Moonflower is the star of the twilight garden

The buds of a moonflower might be as beautiful as the flowers themselves. Photos by Doug Oster Tribune Review

It was about six weeks ago when Hahn Nursery started putting deep discounts on annuals. I was thrilled to see a moonflower vine in a pot for $8. It’s genus is Ipomoea, the same as morning glories.

There’s a nice container out in the vegetable garden which was perfect for it and I deftly coaxed a tall triangular trellis over the plant. Then gently worked the vines through the support.

It’s now six foot tall, blooms at the end of the day when the flowers release a heavenly fragrance.  The blooms are pure white, six inches across and are the queen of the night garden. When the sky is clear, the flowers are bathed in moonlight, putting on a stunning show for the bats that circle above hunting for mosquitoes.

Just as interesting as the flowers are the buds. They form a tight concentric circle resembling a fat drill bit and unfurl in an hour as the sun sets. It’s something to see.

I hope to get another month out of it and then it will succumb to frost. It wouldn’t be happy growing inside.

Every morning while the flowers are still there, we enjoy a couple minutes together with a cup of coffee.

The pure white flowers of moonflower have an intoxicating fragrance.