Moon Flower

I was walking around in the garden a few minutes ago and noticed that one of my moonflowers (Ipomoea alba) was open. Maybe because it has been overcast for part of today. Moonflowers are fun and easy to grow and they produce large, showy, fragrant flowers that bloom at night. Their intense smell, something like jasmine or gardenia, is intoxicating to breathe on a cool summer evening.
I was trying to find some folklore about the moonflower but there isn't a lot specifically about it on the internet. Mostly just information about where to buy the seeds (which if you want some drop me a note along with your address and I will mail them to you this fall), lunar gardening and moon phases in agriculture and such. I did find this poem that I liked so I am posting it for your reading pleasure. The author has a website which I will link back to in case you are interested in more about lunar agriculture.

Moonflower

When the moon blooms
Like a flower in the night
Petals of Heaven-born silver light
Its seeds ride the wind
To the souls of men
So silently
There is a fanfare
In the changing wind
For those who will listen
Beginning to end
And the nightingale pleads
For the well-tuned ears
Of every man
Oh the sun shines
Like a torch at sea
Author of all
For the eyes that see
Blind eyes know it only as a mystery
When the moon blooms
Like a flower in the night
Petals of Heaven-born silver light
Its seeds ride the wind
To the souls of men
So silently
by Mark Heard