Nature abhors a monoculture, but not necessarily a monochrome culture. Against a leafy green backdrop, a single color stands out dramatically—particularly when that hue is white. Here are 15 of our favorite white-on-white plant palettes for a garden bed:
Above: “We always loved the idea of the moonlight garden, so this has been our place to try out a wilder, wily version of one,” says Alan Calpe of the home he shares with Christopher Crawford. Photograph courtesy of Gardenheir, from Lessons Learned: The Founders of Gardenheir Share the Highs and Lows of Designing Their First Garden.
Above: White snowballs of Allium ‘Mount Everest” pop against the black shou sugi ban-clad home. Photograph by Rosangela Photography, courtesy of Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture, from Gatehouse Garden: A Dramatic Black Backdrop for a White Wildflower Meadow.
Above: The white garden at Aatt Sissinghurst Castle, where Vita Sackville-West created her breathtaking gardens in Kent, England. Photograph by Clare Coulson for Gardenista, from Sleeping at Sissinghurst: An Overnight Stay at England’s Most Famous Garden.
Above: At the 2023 RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire, England, designer Sharon Hockenhull created the Nocturnal Pollinator Experience, highlighting key plants and simple ideas to support these crucial insects. In one planting zone, white perennials and grasses are punctuated with columns of star jasmine. Photograph courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society, from In the Night Garden: How to Help the Moth, a Vital and Underrated Pollinator.
Above: Garden designer Sheila Jack’s own garden in London features a white and green palette. Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer for Gardenista, from Designer Visit: Sheila Jack’s White Garden in West London.
Above: See Sheila’s front garden with ‘Iceberg’ roses and a variegated holly. Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer for Gardenista, from Landscaping: 9 Ideas for Curb Appeal in a City Garden.
Above: This white and green garden by Sawyer | Berson includes hostas with variegated leaves, clipped boxwood shrubs, ivies, ferns, clematis vines, and annuals to add seasonal color. Photograph courtesy of Sawyer | Berson, from Landscape Architect Visit: “Sex and the City” Meets Edith Wharton in Manhattan.
Above: A white garden, with perennial beds of lilies, catmint, irises, and phlox. Photography courtesy of Quincy Hammond Landscape Architect, from Grandeur in the Hamptons: A Sprawling Estate, Sunken Rose Garden Included.
Above: Our own Michelle Slatalla transformed her garden on a tiny budget thanks to white roses. Photograph by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista, from Landscape on a Budget: The $250 Instant Rose Garden.
Above: Nicotiana and echinacea mix well in a border at White Flower Farm. Photograph by Sara Barrett for Gardenista, from Spring Ahead: 10 Tips to Get Your Garden Ready.
Above: Around the perimeter of a San Francisco artist’s studio, landscape architect Scott Lewis covered a metal trellis with English ivy and planted white dwarf deutzia (Deutzia gracilus ‘Nikko’) at the base. “It’s typically an old-fashioned plant, a deciduous shrub that blooms in late spring and early summer,” says Lewis. Photograph courtesy of Scott Lewis Landscape Architecture, from Landscape Architect Visit: A Green and White Oasis in San Francisco.
Above: Irises and foxgloves are planted against a velvety green backdrop of boxwood topiaries at the Chelsea Flower Show. To get a similar look, “try also foxtail lily (eremurus), white hollyhock, Nicotiana sylvestris, and Madonna lily (the latter two for scent),” writes Kendra. Photograph by Kendra Wilson.
Above: Kendra visits Lady Cholmeley’s modern white garden and discovers a maze: “Cerastium tomentosum (‘Snow-in-summer’) makes a swirl with dwarf box.” Photograph by Jim Powell, from Garden Visit: Lady Cholmeley’s Modern White Landscape in Lincolnshire.
Above: Justine visited Garden in the Woods near Boston, where she found a wetlands where “a snowy spray of Bishop’s Cap (Mitella diphylla) stands tall among the ferns and skunk cabbages.” Photograph by Justine Hand, from Walk on the Wild Side: A New England Woodlands Garden.
Above: “I am mostly here in the evening, when the white is the most beautiful,” says Julie Alexander-Lillie of the colors in her garden. And rejuvenating green is the color she likes most. Photograph by Marie Viljoen, from Garden Visit: Julie’s Soothing Green-and-White Palette in Cape Town.
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N.B.: This post was first published in April 2016; it’s been updated with new projects, photos, and links.
