Does Anybody Else Garden with One Hand? Because the only times I have done this in my own garden are morning and evening, there’s either a cup of coffee or a gin and tonic in the other.* What? It’s important to pick good cocktail party plants.

I’ve been taking notes on plants that look great at twilight. And evenings. And when I really get into it—does anyone else do this?—I pull out my black light AFTER dark to see what glows.

Anyone?

Lots of cocktail party plants look great in the evening, not just because the light is soft and your mind is softer.

Crinums absolutely, positively look their best then as they’re hoping to attract night pollinators. Lots of plants flag during the heat of the day. It doesn’t mean they need water, they’re just conserving water, waiting to be turgid again with the evening air.

Soft, Bright, Great Cocktail Party Plants (most also good for black light parties)

Rosa ‘New Dawn’
Cyrilla parvifolia
Drumstick Allium
Hymenocallis harrisiana
Aesculus parviflora
Carex grayii
Hibiscus ‘Aphrodite’
Teucrium fruticans
Crinum ‘Carroll Abbott’ & Crinum ‘Mo Pon’
Four O’clocks (the purples are best under black light)
Mint, Basil, Coriander, Blueberries

I only mention the last ones because they are things I’ve recently picked and dropped in my drink.

* with regards to Henry Mitchell, “The Essential Earthman”