The sun going down shouldn't have to mean you stop enjoying your backyard. Easy fixes such as adding a fire pit definitely increase the enjoyment factor. However, a well-designed garden can be beautiful any time of day. Design your garden to become an evening retreat. 

Start with a Comfortable Seat

After a long day at work, you'll want a space for relaxing. It's not necessary to have a full set-up in your evening garden, though. Start with a couple comfortable chairs or a wide bench. Top your seating with weatherproof cushions. Place an accent table nearby to hold your evening beverage or snack. Your seating arrangement should be such that you can enjoy the sight and smell of your evening garden while relaxing.

Plant White Blooms and Foliage

A garden you plan to enjoy in the evening should still be beautiful during the day. Imagine pretty, white blooms and silver foliage that glow under the moonlight. Start with two or three large plants to set the scene. Both Patriot and Francee hosta offer dark green leaves with a white border. Silver Mound Aretemesia offers a silvery mound of foliage ideal for creating a border for your garden.

Next, add some pretty white blooms around your seating area. White Cranesbill and Snowflake Catmint both offer delicate but abundant white flowers. Bridal Veil Astilbe and Variegated Meadowsweet both produce white flowers in the summer while Snow Flurry Aster is a good plant for fall blooms. 

Include Night-Blooming Flowers

While it's true many flowers still look pretty at night, an evening garden should include at least a few night bloomers. Moon flowers are a classic for such a garden because they quickly open at night and stay open until the sun touches their petals. Evening primrose offers a burst of bright yellow when they open in the evening. Night Gladiolas not only produce creamy yellow flowers in the evening, they offer a spicy fragrance when they bloom. Intersperse your night bloomers throughout the garden so you don't have a set of closed blooms during the daytime.

Light the Garden Path

The point of planting an evening garden is to have a space to enjoy in muted light. Nonetheless, a completely dark garden is dangerous. The pathway to your evening garden definitely needs illumination. The Landscaping Network cautions against placing light too closely together or using bright lights. Either can result in a runway effect. Instead, intersperse a few dim lights along the walkway, focusing especially on any curves or areas where the footing changes. Indeed, consider utilizing solar lights, which collect energy in the sun and glow at night.

With the right plants in your landscaping, comfortable seating and a little illumination, you can create a garden that's a destination in the evening.