🌝 Moth & Moon Gardens

I’ve shared a lot about butterflies, bees and ladybugs, beneficial insects that support our pollinators and native flowers. However, I hadn’t thought much about moths until recently, when I had the unique opportunity to see an enormous Polyphemus moth with a 6-inch wingspan!  In September, I discovered a cocoon under my cherry tree and kept it outside in a butterfly enclosure over the winter (see center image above). Nine months later, a large and beautiful moth hatched. My 11-year-old daughter named the moth Garfield, and we released him that night. 

This experience got me thinking about what I should grow in my garden to support more moths. I’m not usually out in my garden at night, so I hadn’t spotted many, but I’ve started researching and learned that a few key plants can create a "moon garden" or moth garden. Moths sometimes get a bad reputation for eating our clothes, but those that live outdoors are valuable pollinators and outnumber butterflies by 10 to 1, with over 152,000 species! Moths are attracted to light-colored, fragrant, night-blooming flowers; when planted together, they create an inviting moon garden. Some of these moth-friendly native plants include:

Common Milkweed: Light pink, fragrant, and a host plant for monarch butterflies, too.

Evening Primrose: Yellow flowers that bloom at dusk.

Foam Flower: White or pink flowers, suitable for shade gardens. 

Culvers Root: Tall white spires that are easy for moths to spot at night. 

Common Elderberry: A shrub with broad-leaf white flowers, also easy to see at night. 

Additionally, I learned that using a UV blacklight at night can help you spot moths on trees, shrubs, and flowers. Finding Garfield (the moth) opened my eyes to a new side of my garden and the beauty that can be explored at night. 

I’ll be hosting Rust Belt Natives again for a plant pop-up in my pollinator garden on Saturday, July 12th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the corner of N. Pacific and Gem Way in Garfield. Feel free to stop by with any questions about native plants and see some of the moon garden plants I have growing. I hope to see you there! Happy Moon Gardening!

Note from the author: This article is also featured in the July 2025 Bulletin, for the Gardening Advice and Earthly Delights column