White Flowers -- White Garden -- Purely Neutral

Married to an Englishman, and possessed of a lovely potting shed, the proper thing was to plant a "white garden" where blossoms were restricted to snowy blooms.  Not as easy as one would think, it took a number of seasons to create a patch which didn't allow entry of any disobedient pink or purple blooms.  The white hostas were rather devious.  Late in the season tiny buds of purple appeared, and to our chagrin, elongated shoots of lavender waived gaily over purist blooms.

Ours turned out a little bit British, with a touch of Motown style.  Not so proper and slightly unruly--yet full of movement and energy. 

When looking for flowers which "pop" in the landscape the surprising choice with the maximum visual impact is white.  The starker the better,  the plants must be situated as a group, or the effect's weakened.  Unabridged, white flowers reflect more light than their colorful counterparts. Like blinding snow in the winter, sunlight bounces off bleached blossoms like no other.

The first to come and the last to leave  (like my family at parties,) tiny snowcaps cause a heart weary with winter to quicken.


 Frilly bloodroot wave goodbye to autumn.

White blooms appear in sun or shade.  Brilliant Shasta Daisies reach for the sun atop sturdy stems.  Requiring little care, these reliables are heavily disease resistant, and last for several weeks.  Cutting back select spent blooms prolongs the wave of blossoms.

Brides imagining an elegant tonal bouquet might consider white hydrangea,or elegant snug ranunculus blossoms.  White bridal sprays create an elongated, clean vision held against a snowy wedding gown.

The effervescence of a white garden provides a calm contrast to riotous beds of color.

So often those clever Brits get it white!


More Articles of Interest:

Yellow Flowers -- Blooming Sunshine

Turtlehead and Other Fall Blooming Flowers

Vintage Gardens -- Spider Plants and Fancy Pants