Hi JustJoey ~

I have a small white garden that I planted over my sweet Cookie cat after we buried her - she was a black and white cookie!

Some of the plants there are:

in the center, a small white rose of sharon
white geraniums
white nicotiana
white alyssum
white annual vinca

I also have white/green hosta in other gardens that is very nice at night in the malibu lights...

It sounds sweet, I am a cat lover, so I'm teary eyed. What a nice way to memorialize your Cookie.

I like your choices for annuals, they all grow well for me here too. They are very neat and hold up well all season.

Thank you, all of a sudden, your white garden, even if it is small, seems much 'larger' than mine.

I really want to start a moon garden this year. I bought Easter Lilies at Lowe's for $1 each a few weeks ago so they will go in. I also have white

alyssum
nigella
carnations
echinacea
dianthus
hollyhocks
delphinium
zinnia
Baby's Breath
Lamb's Ear
Lychnis

Most of those were winter sown. I also want to get some white hyacinth and tulips in the fall to add. I'd like to add a contrasting color, but I'm undecided whether to go for the dark purple/blacks or a pale blue.

I suppose I should dig up some dirt first, though! LOL

I began one of these a number of years back with Prosperity (white hybrid musk rose), achillea The Pearl (I am still pulling it out by the handfuls though it is very effective), Chettle Charm campanula (a blue so pale it is almost white), white iris, white daffodils, iberis, white lilies, nicotiana sylvestris.
A few other things crept in from time to time and some things died (iberis refuses to stay with me) and it is no longer a white garden - have a fatal tendency to cram plants in to any open space regardless so it is pretty much of a mish mash now. It was nice while it lasted.

Ha ha ha, I hear that. I have to resist any open space myself, AND 6 " is an open space I can squeeze just one more bulb into...

I am excited it is really starting to light up. If only it could all stay in bloom together. ( I'd have a problem with the flight patterns at Stewart then ) At least I can hope for it to be really bright at night. I can't seem to get iberis to take for me either, hmmmm. I am still thinking about asparagus though, thanks.

Hey blackcat, go for it! It is really fun searching out the different white selections that are out there. I've been learning that there are some things I didn't know came in white. I love when I come home at night and the car lights hit the island from up the road. It just lights up!

I have so much in there it's hard to keep track. I have to admit, I think I am running out of room for perennials, I know I couldn't sqeeze another shrub in, even putting in bulbs is getting challenging...at least I have annuals I can put in over/near the bulbs and at some of the edges. I'd like to work on some kind of lighting for it. I was thinking lanterns on sheppards hooks, I just haven't found one I like yet.

I think it is so cool when one minute everything is showing, then just after dusk when the light gets really low, everything but the white/flowers just disappear. The white flowers seem to glow, like they have their own little energy source.

The calgary tulips are really special. They are short plants with very large full almost waxy white flowers that last a long time. They look so good, they look fake. The fritillaria persica Ivory Bells reminds me of a tall delphinium (?) for spring. It is very tall and full, about 50 large bells on each really thick sturdy stem. Coupled with leucojum Gravetye Giant, Stainless daffodil and muscari blue spike, surrounded by creeping white phlox, and white coconut sorbet pansy all in bloom at the same time. They are just small areas in this garden that makes me smile, waiting for the next bursts of white.

Oh, I forgot my white poppies! I bought the seeds on EBay, and the flowers look gorgeous! I hope they do well since this is the first year I started them.

My mother just bought some very pretty white iris plants at Home Depot.

I added some candytuft, a new cimifuga, some lobelia, and a white pasqueflower, some white lupines, and some more oriental poppies yesterday. I really need to take a full inventory of this garden. The camassia, allium christophii and the tree peony are all in bud and should look great together. I see the tall bearded iris also have buds on them, as well as the herbaceous peonies.

Are poppies easy to start from seed? I buy plants at the nursery. About the only things I do from seed are alyssum and portaluca, maybe cosmos if the mood strikes me, they usually get washed out by spring rains.

They are very easy, and self seed like crazy. I winter sowed mine in 2 liter soda bottles and got tons of sprouts.

For some reason the white ones are giving me more trouble than the others, but maybe it's because they're 3 years old.

