I would be interested in any of these seeds for a moon garden-
PERENNIAL SEED
Alcea rosea alba- white hollyhock, double white hollyhock would be great also
Campanula medium alba- white canterbury bells, double white canterbury bells would be great too
Cleome alba- white spider flower
Dicentra spectablis alba- white bleeding heart- wasn't able to get these, would still like some
BIENNIAL SEED
Digitalis purpurea alba- white foxglove found some and ordered on line
ANNUAL SEED
Ipomoea alba- white moon flower- received these
Nicotiana alata or any white flowering nicotiana received these
Lambs ears received these
And these if they are out there for a mixed border and a few other locations-
Salvia azurea found a similar cultivar and ordered on line
Dianthus alpinus
Scaevola 'zig zag' or any Scaevola that is white or blue, couldn't locate zig zag but found something called Scaveola aemula Blue Wonder at White Flower Farm
Indian Milkweed, Asclepias eriocarpa
Tall Green Milkweed, Asclepias hirtella
Spider Milkweed, Asclepias viridis
Whorled Milkweed, Asclepias verticillata
Poke Milkweed, Asclepias exaltata
Dwarf Milkweed, Asclepias ovalifolia
Green Comet Milkweed, Asclepias viridiflora
Milkweed Vine, Cynanchum laeve
I have some midwest native seed available for trade but not a lot yet because of the time of year it is. I would be more than happy to send SASEs with extra postage.
This message was edited Jan 24, 2006 11:29 PM
I'm going to try for a moon garden again
Equilibrium,
Hi! I have sent you d-mail... I have a few of the seeds you are looking for for SASBE!
Colleen
I have the White Moon Flower if you haven't found it yet. LMK
Brenda
Hi Brenda, darmadoll had the white moon flower and somebody else has white bleeding heart seed! Yay, Looks as if I am going to go for an actual moon garden next year. Thank you so much for your offer of white moon seed, I am very appreciative!.
I don't think I ever posted a request for seed before so I think I will go and edit the post above.
I had a lovely "Moon Garden" when I lived on Long Island, NY, & in additional to a couple of the plants you mentioned, I also had white Impatiens, as well as various silver & silvery-green herbs such as Southernwood, Horehound, Curry Plant, Sage, etc. I also "mulched" the Moon Garden bed with white stone, & had a lovely old-fashioned concrete birdbath in the center. It really did stand out well on moonlit nights.
I have a great old birdbath. I love my birdbath. It took 3 guys to move it here. I would like to plant something white around the birdbath because currently it has some iris in it. I've never tried a moon garden before. I'm sort of excited and have 3 areas that I want to focus on. You don't by any chance have any photos to post of the garden you had on Long Island do you?
Unfortunately, this was back before the computer/digital age - lol!!
But for a brief description it was set up as a semi-circle against a background of Bayberry bushes (which contributed by way of their lovely silver-grey berries - which were/are used in old-fashioned candlemaking by the way). The birdbath was centered along the shrub line, & the Impatiens were planted within the shrub shade, & a horehound was placed in each corner. A large Sage plant was placed directly in front of the birdbath, & was flanked by several Silver Mound Artemisias & the taller Southernwoods at the end. A row of Curry Plants (lovely scent in the summer sun) followed that, & the front border consisted of a row of Silver Thyme. Moonflowers were grown in large containers.
I guess it isn't difficult to guess that this was primarily an herbal Moon Garden. I used to have a small herbal landscaping business & these theme gardens were my specialty.
Oh - Silver Santolina was another nice bright silver plant I used. It's branches sort of resemble branched coral - very unique. It's often used in knot gardens as well.
Neat foliage on the Santolina chamaecyparissus. What is a Southernwood?
I'm not all that creative. I'd be out with a cup begging for money if I had to support myself by creating theme gardens for people.
What is a knot garden? I'm very curious about that.
Knot gardens were very popular in medieval Europe - particularly in wealthy English, Italian, & monastic gardens.
