How to Capture Morning and Evening Light

How to use morning and evening light to your best advantage

It’s late October, but still a great time to be planting here in coastal BC. And one of the things I’ve loved about my own garden is how I serendipitously planted some shrubs and perennials where they’ll GLOW in morning or evening light. And of course, since it was serendipity–read “total accident”–I missed the opportunity to do the same with others. No problem, my “research” garden is always in the process of change-I love to dig things up and move them around. They seldom mind.

Here’s some examples:

Imperata cylindrica, Japanese Blood Grass:

This is what it should look like in your garden

My JBG on the other hand looks like this:

So it’s going to be dug up, divided, and moved to here:

In among all this lily-of-the-valley, I’ll put clumps of JBG. What a fabulous combination when morning sun shines through.

Japanese Maple:

This Japanese Maple–almost overpowered by the Pieris japonica–is beautiful from the street side. But from the house side (not my house)…

…it’s practically on fire! And because it’s out toward the street giving enough open space on all sides, the evening lighting will be even better.

Euphorbia characias is an amazing structural plant:

But if you situate it where there is open space between the viewer and the morning or evening sun, you get this:

How about this Fritillaria meleagris

Or even

Then there are things you can’t control

How to

The key is just identifying plants that will show extra-special when backlit–either flowers or foliage, like the lily-of-the-valley above–and then plant them so they are positioned between you and the early morning or late afternoon sun. (These are mostly early morning pictures, but late afternoon sun gives even more fiery effect since the angle of the sun produces that golden glow.) Make sure they’re planted with open space, or lower growing plants, on the “sun-side”, so your targets plants are not in the shadow of the others.

Then go out and enjoy the view. Take pictures. Send them here. I’d love to see what others have done to Capture the Light.