All-White Gardens Light Up the Night
Lustrous blooms in white, cream and the palest ivory enchant in the landscape at night — and can be practical too
Amy Renea
June 7, 2012
Have you ever wandered through a garden at night? While the sounds and scents seem to intensify, it's usually hard to enjoy any of the sights without a flashlight. A white garden is a different story: You'll want to leave the flashlight behind and enjoy the way the white flowers glow. Not only are these luminous blooms beautiful to look at, but many of them have intense night fragrances and attract wonderful white nocturnal insects for the full sensory experience.
Here you'll find ideas for plants with beautiful white blooms, how to arrange them and how to work them into your garden's style.
Here you'll find ideas for plants with beautiful white blooms, how to arrange them and how to work them into your garden's style.
Hydrangeas are perfect in formal gardens but work just as well in more informal settings. A path lined with these beauties is the perfect sidewalk guide for nighttime strolls.
Spiraea is a great choice for a white spring bloomer. It conveniently blooms at the same time as tall white iris and midsize white peonies. Combine these three plants for an easy-care, high-impact white garden.
Working with a shady area? White astilbe is your solution. Brightening the darkest shade with waving plumes of white, astilbe is a classic, easy-to-grow shade perennial.
Tips for a White-Blooming Border
Create a mix of heights that will bloom at the same time. This border does a fabulous job of spreading out the blooms to create a balanced look.
Create a mix of heights that will bloom at the same time. This border does a fabulous job of spreading out the blooms to create a balanced look.
Imagine what this walkway looks like at night — little dancing blooms all along the left side and a wave of shimmering white softening the fence to the right. Pure magic!
Consider situating white plants around curves in the garden. When you're strolling through a garden at night, it is helpful to see the twists and turns ahead, so use white blooms as a natural sort of fluorescent arrow.
Your white garden doesn't have to be expansive. Plant a few white blooming plants near the entrance of your home. When visitors approach the front door at dusk, they will be greeted by visible blooms.
Working White Blooms Into Every Garden Style
Traditional. White gardens can go ubertraditional with row after row of white blooms perfectly set in geometric arrangements.
Traditional. White gardens can go ubertraditional with row after row of white blooms perfectly set in geometric arrangements.
Another option is to encase a sea of white-blooming showstoppers in boxes of clipped hedges.
Rustic. Go for a more natural, woodland look by incorporating minimally pruned trees and naturalistic plantings.
Aiken House & Gardens
Victorian. Charming in the daytime and magical at night, this white garden is full to bursting with blooms. Choose traditional white furnishings in iron, wood or wicker to add to the theme.
Whether you are gilding the lily of a classic trimmed estate or starting a country garden from scratch, consider the impact white blooms can have on your space. Create an all-white garden, add a few white bloomers around curves, or line paths that night travelers will be taking.
Tell us: Do you have white blooms in your garden now? Show them off below!
See more great design flowers and plants
More:
What to Do in Your Garden This Month
Whether you are gilding the lily of a classic trimmed estate or starting a country garden from scratch, consider the impact white blooms can have on your space. Create an all-white garden, add a few white bloomers around curves, or line paths that night travelers will be taking.
Tell us: Do you have white blooms in your garden now? Show them off below!
See more great design flowers and plants
More:
What to Do in Your Garden This Month
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In fact, anything white/off-white - paving, stone work, sculpture, columns, fountains, etc., all look especially nice at night when illuminated.