What is a Moonlight Garden?

A moonlight garden is a garden which is designed to be enjoyed at night, under the light of the full moon. The design of the garden incorporates plants with highly reflective foliage and flowers which will appear to glow under the light of the moon, as well as aromatic plants which will fill the air with their scents after dark. Most commonly, a moonlight garden appears as part of a larger garden, as moonlight gardens do not always look very exciting by the light of day. The concept of the moonlight garden is ancient. The Chinese planted moonlight gardens for meditation, and at one time, there was a moonlight garden known as the Mahtab Bagh attached to the Taj Mahal in India. During the late 19th century, interest in the moonlight garden began to rise in the West, and many members of high society established moonlight gardens at their homes. Moonlight gardens are meant to tantalize the senses, taking advantage of heightened senses of smell, touch, and hearing which emerge at night. ...  more