The Moonlight Garden: Your garden after dark

We all know how our gardens look by day – but what about in the moonlight? With warmer weather on the way, and a change to social distancing guidelines allowing us to host up to five other people in our gardens, it looks like many of us will be hosting a few BBQs that will likely extend well into the evenings! 

Along with atmospheric garden lighting (scroll down for a beautiful lighting recommendation), the moon casts a unique light on gardens that we don’t usually get to appreciate when we’re cooped up in our houses with no reason to go outside. So it’s time to get your ‘moonlight garden’ ready for admirers…

What to plant in your moonlight garden

Pale colours reflect moonlight beautifully, so pick plants that are white, pale blue, soft pink and light yellow to achieve a ‘glowing’ effect in your beds and borders.

Here are a few suggestions for garden-ready plants to buy now in order to achieve an instant glowing evening garden this spring:

 

Images c/o Pixabay

You could also plant up some containers if you want your garden to illuminate from all angles! I’ve put together a video on how to plant up a special ‘moon glow container’ using plants that will reflect that soft white luminosity from the moon:

 

 

How to complement your moonlight glow with garden lighting

Although the moon can be especially bright on clear evenings, it may need some help to completely illuminate your garden! The right garden lighting can add to that beautiful evening atmosphere while offering practical benefits such as:

• Lighting up pathways, steps and obstacles to make it safer to walk around your garden
• Providing security by allowing you to light up darker areas and deter burglars
• Deterring disease-carrying nocturnal animals such as urban foxes

The perfect lighting idea – and it comes with a planter!

There are many lighting options to choose from, but none as ideal as this Luxform Kensington Lamp Post & Planter! It features a classically designed lamp post style light made with stainless steel and plastic, which sits in the centre of a planter, which you can fill with your special ‘moon glow’ plants as I mentioned earlier.

 

 

The lamp post features not one, but three heads to provide you with maximum illumination wherever you decide to place it. Plus, it operates from solar power, charging up during the day and lighting up at night, saving you money on your energy bills. It also means that you don’t have any loose plug wires lying around in your garden!

 

 

Fill the base with pebbles or sand to make the lamp post more sturdy, before adding soil and your favourite moon glow plants on top, and watch as the light from the moon and the solar light bring the flowers to life at night.

 

 

Accessorise your lamp post even further with a handy horizontal bar, to which you can attach bird feeders, hanging baskets or even wind spinners. It’ll make a stunning addition to any garden, terrace or driveway!