A White Garden: Dead Fashion, Bright Idea

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 6

A White Garden: Dead Fashion, Bright Idea

White gardens were popular in Victorian times but have gone out of fashion and are found today only in a few old gardens.

These gardens contained only plants with white flowers and foliage plants with white, variegated leaves or those with silvery or grey leaves. Walls and paths were often constructed of white stones, and iron and woodwork was invariably painted white. Today white flowers are not popular and a white garden sounds rather uninteresting. But although white-flowered plants are no longer frequently grown, there is a place in the garden for. plants with “white” leaves. Such plants are a useful addition to any garden. Their main value is the contras/ they provide with other foliage and flowers; they are also beautiful in their own right. Variegated foliage should be given light shade, as it tends to scorch in full sun. Scorching is most likely with plants with thin leaves and plants exposed to hot winds or dry soil conditions. The colour of silvery or grey leaves is the colour of the silky hairs which cover them. The plants are capable of withstanding drought conditions, like a well-drained, not-too-rich soil, and a position in full sun. Shrubs with white variegated leaves include:— Abuttlon savitzii, Coprosma williamsii variegata, Euonymus japonica argentea, Hebe andersonii variegata, Diervillea florida variegata, Pittosporum ralphii variegata, P. eugenoddes variegata, Pieris japonica variegata, Acer

negundo argentia,. Ilex aquifolium “silver queen”, Hedera canadensis variegata, and Vinca major variegata. Herbaceous plants with similar leaves include:— Hostas in variety, Irisfoetidissima variegata, Euphorbia marginata, Arabis albida variegata. Shrubs with grey or silvery foliage include:— Santolina chamaecyparissus, Convolvulus cneorum,

Senedo greyi S. laxifolius, Teucrium fruticans, Chysanthemum ptarmiciflora, Podalyra sericea, Leucospermum reflexum, Leucodendron argenteum, many wattles, lavenders and succulents. Hebaceous plants with grey or silvery foliage include:— Centaurea gymomarpa, Senecia. maritima, Stachys incana, Ver base um, Cardoon, Perovskia atriplicifolia, Anaphalis margaritacea.