The last of the zinnias with some plums, red onions and lemons - luscious
It may be that I have
overdosed on colour lately, what with the intense colours in the crazy quilt I have been toiling on feverishly in order to start the next one, and all the autumn flowers in the garden, not to mention the shades of the fruit, but for some reason I have a sudden craving
for a white garden. It started off
innocently enough when it occurred to me that to complement the “new” front porch
with its stained glass panels a row of simple box plants would look very
smart. Then it seemed logical to add
some attractive white flowered plants to set off the box. Woe is me though, all the lovely things which
are already established at the front of the house, what would become of
them? It is a vexed question and perhaps
the best plan might be to have a white garden in the back, around the pool. Tricky, very tricky. We gardeners are never happy with what we have accomplished; when we started the garden at Shoestring Cottage the plan was to use only cuttings and the very cheapest of plants from weekend markets and that was enough to warm the cockles of this gardener's heart. But oh no, now there is the prospect of a more simple appearing but more difficult to accomplish pocket paradise.
How serene and refreshing a simple white blossom can be
Delicate
Pure
Fragile
White gardens are not
to everyone’s taste though, it has to be said. Somebody I knew
said they look “Just as if somebody has festooned all the plants in the garden
with toilet paper” which seemed a little harsh, to say the
least. You do need a lot of self
discipline if you are going to aim for a white scheme though, and I know that
with the best will in the world I would end up sneaking in a few “extras” just
because I couldn’t resist the description of some colourful blossom or because
a thing was a free cutting and it seemed ungrateful not to give it a place to
grow. Then the floodgates would be
opened and before long the carefully thought out white scheme would disintegrate
into a spotty muddle. Possibly better to stick with a muddle in the first place and welcome in all colours. Also, white is not always truly white. If you look closely at many white flowers there are a lot of underlying tints which would make it very difficult to get things just right. Some serious thought would need to go into this scheme.
In fact white gardens may be the gardening version of the “capsule wardrobe”,
another thing which gives immense trouble when it is supposed to simplify one’s
life. The Dancing Queen is always the
picture of sartorial chic and when I mentioned to her recently that I was
thinking of attempting a capsule wardrobe she said, “But we have had this
discussion before, and we agreed that a capsule wardrobe would never work for
us!” The reason it wouldn’t work for me
of course is that I can’t bear to be restricted to a few tasteful garments which
all work together and neither The Dancing Queen nor myself really believe all
that old rope about making one LBD look completely different from day to day
with the addition of a scarf, belt or different jewellery. That is just balderdash and we need to face
facts sometimes – my facts being that some days only a fifties dress complete
with net petticoats will work while other days a land girl look with
victory rolls is required. Yes indeed, I shall need to think very carefully before committing myself to the white garden idea, or the capsule wardrobe for that matter. It is a bit like that saying, "Less is more." Everybody knows that whoever said that just had never had quite enough "more"!
Energising
Exciting
Optimistic
Uplifting
Who could forego the pleasures of colour in the garden? Probably not me, I have been kidding myself.
