The White Garden

Just when I thought we've done with the winter (it's the 4th of March, after all), it's back again, and it is back with vengeance. Plenty of snow here and freezing cold... They say even larks are late to return, which supposedly means that the spring is going to be warm and early (sounds to me like a bit of contradiction - but whatever... as long as it arrives)

Anyway, the 'white' in the title does not refer to weather conditions outside. Seeing as there is nothing much to do apart from sowing some seeds and posting some pictures from the last year, here is a new batch. Unusually for me, these are of white flowers ...
The first one is of oriental poppy 'Checkers' (Papaver orientale) and my favourite filler plant, white lace flower (Orlaya grandiflora). It is an annual, flowering in early summer, and it self-seeds, however, without becoming noxious. It also has an uncanny ability to seed in a perfect spot - this is exactly what happened in the picture. I never intended this combination, never really paid any attention that these two bloom at the same time. It just happened. She's clever, that Mother Nature...

I let it self-seed freely, and here it is again, in the second picture. This time next to the alpine sea holly (Eryngium alpinum) and the elder 'Sutherland Gold' (Sambucus racemosa). That's the beauty of this plants - it goes with anything: shrubs, roses, ornamental grasses. I also grow them in the shade - no problems whatsoever. This one is definitely a keeper..

The next plant is a little bit more demanding - Meconopsis betonicifolia var. alba. Another gift from Mother Nature (or maybe the seed supplier, off whom I bought M.betonicifolia seeds). Of all the seeds that I've ever sown, these probably were the most challenging. Having sown a packet of seeds, I ended up with some 10 seedlings. I planted them out, pampered them, waited on hand and foot (quite unusual for me, since I normally take a more darwinian approach to raising my plants). So in due time they all obligingly flowered. And - lo and behold - one of them was pure white...

And the last ones from my short list of white plants are Delphinium, raised from seed, and foxglove 'Primrose Carousel' (Digitalis). They are not exactly white, I'd say, greenish or cream. What I like about this foxglove, is that it is quite short, therefore it does not get blown over in the wind. Here it is pictured among geraniums, Verbena bonariensis and bronze fennel.

And I love this Delphinium for its green flowers. I bought the seeds from a supplier in New Zealand, Dowdeswell's Delphiniums. They have an amazing range of delphiniums seeds, and all of the seedlings are worth keeping. I think this one is identical to a popular seed strain 'Green Twist'. Unfortunately, delphiniums require a very fertile soil, which I cannot offer, however, I will definitely be keeping certain seedlings for myself, for some of them are exceptional.

Much as I consider myself to be indifferent to white flowers, the collection seems to expand. There are also white peonies, cream daylilies. And numerous lilies - once again, I prefer the brighter ones. But there are some exceptional must-have white lilies, such as greenish 'Courier' or white 'Eyeliner', with petals lined in black.

And, of course, there are the variegated grasses, such as miscanthus 'Variegatus' or 'Morning Light' - well, these are not flowers, but since we are on a topic of the white garden.... Some purists consider that ornamental grasses do not belong to herbaceous borders, somehow, my opinion on this subject is rather different. I've seen some beautiful combinations, for example, 'Iceberg' roses interplanted with miscanthus 'Variegatus', or the same miscanthus with white lilies (in the last picture, with Lilium sargentiae). So I suppose, it's in the eye of the beholder...

Well, it looks like a few years down the line I will be able to start my very own White Garden :)