THE PERFECT PALETTE

Pure, peaceful and pleasing to the eye, the all white garden is a study in perfection.

The color white evokes a vision of purity, peace, tranquility and hope. It’s only natural that a gardener might decide to devote garden space to this color alone.

However, most articles on this subject features gardens in Great Britain or the Northeast.

And while these garden designers may have a head start on us, Texans can be certain that there is no shortage of white plants for our landscapes.

Purity

Even though you will want to exclude all other colors, even creamy white flowers should be kept to a minimum. The color green obviously must be part of the equation. And so, of course, plants with variegated foliage can be part of the planting. But watch out for berries. You might plant pyracantha for its beautiful white spring flowers; by fall you will be clipping off red berries to protect the honor of your pristine garden.

To guard against mishaps, purchase plants after they have begun to flower or develop leaves. Those white caladium tubers just might contain a few stray red leaved plants, or a

Flat of white dianthus may harbor a few pinks. It’s hard to turn heads when you announce that you have an “almost white” garden. You can always rogue out plants that are not white, but that may leave holes in the landscape that are hard to fill.

Privacy

Most gardeners will prefer to locate the white garden in a private area of the landscape to ensure a level of peace and quiet. A comfortable bench furthers the tranquil atmosphere, and an informal design for a path and planting beds aids in the relaxed feeling. Many white flowers are fragrant; so anticipate an air of perfume to punctuate the experience.

Planting

Now for the fun part, what to plant? Trees always add stature and height to a garden. They may, in fact, define the limits of the garden. Look for two-winged silverbell, dogwood trees, white flowering crape myrtles, Chinese fringe tree, Mexican plum, and southern blackhaw viburnum.

Shrubs make up the backbone of the garden and many white flowered forms are available. Consider Bridalwreath Spirea, althea, mock orange, viburnum, and azaleas.

Employ white beautyberry and variegated pittisporum for drama without blooms. Don’t forget the many available roses such as “Lady banks”, “Moonlight”, and Cherokee rose.

Vines can literally frost the garden with white. Confederate and Star Jasmine along with Clematis are two of the more vigorous choices. For the night fragrance, plant the annual morning glory relative moonvine.

Tropicals function as showy accents in the summer. Some, like white butterfly ginger, are root hardy in most Texas gardens. Others, like bougainvillea and plumeria, require winter protection, while some species, like tropical hibiscus, are inexpensive enough to use as annuals.

Bulbs come in a variety of white forms. Plant paperwhite daffodils, white tulips, and hyacinths in the fall. Add caladiums, and gladiolus in the early spring to bring interest to your more permanent plantings.

Annuals are indispensable in any garden. In winter, count on dianthus, snapdragons, and pansies. As temperatures warm up, plant zinnias. The classic series or “Profusion White” is both low growing, ground cover types. In the backdrop, use white marigolds, cosmos, or cleome.

Use perennials to fill in your spaces. Most will be warm season bloomers and, frankly, some act more like annuals than perennials, so you may have to replant occasionally. Texas bluebells are now available in many colors, including white. Other white flowering perennials include Louisiana Iris, Shasta daisies, white flowered yarrow, white flowered turk’s cap, white plumbago, and white Salvias.

This is all merely a sampling of the white plants available that could fill your all white Texas garden. Sit back and imagine yourself amidst clean, cool, classic blooms, and make your vision of white a reality.