Moonflower vine in bloom

I’ve grown moonflower vines from seed for several years from an original plant. Every winter I collect dozens of seeds, and come spring I scarify about a dozen and plant them in little pots. I usually get a 25% return on the seeds, so I end up with a couple to plant and a couple to give away. If you’ve never planted it, you simply must. The flowers, which open in the evening and close at sunrise, are enormous and deeply fragrant. Creamy white, they unfurl from long, twisted buds that remind me of candy from a confectioner’s shop. I like to plant the vine next to my porch so I can enjoy the flowers and the scent in the evening. The blossoms attract hawk moths, also known as sphinx moths, which are the size of hummingbirds. They appear in the evening and are so quick you can hardly get a good look at them.

Here is another photo of the moonflower. The blurriness is because I was trying to get my free hand in the photo for a sense of scale; these blossoms are enormous!