Want to Spend More Time in Your Garden? Here Are 10 Night-Blooming Flowers to Plant ASAP (2024)

In 2024, gardening is having its moment—appreciated as a form of moving meditation, perhaps, that brings one closer to nature’s divinity while simultaneously providing an eye-catching outdoor display. Many people have gotten good at picking just the right florals for every season; landscaping their yards to resemble the Jardin du Luxembourg; and otherwise being mindful of what they plant (and where and when). A commonly overlooked part of the gardening experience remains, however, and it’s something that just might surprise you: flowers that bloom at night.

Marc Hachadourian, curator of Glasshouse Collections at the New York Botanical Garden and an orchid expert, says such flowers exist in several categories. “There are some flowers that only open after dark and then close as the sun rises the next morning. Some of these plants have flowers that last just one single night and others will have blooms that will open and close for more than one day,” he tells us. “There are also many plants that are not fragrant during the day but at night produce tremendous and powerful fragrances.”

Take one look at Google and you’ll see that the list of night-blooming flowers (of the fragrant or non-fragrant varieties, as well as those with brief lifespans or enduring ones) is lengthy and hard to navigate. If you’re looking for the definitive answer to what the best night-bloomers are for elevating your midnight garden to Shakespearean levels, we’ve got you covered—just in time for the peak of summer.

“With the idea of people’s gardens becoming an additional room for living, why not increase your ability to enjoy a garden after dark by planting things that can entice you into the night air?” Hachadourian asks. “What better place to be lounging than in a cool garden in the evening, drink in hand, enjoying the fragrance of these blooms after dark?”

We could not agree more. With invaluable input from four floral designers and horticulture experts, here’s a guide to the top 10 flowers that bloom at night. Get ready for your outdoor space to look like a Pinterest board (you can thank us later).

The Casa Blanca lily (lilium 'Casa Blanca') is an overachiever: It’s one of those rare night-bloomers that does just as well in a garden setting as in a bespoke bouquet arrangement. The hybrid perennial starts from an onion-like bulb and grows to develop huge, pure white petals; tall stems; reddish anthers (the pollen-bearing structures in their middles); and an intense, unforgettable fragrance. Lindsey Irwin, lead floral designer at PlantShed New York and owner of a Brooklyn-based floral company, says caring for Casa Blanca lilies (which she calls true “bang for your buck” flowers) is not as low-maintenance as it seems. “A tip is definitely cutting [the anthers] out. I will usually put the lilies upside down over a trash can and use a fork to get all the pollen,” Irwin says. To ensure the maximum number of blooms open on any given lily stem, Irwin suggests cutting off the ones already in full bloom: Then, according to her, the energy will go from the stem to the not-yet-bloomed flowers and increase the likelihood of opening. Note that, whether you choose to plant your Casa Blancas in the soil or plop them in a vase, their blossoms are toxic to pets—so keep Fido away while enjoying them yourself.

There’s no wonder brands from Diptyque to Jo Malone have “tapped” this flower and put it in a fragrance bottle—the tuberose (aka Agave amica) is a mid-summer bloomer that loves its sun (same) and has a smell that sits at the intersection of sweet and spicy. While, according to Lindsey Irwin, tuberose might not have as much of what she calls “heroine power” or main character energy as its Casa Blanca lily counterpart, she thinks it's a very unique “secondary flower.” Tuberose blooms’ star shape makes them great for indoor arrangements, especially when properly color graded in a bouquet. “One of my favorite things to do as a [floral] designer is to have colors blend into each other. I love having blush flowers with white flowers, but then also having touches of light green and a more pigmented pink.” We see a tuberose, craspedia, and Bells of Ireland bouquet collab in your near future.

New York Botanical Garden’s Marc Hachadourian surprised us when he revealed that night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is a member of the tomato family, of all things. “When jasmine blooms, most people don't notice the flowers. They're kind of inconspicuous, but at night the fragrance is so strong that it can drive you out of the room!” Hachadourian says, describing the heavy, syrupy scent jasmine is known for. “When you tell people it's these tiny green things [emitting the smell], they're in shock that something so small could be so powerful.”

With a scent similar to orange blossoms, this deciduous shrub (scientific name: Philadelphus coronarius) has adorably cup-shaped, four-petaled flowers that come alive in the early summer. Rich with nectar, they’re great for keeping outdoors if you’re interested in creating your very own pollinator garden. However, snipping off some blooms for an impromptu bouquet is not a crime (especially when they’re artfully arranged in your space and make you happy). Jean-Pascal Lemire urges everyone to keep these flowers—and pretty much any other ones you place indoors—away from drafts and in a cool environment to prevent them from sweating (“basically, the conditions you have during the summer when you lower your blinds”). “When flowers sweat, they use energy for that. That's how the pedals start ruffling, and then it goes downhill from there. So the cooler it is [in your home], the longer they're going to stay alive,” Lemire says.

Succulent fans, assemble! Queen of the Night's (Cereus hildmannianus) flowers open after dark and fade in a matter of hours, but, in the meantime, it manages to flaunt intricate geometric blooms often compared to those of orchids (according to Planet Neutral, which shares that “shady, warm, and humid spots replicating their tropical forest habitat” are this cactus’s best friends). “When it comes to houseplants, most people kill them with kindness by overwatering them,” Jim Sutton says, advising a Goldilocks approach to making sure they're hydrated. These particular cacti bloom only once a year (in June or July, usually), so it’s a good thing you don’t need to reserve front row tickets, months in advance, to witness this stunning natural spectacle.