Creating a NIGHT vespertine garden 

Vespertine gardens are made up of night-blooming plants and those with foliage or blooms that reflect moonlight. It can also be used as a daybreak garden, for early risers. Beautiful and unique, a vespertine garden adds a new dimension to your yard. 

Relax in the evening with the high-fragrance flower varieties that will attract nocturnal pollinators like moths, night-flying bees, nocturnal beetles and bats. They provide a way to sit in the garden without the blasting heat of the sun overhead. You can add subtle lighting in your garden as well, if you don't think the moon will quite do enough. 

Here are a few of our best picks for your evening, night, and daybreak garden—especially for zone 8 in BC Canada.

Dame's Rocket - (Hesperis matronalis) 
Delicate night blooming flowers in purple or white that are deer resistant.

Four O'Clock Flowers - (mirabilis jalapa) 
Named because of their habit of blooming around four o'clock, they stay open in the late afternoon and evening.

Evening Rain Lilies  - (zephyranthes drummondii) 
Small and close to the ground, these hardy bulbous perennials bloom after a few days of rain, their flowers opening up in the evening. 

Flowering Tobacco - (Nicotiana alata)
Opening at twilight, these blooms especially attract moths with their scent. (Look for a true Nicotiana, not a hybrid.)

Night Phlox - (zaluzianskya ovata)
With a delicious, honey-like vanilla scent, these yellow, pink or white flowers are a favourite of nocturnal pollinators.

Mock Orange - (philadelphus coronarius)
This shrub makes a beautiful hedge, protecting your night garden, while also blooming in the evening and at night. 

Honeysuckle - (Lonicera periclymenum)
Beautiful and large blooms that are showy, fragrant, and reflective at night. They attract moths especially.

Moonflowers - (ipomoea alba)
Aptly named, these big white blooms will only last one night. 

Chocolate Daisy - (berlandiera lyrata)
Named for the cocoa scent these yellow flowers produce, blooming at night.

Gardenias - (gardenia jasminoides)
These white blossom clusters give off an intense fragrant that especially attracts moths. (first photo in article)

You can also include plants that have reflective foliage and blooms, even if they don't just bloom at night. Varieties with strong scents can also attract evening or night time pollinators. Create a more robust verspirtine garden with a few of these below:

Hydrangeas 
Shrubs with large bloom bunches — choose light colours for better night reflection and viewing.

Sweet Alyssum
A sweet ground cover for parts of your garden that will pick up light and add a glow to the ground in the moonlight.

Magnolias 
Create a canopy of large white flowers that will reflect light. Put a light underneath your tree, directed upward, for added mood.