Night-blooming datura glows in the moonlight garden
Around midnight, at the witching hour, I asked my daughter if she wanted to go out and see if the datura (D. wrightii) was blooming. “Yes!” she said, jumping to her feet. “That’s my favorite plant.” Well, OK then! We slipped on our sandals, grabbed a flashlight, camera, and tripod, and headed out to the front garden.
Sure enough, two of the long, balloon-like buds I’d noticed earlier in the day had unfurled, and large, white flowers were glowing in the darkness. This one is pierced by what looks like a sewing needle but is really the tip of a muhly grass leaf.
As we leaned in for a closer look, the flower’s distinctive sweet scent wafted up to my nose. Backlit by flashlight, the petals resemble parachute silk or the fabric of a hot-air balloon as the burners are lit.
Datura power!
I’m joining Garden Bloggers Bloom Day with this post. For more Bloom Day posts from gardens around the world, visit May Dreams Gardens and check out the links in the comments.
All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
What a great idea! They smell amazing…I take my dogs…on leash because we live in the country….for their last potty walk , every night. The smells are amazing and soooo intense. It’s like walking over specific lines of different fragrances. And ohhh, the insect activity on the porch with a light left on. It’s gladiatorville out there. Such a great time to see new sights, AND practice your nighttime photography:) Laura aka hastypearl
I like the way you characterize the “lines of different fragrances,” Laura. I definitely “tripped” over one of those lines last night, although my daughter had to get her nose right up to it before she caught the scent. Thanks for commenting! —Pam
I love the night time photos, Pam. What a lovely plant! I’d love to get my brug to flower….soon, I hope. Gorgeous photos!
They love that summer heat, and Portland has had plenty this year, hasn’t it? I hope your brug flowers soon, Tamara. —Pam
I love Datura too, and their relatives the Brugmansia. You got some great shots in the dark.
Thanks, Alison. —Pam
Nice! I think you need to get it a permanent spotlight – it looks great lit up in the dark. I’m still waiting for mine to do anything besides put out leaves. Considering fertilizer…
They almost glow without the help of a flashlight, Anna. It was easy to find them in the dark! Hope yours blooms soon. —Pam
I’m wondering if the sweet smell attracted more than just yourselves? Any pollinators around?
If there were, we would have scared them off since we were right on top of the blooms taking pictures. We did, however, spot a stealthy crab spider hanging out on one of the flowers, waiting for something his size to drop in. —Pam
Lovely images, Pam! I noticed Dipladenias (Mandevillas) perform similarly in moonlight gardens. I found some beautiful ones in Florida when I was there in March. Just gorgeous.
That’s cool, Beth. I’ve only seen dark pink mandevillas, and I didn’t think about whether they’d stay open at night. Did you see white ones in the Florida moonlight garden? I love moonflower vine too, and I planted some from seed this year. However, something ate all the seedlings before they could get well established. Oh well, maybe next year! —Pam
Very magical looking with the flashlight backlighting. It looks like fairies must live in the flowers!
The flashlight did create a surprisingly magical effect! —Pam
This is one of my deep summer faves too. Too bad a moth didn’t fly by while you were taking pictures. FUN… Happy GBBD.
I would have loved to see that. In fact I haven’t seen a single sphinx moth this year. I need to go out at dusk, I guess. —Pam
I have seen a small-ish clearwing (hummingbird) moth around my datura twice this year. (Not the large sphinx moth though.) It did not stick around much so I guess the datura did not have exactly what it was looking for.
Ray
The clearwings are fun to watch too. What a treat to see one, even if only briefly. —Pam
Love these images! What a cool idea to use a flashlight to back light the datura.
It would have been a pretty dark picture otherwise, Peter. 😉 Seriously, though, it would be fun to experiment with flashlight photos on other plants too, wouldn’t it? I bet some cool effects could be made. —Pam