I started my moon garden this weekend. It only consists of a white bleeding heart and 10 Easter lilies, but it's a beginning! Unfortunately, it's location is chock full of rocks and gravel! I am just digging holes, plopping in the plants, and surrounding everything with newspapers and mulch. Hope it works!

Good luck, I find, once I start an area, I quickly add to it. I've filled my white garden, couldn't possibly squeeze in one more plant or bulb. Maybe a few seeds.. ha ha ha. I added some moonflowers this year. The herbacious peonies are in bud, the allium are still in bud, the purple camassia are done, but the white ones are still in bud. Some of the iris have opened. My salvia is blooming along with verbascum, and lots of annuals. I'm still waiting for all that bulb foliage to GO AWAY..so I can add my spring mulch. My hyacinthoides just started blooming.. I thought they were April bulbs, so they sort of missed their show. Rolf Fiedler never showed up. I added some red to the bed, it was drab during the bright daylight. It really made a difference. I put in red gerbera daisies in three different areas to draw your eye. I also added a few small patches of short bright red salvia. Not too much, it goes well with the purples and whites.

Some of the annuals I put in this year are: dusty miller, cosmos, cleome, alyssum, snapdragons, purple red and blue salvia, moonflowers, gerbera daisies, portaluca, pansies, petunias, lantana, angelonia, chrysanthemums (looks like daisies), vinca, verbena, I'm sure there's more, I just can't think of them at the moment. I still want to add pentas when I can find some white ones. They are filling in around the shrubs, perennials, vines, and bulbs nicely. I also added tuberose, calla, dahlia, and peruvian daffodils which are like annuals here, as well as tritonia 'Bridal Veil'. I have no idea what that one will look like, the bulbs were tiny.

I have extremely rocky gravely hard packed soil also. Ugh. I too just dig holes big enough, or slightly bigger and put in the plants. I find the soil much more workable after mulching it, in as short a time as a few weeks. My neighbor made a raised bed, and ammended the soil. Her plants really took off fast. Mine are fine, and I assume they are ok with it since they've been there a while. The only thing I did (besides putting in too many plants, but it's nice, I've been able to divide them) is to add granular fertilizer, and I wasn't careful about making sure I got it off any of the leaves. Now I see some of the foliage is spotted and dying. Live and learn. It was a different brand than I usually use. (once a year)

JustJoeyGirl and OldRoser -- Could you post some pics of your moon gardens? I love this idea and would love to have some inspiration photos as a starting point. I've saved the posts on this thread for reference on what's planted.

TIA. -- Jane

I will as soon as I can figure out how to do it. I take photos, but because of the size restriction they come out so small. Maybe I cold take some close - up shots and and that might help. I have taken photos of the whole garden but it just comes out too small to see anything recognizable. If you have the digital know how please give me a clue on how to make the photo big, and keep it within the allowable 60. Thanks.

JustJoeyGirl -- What size restriction are you talking about? I don't have a size setting on my camera. I just take the pix and post them on Webshots. Either of their settings works as long as you're posting jpgs. You may have a pulldown menu somewhere on your photo software. If so, you want to post jpgs. Is that the size you're working with? If not let me know. There's a little resizing program that I can point you to.

Would love to see any white garden pix whatever size, however.

The GW has a restriction of 60 KB or smaller for posting. I have resizing software that came with my camera, that makes the photo about 1 x 2, tiny to get it to 60 KB. I do use high resolution when I shoot for detail. I have different resolution settings on my camera. I don't belong to any host sites. I guess I should look into that since I take a million photos. I usually e-mail them to friends and family, then dump them. I keep some, print some.

