A Guide to Gardens That Look Best After Dark

How to Plant an Evening Container Garden

Location: If you would rather use pots or other containers for your evening garden, you can arrange them anywhere.
 
 What to plant: Most nighttime plants, especially annuals, are suited to container gardening. Be sparing in your use of aromatic blooms (a little fragrance goes a long way), and put some distance between them. Try cleome (spider flower), green-and-white caladium, chartreuse bacopa, white cosmos, and vanilla-scented white heliotrope.
 
 The layout: As with a standard evening garden, you’ll want to vary the heights of the plants to create visual interest. Settle on a mix of attractive containers in different shapes, sizes, and materials. Black and dark-colored pots accentuate plant colors at night and make the blooms look as if they’re floating.