It's basically a method of creating an interwoven geometric-type design using herbs suitable to being clipped into a low hedge - boxwood, hyssop, santolina, & other similar stiff upright types. In many cases culinary or medicinal herbs were interplanted in the sections. It's easier to show rather than describe:
http://www.harborside.com/~rayj/knot.htm
The design in the site above is VERY complicated, & the majority of knot gardens were not that intense. The one I used the most myself was simply a square done in a dark-green herb with a simple curved X in the middle - one part of the X done in a silver herb; the other in a different green. I would then plant complementary flowering herbs in the 4 sections the cross would create.
Ah, that's what they are. I have seen those before. They look like intricate Celtic designs. I've seen some that remind me of labyrinths. Those are cool. Too formal for me for the house I live in but I could see where those would really add some pizazz to some properties. I could see one of those knot gardens with a bird bath or a tiered fountain in the middle. Now that I am totally off topic, are there any plants indigenous to the midwest that lend themselves to being used in a knot garden?
moon garden plants that i like a lot:
Daturas/Brugmansias with white flowers; these release an intoxicating perfume at night and some have glossy petals that make them almost glow.
Solanum ovigerum; this is an ornamental eggplantwith bright white egg-sized eggplants. although they're inedible they are a great addition to any garden and add a sort of sci-fi look to ornamental installations.
Liatris Spicata with white flowers; this is a huge plume of white feathery flowers. attracts moths and night-feeders, too.
Tillandsia usneoides (spanish moss); this is more of an accent than a plant, but long pendulous grey tendrils hanging from trees over your moon garden will really catch the moonlight, it is covered in tiny iridescent hairs that capture moisture from the air for this plant. You may need to spray it now and then if you live in a cool climate and in spring fertilize it and it'll bloom in summer with hundreds of tiny yellow flowers. I got mine at a botanical garden gift shop, it may be easier to find if you live in the south, but be careful for chiggers and the like.
all sorts of grey iridescent plants do well in and around your bright white flowered ones, to offset the way green foliage looks black at night. Dusty Miller, Festucas, pineapple guava...
also, as a seasonal treat some pumpkins come in bright white cultivars, these look great sprawling out if you have the room for a large moongarden.
hope this helps.
scott
Yes - the white pumpkins "Lumina" & the miniature "Little Boo" are nice - but do take up an alarming amount of space & wouldn't really fit into a formal or semi-formal situation.
Another nice annual plant that releases lovely scent in the evening are the original forms of Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco). The hybrids have very little to no scent.
I have seen seed packs for those white pumpkins and I most certainly have the space for those. I never thought of that. They have nice vines too with all kinds of tentacles that work their way all around an area.
Will Tillandsia usneoides make it in zone 5? Just curious. If I could take it in the garage that could work as the garage never dips below 38F. What do you do, just gently pull it off trees? I have a great dead tree that has awesome winter form that the birds use a lot as a look out. I wonder if I could get the Tillandsia usneoides to grow on that?
I have Liatris Spicata already growing in one of the areas that will be a portion of the moon garden. That is a spectacular plant. I'm not all that familiar with Festucas. I'll go check those out.
The White flowering nicotiana is a great suggestion. I'll add that to my wish list of moon garden plants above. I also found a place that sells seed for Nicotiana alata grandiflora 'White' so this is doable. Neat suggestion.
I have nicotinia(now spelled nicotiana) seeds. The "woodland tobacco" is a great plant for a moon garden and is sweetly fragrant.
Lambs ears are also a great silvery soft plant for a moon garden. I think I have seeds for those somewhere...
I also have a lot of the single white datura seeds.
-T
Completely forgot about the Lambs Ear. I had a couple of those in my NY Moon Garden as well, & you're right - they're beautiful by moonlight.
Hi seedpicker_TX, I'd love to try your white seeds. Thank you. I've got to go to WalMart this week to pick up more bubble mailers. I could send you a bubble mailer with postage if that's ok with you because right about now I don't have much seed as most of my plants are native to my region and they still think it is summer. I suspect in about another month I will have some decent White Turtlehead seed as well as a few others but again, they are all natives unfortunately and most people don't want those.
Yes, Lambs ear is nice. Great texture and a different height which adds interest. Bet that looks cool with dew on it.
Does anyone in a cooler zone have any successes with Tillandsia usneoides? I'm still sort of curious about that plant.
