Sweetly Fragrant Lady of the Evening: Delighting in Angel’s Trumpet Datura

 She Flies by Night Upon Perfumed Clouds: Angel’s Trumpet Datura (Datura meteloides ‘Evening Fragrance’)

At nature’s golden hour —as the sun begins her daily, departing dance along my hilltop— evening creatures and shadow-spirits begin to stir. I love strolling through the garden with a glass of wine at this time of day; watching as backlit flower petals transform to brilliant stained glass. Lingering long in the deepening twilight, eventually I make my way back to the breezeway where I find evening drama unfolding beside the door.

Greeting me with a sweet, olfactory aperitif at sunset, Angel’s Trumpet Datura (Datura meteloides ‘Evening Fragrance’, aka D. inoxia), makes a show-stopping entrance and continues to enchant, late into the evening. With her enormous, silken, white petals and intoxicating perfume, delightfully fragrant Datura is my absolute favorite among the night-blooming flowers. Mysterious, exotic and dangerous —flowers, leaves and seed are all highly toxic— this hypnotic beauty resides in a protected spot beside my entryway door. A tender, sun-loving, summer-blooming shrub with a preference for evenly moist soil (3-4′ tall and wide at maturity, hardy in USDA zones 8-11), I often feature Angel’s Trumpet Datura ‘Evening Fragrance’ on patios, balconies and terraces as part of my annual, container arrangements. But beware: this show is an adults-only pleasure. Like all poisonous plants, Datura meteloides should not be included in gardens where children or pets wander unsupervised.

For more information about night blooming flowers and moon gardens, please click back to my previous post, here. Datura meteloides ‘Evening Fragrance’ seed may be purchased from Johnny’s Seed and Thompson and Morgan online.

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