crosses. Some have the most awesome fragrances! Perfect for the evening gardens too! Some taller cultivars look great hovering over lower mounding perennials. They even do well in part shade!
Thanks for sharing!

This is a shady garden where I've incorporated some yellow, white, and light pink flowers and foliage to brighten up the shade. I like using variegated foliage. View is from my study from the second story looking down.
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Hi! I just made this picture this morning. I love it! We bought our house a year ago, so I am still experiencing what kind of flowers are popping up.

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Lovely iris....isn't it fun when you buy a new house and get to see what surprises there are?