I'll have to take some pictures and just post them. Right now the White garden has peony Festiva Maxima and peony Bowl of Cream blooming, along with my mock orange Snowflake. The angelica Archangel is in bloom, but I am disappointed in it. It is lovely as far as form and size. It attracts ladybugs too, but it is light green, not white. I will take it out probably tomorrow, I have a seven son's flower I want to put there instead. I have several iris blooming, along with dianthus and dianthus deltoides, clematis Dutchess of Edinburg, clematis Arctic Queen and Allium Christophii. Also bloomiing is the geranium macrorhizome 'Album', white Jacobs ladder, white soapwort Montana, verbascum Flush of White, and lamium White Nancy. There are also a ton of annuals blooming: white geranium, white petunias, white salvia, white cosmos, white portulaca, white snapdragons, white lantana, white daisies annual and perennial, dusty miller, alyssum, zinnia chrystal white, white impatiens, pansy Coconut Sorbet, white verbena. I am sure I am missing something else that is blooming now. There are lots in bud, waiting to open, next seems to be the lilies Candidum, trumpet, and asiatic, the rest of the lilies are later in the season. The white coneflowers and the chysanthemums Christine Hagemann are also in bud. I have cleome, peruvian daffodils, dahlias, tuberose The Pearl, begonias, white liatris, tritonia Bridal Veil, Deep Purple gladiolas, phlox David, baptisia Pendulata Album, geranium Johnsons Blue and Rozanne, sedum Murale, saxifrage, veronica Icicle, white lupine Noble Maiden. I really need to take inventory of that garden.

I use a tiny bit of red and purple/blue for contrast, right now my red gerbera daisies are blooming along with the red salvia. I have one yellow evening primrose planted in there too. It contrasts nicely with the Salvia May Night. I also have red and purple iris in bloom, along with columbine Remembrance, but they are almost done. I have a few purple annual salvia in there too, just for a little dark contrast to the white. They are near the dianthus deltoides. I like the contrast of the large spikes of deep purple surrounded by the airy floating tiny dianthus flowers. I also have centuarea Montana in bloom, but it needs to be cut back soon.

I also use foliage, I have two varigated hollies, cimifuga Hillside Black Beauty, artemesia Powis Castle, and sedum Frosty Morn. I have two bayberry busshes that I keep trimmed somewhat, although I am rethinking them. I have moonflowers climing up through them (no buds yet). I use bronze fennel as a foliage plant too. I have datura in a pot, but it's been so cold, I have it inside.

The spring bulb show was terrific this year, as was the tree peony Godaishu, and all the spring blooming perennials. I have a few shrubs in there, clethera Hummingbird, and butterfly bush White Bouquet. I have A lilac anchoring it at one end, and a large burning bush with a Henri clematis running through it on the other. I really do need to do an inventory, it bugs me I can't remember what's in there. Well anyway, it is an ever evolving project.

JustJoeyGirl -- I only recognize a few of the flowers you mentioned but it sounds like your garden is huge and must be very impressive. If you can work out photos, it would be great to see them.

I have a lot to learn, don't want to plant all that much, but do want to do it effectively and have it look good throughout the year. So it's useful to know what blooms when and does well in our zone. Thanks for the list.

Sure thing, I didn't mention the spring or fall plants or bulbs, and I did miss quite a few that are out there now. Right now there is a lot of foliage. The next big wave of white should be along soon. The area isn't all that large, although if you read this, it appears it must be. It does look a bit crowded. I have to move a few things around this fall/ next spring. My phlox and echinacea has gotten too tall for where it is, so I'll divide it and put it more in the back. I'll definately figure out how to post something. When I do, I'll let you know where it is, since we don't have a gallery here.

I'd like to see some photos also. Maybe you could post them in the Garden Photos section.

Hi, thanks. I'm going to try to post here. I was going to try and wait for all the lilies to bloom, maybe I'll try to repost a photo when they do. I also have to finsish mulching, but I snapped a few photos last evening. My camera doesn't take good distance shots, I use it mostly for macro photos. I'm going it try to post and we'll see how it comes out. One is of some of the dianthus with centaurea montana and allium christophii behind, there may be some annuals and a verbascum in it. The other is another view, dwarf mock orange, I think you can see some of the madonna lilies in bud behind it. It is hard to get it all in, the annual are low and the others are high, I'll keep trying to take a full picture..who knows, maybe I'll send my hubby to the roof..ha ha ha...here goes...

