6 October

Creating a Fabulous Night Garden

Most people make the mistake of thinking that a garden is something to be enjoyed exclusively in the day time, but I genuinely love our garden at night time too. Yes, flowers look beautiful in the sunshine, but there are so many beautiful things to see when you spend your evenings in the garden. From summer barbecues to autumn bonfires, there are so many opportunities to spend time in the garden at night, which is why it is important to get your night garden up to scratch. Here are some ideas to help you get your garden looking great when the sun goes down.

White Flowers  

Have you ever noticed how white flowers look in the moonlight? If you haven’t, the best way I can describe them is to say that they glow in the dark! Okay, okay, so not really glow in the dark, but they do have a definite glow to them. If you plan on spending plenty of time in your garden at night, then white or pale flowers are the best way to brighten up your garden naturally.

Night Time Bloomers

Did you know that there are actually certain types of flowers that only flower in the evening? I love the Evening Primrose in particular - it’s such a stunning flower that only starts to come out at dusk. Not only does it have plenty of pretty yellows blooms, but its scent is gorgeous too. Don’t forget Four O’Clocks which, as the name suggests, come out in the late afternoon when it begins to get cooler. These flowers are only viable at night and will have shrunk away by the morning. If you want something a little more exotic then the Dragon Fruit Flower will not disappoint.

Garden Lighting

As you know, our garden is one of our favourite places to spend our time and so we’ve invested in some garden lighting to allow us to stay out a little later. Don’t worry, garden lighting doesn’t mean you have anything tacky or neon (no thank you!) and there is something to suit every taste. Companies such as Scotlight Direct have a fantastic range of stylish outdoor lights to choose from.

Encourage Wildlife

We love wildlife, and from bats to hedgehogs to badgers, so many animals come out and play at night and it’s so easy to make your garden welcoming for them. If you can, put out cat or dog food and a plate of water (never milk!) for hedgehogs and peanuts for badgers and just sit back and watch them enjoying your garden too. If you have trees, then you can even put up bat boxes too, but be careful not to disturb or upset them as they are a protected species.

I hope this inspires you to enjoy your garden at night as much as we enjoy ours. Do you have any great ideas for creating a fabulous night-time garden?