When I think of a moon garden I think of scented plants first rather than just white and green. I like jasmine, pflox, and brugmansia. I think of a place to sit and enjoy the peacefulness of the night in the garden, so whatever is planted there can be enjoyed while relaxing in the cool air. I like the sound of running water too, not a torrent or a waterfall, just a soft splashing sound and the peeps of frogs and crickets nearby. This is the garden I have, and it's a half-moon shaped area inside the turnaround driveway in front of my house. The long straight side that faces the street of the half-moon is enclosed with a brick and iron fence. The half-circle side is marked out with stone that edges the driveway. There are two entrances to this garden, the main entrance has an arbor, the second entrance is just a little footpath. The paths allow you to see all of it, but also require some back-tracking so you get to see some areas from two directions. One circular path has a stone castle in the middle that is inhabited by fairies, or gnomes, I'm not sure which, since I've never seen them, but their tracks are all over the place. They leave their "stuff" laying around, ladders, chairs, dishes, stuff like that. They're kinda messy sometimes, but I let them stay anyway. Passers-by often pull over and peek through the iron fence since there is enough color and interest for it to be eye-catching during the daytime. Nobody stops at night though, because they can't see how wonderful it is in the dark.

I don't grow the second hosta. But I have August Moon. Mine gets good light in the morning and afternoon late sun. It is very gold at this time. So I like the second of the August Moon shots. Which does not mean the first AM shot is not correct maybe for YOUR plant. It is a fine line between chartreuse and gold and the light plays a big role. Take a look at this shot of a hosta after I put up my "yella umbrella" in the area. I was thrilled with the color changes, the softening of shadows, but as far as being the actual or REAL color of the hosta, not real. But I did not Photoshop anything, it was just the lighting conditions. Ken mentioned that pro photographers who came to his place brought white reflective umbrellas to assure the color was balanced. I might try to figure a way to use a white reflector myself, without buying a professional setup. But here is another of the yella umbrella photo examples, near but not UNDER the yella umbrella. August Moon is in the pot with the church steeple, and is the smoother leaf....the corrugated leaves belong to Midas Touch. This is a favorite arrangement of gold hosta from MasonHollow.

We've had a cool summer here in the U.P. of Michigan, so a lot of plants are behind. My Datura 'Belle Blanche' is just starting to really take off. Four O'clock 'Alba" is going strong and smelling wonderful, Baby's Breath, white Petunias, Alyssum, and Double White Begonias. The one that really took over is the Borage "Alba". They reseeded from last year, but I don't mind. They're awesome! Little stars nodding in the moon light, beautiful with the dew dripping off them in the early morning. Gotta love 'em! Sounds like I'm going to have to expand my Moon Garden to keep up with you guys!

We like flames at night. Bigger flames than candles. I found some absolutely gorgeous blue iridescent teardrop shaped glass 'tiki' type torches. The flame is 5 inches tall on each one, and we have them scattered throughout the yard. We also light the chimenea at night. Especially now that it is getting cooler, but even in the summer they were nice for effect and deterring mosquitos. The pinion wood does have a wonderful smell. The garden seems to take on a whole different look at night by flame... A friend of mine has some twinkling white Christmas lights intertwined in some grapevine she has wrapped all around the inner roof protion of her porch, (like I've seen many restaurants do). This is a real neat look, too. -Taylor