The Madonna Lily is in bloom now and it is scenting the whole yard. This is my first Madonna Lily. I planted 5 and only one has produced a stem with flowers. It is a very nice addition to the white garden. I think I will add more. I find the garden in a white lull right now, there are a few perennials in bloom, mostly annuals. The larger showier groups are at an in-between stage. One group, the iris and peonies are finished, the lilies are just starting, and there are alot of perennials in bud. It looks promising, I hope to get a full white photo soon, it is mostly mixed foliage in the center, and white/silver on the edges.

Does anyone have any white perennials in bloom now that make a nice showing? I have phlox David blooming its head off in a border, but the one in my white garden isn't even in bud yet.

JustJoeygirl-- Pix are great. Thanks so much. It's very inspiring and helpful in terms of what I'd want in my garden. I love, love lilies with fragrance so I'd want a ton of Madonnas. I plan to plant in an area where we're filling in two pits-- one that contained a hideous hot tub and another that had a little pond that was impossible to keep up. I'll miss the frogs terribly but I just couldn't do it. So I plan to put down grass after the topsoil is graded and plant a white border. I'll get back to you for some advice if I may.

I was concerned for a while that I couldn't get anything to grow. Planted 4 hydrangeas two years ago. The deer got them right away and I almost lost them. But last year I started feeding them and spraying and they are now budding! They will be my very first flowers since we moved in and I'm so looking forward to seeing the color appear. Unfortunately they aren't white but I plan to do the white in back of the house. We have a color in front with the flowering maple and rose of sharon and hydrangeas.

Thank you. When we bought our house there were just lily of the valley, mint everywhere, a white azalea and an orange azalea. I remember just starting out too, that was 10 years ago this August. Now we have a border along the driveway under some oak trees that is about 50' long x an irregular 10 foot curvy, a front and rear foundation planting, a front bed, the white island,a rear path and patio (under works) a new corner garden just started, and we are clearing the edges of our propery on the other side of a small stream. The propery is only 3/4 acre, but we still have a lot of room for more gardens. I am thinking of putting in a new white bed in the backyard, I have kind of learned a little since the first one (not to put a white garden under trees, the moonlight doesn't always hit it with a full canopy of leaves above) and it would be nice to sit out back at night and or just look out the window and watch the moon glow..By then I will probably be dividing up some of the perennials in the original white garden. It is fun to try and find new white flowers to keep the garden looking white all season long.

Thanks for the pics! It really looks lovely, and now I can't wait for my lilies to bloom!

My moon garden is still pretty pitiful since it was just started this year, but I have hope. I just need time and patience, I guess!

My question is WHY do you like an all white garden? What do you get from it?

Thanks.

Have you ever seen an all white garden at dawn or dusk? It is as though the flowers all glow and hover in the near darkness. It is magical. It's different, most people don't commit to an all white garden, it just stands out. I also find that many white flowers are fragrant to to entice the evening polinators... so there you have it...beauty, magic, fragrance and special. (Don't get me wrong, I have mixed borders, beds, and paths too, I love color also. I just like the uniqueness of something a little extra special just for me.)

I am cultivating a moonlight path. I sometimes have insomnia and it's fun to go out in the garden at night and the white flowers are floating lanterns, and it's very romantic and atmospheric... and just for me!

Then I go inside and watch garden tv shows on tivo until I get sleepy again, or it gets light enough to go out in the garden and get something done.

I just got a big haul of plants from a craigslist ad including some white siberian iris. Nicotiana (alata) is my favorite flower all time. Also babys breath along my path, white peonies, white yarrow ... even thyme in there flowers white.

I'm not hardcore about the white thing though, have pinks and purples and even yellows in there at various times. But a 3 am ya only see the whites.

I am looking for a moon garden to photograph and was wondering if anyone had one in or around Woodstock, NY that they would let me photograph.

Here is a link that might be useful: dsmcguire photography

I'm just starting my moon garden too. Have creamy white hibiscus with a pink center, white myrtle with red leaves, gardenia, white dahlias, lambs ears. Trying to weed out all the bright orange daylilies, which is a major undertaking between the tough roots & the rocky soil. Once they are all out, I'm very happy to send roots for SASE to anyone starting a yellow themed garden.
In response to why white, I'm not a purist, but it feels really fresh to have a lot of white, esp in the heat of this summer.