Equilibrium - I'll be starting a shade garden soon & would love to try some White Turtlehead, as I've only seen the pink offered around here. If you give me an idea of what the postage/mailer will cost you, would be more than willing to pop the $ off to you for some of that seed.
Well, a bubble mailer sase sounds fine, but I'd actually love some white turtlehead, if you think they'll germinate for me.
We can do a sasbe, or trade...whichever you like.
-T
it's reportedly only hardy to sone 8, but if you only have a little bit in your moon garden i suppose you might be able to hang it in your garage to overwinter it. I could send you a little piece and see if it multiplies?
Hi Breezy- just send my your name and address. The white is gorgeous. You will love it!
Hi T- White turtlehead! Beautiful plant and yes it should germinate for you and I think it just might make it in zone 8. The plant likes a lot of water though and the seed will require a dormance. Hold off on sending me seed though for a bit as my plants aren't ready to produce yet. In normal years they set seed by about October but thise year hasn't been normal and they are just now beginning to bloom. These are awesome plants. We'll exchange addresses and the turtlehead seed is yours.
I'll try to post a photo later on of my two Chelone plants so you can get an idea but they aren't even in full bloom yet.
Hi naien, I just checked on line what that moss costs. If it is only hardy to zone 8 there isn't a chance it will make it here even in my garage. I'd feel guilty if it died now that I know they sell it around here for $25 a small bag. I do thank you so much for the very generous offer but no way do I want to be running out into a cold garage every day this winter checking to see if a new plant baby made it or not. What a sweetheart you are for offering me such an expensive plant.
Done with thanks!!
The plants will become so laden with blooms in the next week or so that they will gently arch. This is just the beginning of the blooms and this is about half of the two plants. The rest of the photo had a big ugly rain barrel in it so I edited it out. This is a NA native plant.
Very nice...and it much more sun than I thought they could take...most descriptions say shade...but yours looks very happy in sun!
-T
That's a full blown western exposure. The trick to these plants is lots of water in well drained soil in my opinion. I do not believe they would do well in sun from sun up to sun down but my plants are getting at least 6 hours a day. As the sun sets, there are shrubs and a line of trees that do shade them that you can not see. When the plants were in partial shade, I found them to be stringy and faded so I moved them and they took off. Where they are located now they are full and they greened up quite nicely. This summer has been tough on them and they are still producing a decent number of blooms. I really like this plant. The parents are from the Chicago Botanic Garden Native Plant sale from about 4 years ago. The first two years they did struggle in lower levels of illumination but now that they have been moved they are fine.
Thank you for the tips! I have a pink one right now, and have now learned that I definitely need to move it!
-T
Say seedpicker, I just found a volunteer chelone in my woodland. Would you like a whole plant as well as seed? It is stringy and faded because it was growing in shade.
It's been in the 90's this week so the white turtlehead seed is probably going to be a little late this year. Just letting everyone know.
Absolutely! lol..
want me to just send postage money with your seeds? Which denomination of postage do you think I should send?
-T
No thank on any denomination of postage money but the plant will be yours. I just walked outside to check on it and it looks very healthy. Nice big spider web attached to the plant and the oak tree the plant is growing underneath. I'm keeping the spider. I would prefer to send the plant to you now because I don't want to forget who it goes to and the chelone seed isn't going to be ready for a while which means trouble for me trying to remember. So please get me your name and mailing address and I'll send it out in a very long corrugated tri fold to keep it in tack along with a major portion of the rootball.
you have mail.
-T
Hey all, thank you very much!
Say, I'm still looking for some of the seed above. There have been a lot of trades going on and maybe somebody has some of the seeds I am looking for now? If so, I'd still be very interested.
Thanks so much, Lauren
I have these if you are still looking.
Alcea rosea alba- white hollyhock, double white hollyhock would be great also
Campanula medium alba- white canterbury bells, double white canterbury bells would be great too
Cleome alba- white spider flower
I may have some other white flowers too. You can have them for postage.
Dmail me.
Ronnie
Oh my gosh, I am D-mailing your right now! Thank you so much for offering! Lauren