White-Flowering Plants

White-flowering plants belong in every garden. They bring a lovely, cooling presence to borders and containers. They also serve as superb mixers and transition elements, breaking up color blocks and acting as buffers to prevent other colors from clashing. But white-flowering plants should never be confined to supporting roles alone. They are the essential stars of any white garden, a classic design formula created by combining plants in three color families: white, green, and gray. Grouping plants in this limited but sophisticated palette creates an effect that is especially powerful on hot summer days as well as at twilight when the white blossoms glow in the moonlight and add sparkle to the garden (hence the nickname “moon gardens”). Whether you sprinkle a few white-flowering plants into your borders and containers or create an entire garden around them, you may rely on an abundance of choices. Gathered here is a selection of white-flowering plants: annuals including Cosmos, Angelonias, Dahlias, Cleomes, Impatiens, and Begonias; perennials such as Echinaceas (Coneflowers), Daisies, Phlox, Lilies, Peonies, Astilbes, and Anemones; and shrubs including Hydrangeas, Roses, Clethras, Viburnums, White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum), and Mock Orange (Philadelphus). Peruse the possibilities and add some of these sparkling and versatile plants to your garden.