White in the garden

.

I like what white does in the garden, particularly in summer as the light fades - it lasts longer, as something you see, than the brighter colours which catch your eye during the daylight.  The front bed has ordinary white petunias scattered through it, as well as white daisies, for just this reason.  Along the verandah are several hanging baskets, planted with white verbena (as in the photograph above), a white petunia, the label of which said it was especially good for hanging baskets, and erigeron daisies, which are doing less than the others (although they're going great guns in the front garden bed)...

.

And I hope that, as the plants in the baskets grow, that they will be, too, visible for an extra while, at dawn and dusk.  They add a cool effect too, given the heat of spring/summer - it's been a hot few weeks here.

.

Years ago, a gardening friend lent me a book of Vita Sackville-West's columns about the garden she created at Sissinghurst, which includes of course the famous White Garden.  I'm not disciplined enough to have a garden only in whites and silvers (also, I don't have quite such extensive grounds!!) but the idea is one which has remained with me.  I notice from The Book Depository (bookdepository.com or bookdepository.co.uk) that you can buy four books containing these columns, from Frances Lincoln Publishers).  I'll bung them on my wishlist.

.

The ladybird climbing energetically all over the white verbena this morning seemed to like it too.

.

.

(Treasure that photo - my discard folder has at least a dozen in which the ladybird has gone behind a leaf, was moving too quickly for my camera to catch!)

.