7 Simple Ways to Use White in the Garden
If you live in a cold climate and suffer through months of “the white stuff”, it may be hard to savour the idea of creating “white gardens” or even using white flowers in your gardens. However, gardeners worldwide in both warm and cold climates know that there are some nice advantages to using white in the garden!
Why White?
One of the nice thing about white is that it goes with everything, and actually enhances the colours of the plants surrounding it.
White is also a very calming colour – either on its own or when paired with soft pastel yellows, peaches and pinks blossoms. All-white gardens often serve as small retreat gardens that provide a sense of coolness and calm the soul.
White gardens also stand out at night and as a bonus, many white flowers are particularly fragrant in the evening. For example, Moonflowers – fragrant night-blooming species of morning glories – are a lovely addition to any White garden, as are some of the old fashioned white varieties of Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco) which are also incredibly fragrant at night.
Seven simple ways to use white in the garden…
1) Used as a border, white plants such as Snow Storm™ Agapanthus can make a small yard look larger, or a walkway wider.
2) Looking for a way to make a particular plant really stand out? Plant a white-flowered plant nearby and watch the colours pop!
3) Mixing white flowers with similarly coloured foliage such as the soft grey/blue of plants like Lambs Ears or Artemisia is another way to create a soothing environment.
4) White-flowered plants pair well with evergreens too. Rather than detracting from the various textures of evergreens, simple white blossoms like those of Volcano™ phlox seem to enhance the textures, adding interest to the garden with minimal effort or expense.
5) White can also be used to break up what otherwise may be clashing colours, allowing all of the colours to stand out on their own, as seen with these Flower Carpet® White roses amidst several other more colourful varieties of Flower Carpet® roses.
6) Bands of white-flowered or white/silver-foliaged plants carries the eye through the garden, inviting you to look beyond the first few feet.
7) Create a simple container filled with a mix of white-flowering and silver/white foliage plants for a quick and easy White Garden.
As an added bonus, adding white to your garden doesn’t have to be an expensive undertaking. Easy-to-grow annuals like Sweet Alyssum, Dusty Miller, Stock, Cleome, Nicotiana and Petunias can be grown from seed or picked up as inexpensive 6-packs. White Geraniums are also rumoured to help control Japanese beetle infestations.
Choose early, mid and late bloomers for a summer-long impact. For early bloomers, white tulips and daffodils are ideal, as is Fairy Magnolia® White. These fragrant magnolias cover themselves in a blanket of flowers each spring. Mid-late season perennials like daisies, delphinium, bleeding hearts and echinacea are all available in white, are easy to grow in most climates and come to size quickly. And don’t forget old-fashioned favourites like baby’s breath, interplanted with white roses and clematis.
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