HG GARDENING
Balmy summer nights are often the best time
to enjoy the garden. Amplify the pleasure
with special plants that perfume the night air
and add atmosphere, writes Helen Young.In the night
GARDEN
COLOUR WAYS
Red is the first colour to disappear from our vision as the light fades,
followed by green, then blue and yellow, hence most night-blooming
plants have white or light yellow flowers to attract insects to
pollinate them. White is beautiful by moonlight, the petals reflecting
the light to produce a soft glow. Place white-flowering plants along
a path or where they will be seen from the house at night. Some, like
common white impatiens, are faintly phosphorescent.Night-blooming plants
Some flowers never see the sun, preferring to reveal
their seductive charms only to the moon and the stars.
The most famous is a climbing cactus called queen
of the night (Selenicereus grandiflorus or Epiphyllum
oxypetalum). The heavily perfumed white flowers, up
to 30cm across, open so quickly and reliably at around
8pm that you can watch them perform. Sadly, it’s
a one-night stand for each flower, and the blooms
collapse by dawn.
Many nocturnal-blooming plants are from tropical
climes. Ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata) bears night
flowers whose extract is used in perfume. Moonflower
(Ipomoea alba) is an easy-to-grow, short-lived climber
that can cover a carport in a year. Hundreds of white
buds unfurl quickly in the twilight to emit their sweet
fragrance until they close again at dawn.Evening fragrance
Other plants flower during the day but release their
scent only after sundown. Some, such as night-scented
cestrum (Cestrum nocturnum) are so strong they
should be planted a little away from the house, where
their lack of good looks won’t be noticed either. The
pendulous flowers of angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia)
emit their frangipani-like fragrance from early
evening, in flushes of blooms every six weeks or so.
Bubblegum-scented portwine magnolia (Michelia figo)
is most noticeable from late afternoon in spring.
Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) is a pretty annual
grown for its delicious evening scent.
Other potent delights for fragrance both day
and night in warm months include gardenias,
frangipani, citrus and cherry pie (Heliotropium
arborescens), and the climbers star jasmine
(Trachelospermum jasminoides) and bridal
wreath (Stephanotis floribunda).
To avoid having too many scents assaulting your
nostrils at once, plan for blooming at different
times, or in different areas. #Photograph from Getty Images.SILVER STREAKS
Silver-foliage plants reflect
light, effecting a soft glow at
night. Pretty snow-in-summer
(Cerastium tomentosum) forms
a dense mat, while the soft
and furry leaves of lamb’s ears
(Stachys byzantina) add a
tactile element. Other silver
plants to use include cotton
lavender (Santolina), dusty
miller (Centaurea cineraria),
and wormwood (Artemisia).
Silver plectranthus
(Plectranthus argentatus) is one
of the few silver-leafed plants
that tolerates shade.