It could just be me, but I feel like white oftentimes gets overlooked in many gardens, with flashier colors like red or yellow chosen instead. But I happen to love growing white flowers, much as I do green or the darker palette of purples and near blacks. You’ll actually find numerous shades of white plants growing in my garden.
White Plants for the Garden – I Have Many
Plants with white flowers or leaves aren’t difficult to come by. In fact, lots of plants come in shades of white, including variegated foliage. Truthfully, I didn’t even realize how many I grew until I started writing this article – and I’m sure I’ll miss a few.
Lovely dogwood blooms, “white” bluebells and anemones grace the landscape in early spring. Sometimes there are happy cream-like daffodils dancing in the breeze. Of course, this is usually dependent on whether or not the bulbs have been vandalized by our resident squirrels and chipmunks. I have white-flowering spring starflowers, hepatica, puschkinia and irises. Oh yes, and a white hardy geranium (aka cranesbill) too. There’s lots of shasta daisies to be had in spring and summer. I have white lilies, cosmos and candytuft. White varieties of rose reside here along with a white rose of sharon and even a white-flowering hosta. Speaking of hosta, there’s a white-leaved variety of that too – White Feather, I believe it is called. Other foliage plants that flaunt whole or specks of white color in my garden include caladium, dusty miller, variegated hosta and sedum.
There’s a buttonbush that boasts white fuzzy looking globe flowers, a bumblebee favorite in my garden. You’ll come across spikes of white liatris and a chocolate snakeroot plant in the garden (Don’t let the name throw you; it’s loaded with small white blooms.). Did I mention baby’s breath? I’ve got that too. On occasion, I’ve even grown white eggplants for their ornamental appeal. With the onset of fall you’ll find white dahlia flowers taking center stage. Those are followed by white chrysanthemums that continue blooming through early winter, depending on the weather. There isn’t much going on in my garden beyond this point, except for maybe a few creamy pansies here and there amongst the bright purple and yellow ones.
We rarely get much snow here in winter. It’s usually more ice than anything. When we do though, it’s a beautiful sight, especially sprinkled on a backdrop of pine trees. White really can be pretty in the garden, regardless of form. Still, there’s nothing more exciting to me than growing white flowers or foliage. It tends to make my darker shaded plants pop.
