Creating a White Landscape

The current hot trend of combining white and green plants is a new take on a classic or formal landscape.
I totally get it! It's fresh and modern. As we create more modern spaces inside our home, it can complement our interior by continuing outside. White gardens can create depth and reflection in the evening hours. 

Different ways of achieving a simple white garden includes the use of white hydrangeas and formal hedging. Using a low yew hedge and either Incrediball, Bobo or Limelight hydrangeas creates a low maintenance, clean design.

If you wanted to incorporate other white flowering plants in your landscape, there are many to consider that I would use and recommend.

Roses might be a hard sell, but please consider using them if you have a full sun environment. There are a lot of low maintenance, repeat blooming roses available. Who wouldn't want non stop blooming and light fragrance in their garden? Some white roses to consider would be Knock out White, and White Drift. Both grow low, and could be used at the front of your border. Knock out White, a single flowering, lightly scented rose gets about 3' high and 3' wide and is complimented with dark green glossy foliage. White Drift Rose is a more petite low growing rose reaching 1.5' tall and about 2' wide. They’re useful in gardens where a miniature size is appreciated and feature double flowers.

Two other white rose choices are the Bolero Rose, highly fragrant with large white flowers on a plant reaching 3' tall and 2-3' wide; and Ice Cap rose which is disease resistant, has repeat blooming white flowering and minimal fragrance. This rose reaches 2.5' high and 3' wide.

Roses typically aren't used too often because they are considered to be high maintenance with a fear of lots of pruning and pest management. Wrong! These roses are bred to be disease and pest free. Plant them and relax.

There are many other white flowering plants that I use for myself and clients to create their white gardens.

Hydrangeas are a great choice. Typically blooming mid to late summer, they are easy and low maintenance. The ball hydrangeas are Annabelle or Incrediball. They’re a classic in any border.

My favourites are the panicle or cone shaped hydrangea that grow from dwarf to very large and flower from July to November. Some of the best white flowering panicle hydrangeas are Bobo, Firelight Tidbit, Limelight and Phantom. 

A new, white flowering variety is Fairytrail bride, which is a great hydrangea for a container.

Another white flowering shrub I use extensively, because it has great fall colour and lots of uses in the landscape, is Viburnums. You can get small tree sized viburnums which tolerate part sun to full sun. Viburnums are a very structured plant that rarely require any pruning. Most viburnums offer fragrance. Viburnum varieties bloom in spring to early summer and usually bloom white, though there are some varieties that bloom light pink. The more sun that the viburnum gets, the better the fall colour is. Some of my favourites to use are Steady Eddy (medium sized), Snowball (medium sized) and Double File (Mariesii) (large and wide). 

Temple of Bloom or Seven Sons Flower is an underused small tree that flowers in white clusters in August/September followed by red fruit. This tree has a vase shape and the bark exfoliates as it ages. Typically it grows from a small shrub. I started my now 10' tree 4 years ago as a 30cm 2 gallon shrub. I find it a very graceful tree and it’s nice to have something bloom later in the season.

Exochorda is a spring blooming shrub that is a white flowering explosion literally covered in pure, snow white pea type flowers. It’s sold as a Pearl Bush or Lotus Moon. I usually plant these in groups of three, so that the pop of colour is substantial in the border.

Once you have the structure of your garden planned with hedges, shrubs and trees, you can soften with perennials to add additional colour throughout the garden season.

Consider choosing plants that offer flower colour and decorative foliage like early summer peonies. Two great white favourites are Festiva Maxima and Duchesse de Nemours. I love the glossy foliage they offer after their blooms have finished.

Echinacea 'White Swan' is a mid to late season bloomer that continues right up until you are ready to put the garden to bed for the winter. They look great planted en masse or in small clumps throughout the border are drought tolerant and very low maintenance. 

Phlox 'David' is a great choice for long lasting white colour, has increased resistance to mildew and only requires once a year pruning. It’s a great low maintenance choice.

 

Some trees that we haven't discussed, though they are not forgotten, are the white flowering dogwoods. Choices include the Cornus kousa, including their cultivars such as Milky Way or other Cornus varieties like the Venus, Starlight or Constellation cultivars. Dogwoods are my favourite small tree as they have gorgeous branch structure, exfoliating bark as they age, glossy green leaves, fall colour and if choosing the non sterile kousa cultivars, raspberry type fruit to attract the birds.

Serviceberry trees, no matter what variety, will bloom prolifically in spring. They are small, delicate flowers followed later in the summer by edible berries similar to blueberries. They also have great fall colour. I have mine planted outside my kitchen window.

Royal Star Magnolia and Dr. Merrill Magnolia are two early showstoppers to plant in your white garden if you have room. I find The Royal Star Magnolia is more like a large shrub for many years and the Dr. Merrill variety is a magnolia tree used to draw the eye up. Dr. Merrill can be used in the lawn as a focal point, or corner of the border.

I hope this helps you choose some of my favourite plants to use in your white & green garden. As always I’m available by phone to discuss you landscaping needs and how best to achieve the garden of your dreams.