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Angel’s Trumpet

It is easy to remember the name of this flashy tropical plant. Its blossoms look like trumpet-shaped ornaments dangling from the tips of its branches. You’ll see them blooming in shades of pink, peach, orange, yellow, gold and white in the summertime.

If huge, showy blooms aren’t enough of a draw, consider that many varieties of angel’s trumpet exude a strong, floral perfume on warm summer nights. ‘White Cascade,’ which blooms prolifically with six- to eight-inch-long, fragrant, pendulous trumpets, would be perfect for your moon garden.

Known botanically as Brugmansia, angel’s trumpet is native to South America where it thrives in warm, humid weather and cool nights. In frost-free USDA zones 9 to 11, it can survive year-round outdoors and forms a 15 to 20-foot tall tree.

This plant is also commonly grown in patio containers, where it is not hardy. You could toss it out at the end of the season, or you could bring it indoors to grow as a houseplant. One more option is to allow the potted plant to go dormant in a cool, dark location, such as a basement, for the winter. Keep the soil barely moist, then bring it outside again when nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 F.

Note that all parts of the angel’s trumpet plant are highly toxic, so care should be taken if you are growing one around children or pets.

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Passion Flower Vine

Pardon the stare, but these exotic blooms are impossible to pass by without noticing their intricately detailed form and symmetrical details. Snap a quick photo for Instagram while you can because each one of these fascinating blooms only lasts a single day. Although this vine isn’t known for being blanketed in blooms, you’ll enjoy each and every flower as it pops open from midsummer into fall.

Passion flower is a climbing vine that attaches by twining tendrils, so it needs a trellis, fence or obelisk for support. It can reach heights of 20 feet in a single growing season.

Of the 400 species of passion flowers that are native to South America and Mexico, most will grow in USDA zones 7 through 10 in full sun to part sun. A few, including Passiflora caerulea, are root hardy to USDA zone 5b. Some species can become invasive in the South, so use caution when making your selection.

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Balloon Flower

This whimsical perennial is perfect for growing in children’s gardens because of its fun flower buds which swell up like balloons right before they open. Give them a gentle squeeze, and they’ll burst open to reveal a bright blue, purple or white flower in the shape of a flattened bell.

Balloon flowers can be durable, long-lived perennials in USDA zones 3 through 8. Just make sure the soil doesn’t stay too wet for long, or the plant will start to decline. They are usually pest and disease-free, but taller varieties may need staking to prevent their top-heavy flower stalks from flopping when in full bloom. Dwarf varieties like ‘Sentimental Blue,’ pictured here, form a tidy six to eight-inch tall mound of foliage and make a nice edging along a sunny pathway.

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