32 
House & Garden 
THE BEST WHITE 
FLOWERS 
GRACE TABOR 
Photographs by N. R. Graves 
The Chief Considerations Which 
Govern the Use of White in the 
Garden—Varieties and Combinations 
♦ 
U SED hit or miss, 
flowers are cer¬ 
tain to be lovely. Used 
with discernment for 
their particular attrib¬ 
utes, they add distinc¬ 
tion to their loveliness 
—distinction for the 
garden fortunate 
enough to entertain 
them under such aus¬ 
picious circumstances. 
Some gardeners 
contend that the lib¬ 
eral use of white acts 
as a harmonizing in¬ 
fluence, setting dis¬ 
cordant colors at 
peace with one an¬ 
other; but I cannot 
agree with this theory. 
It is only a theory, and is not borne out m 
fact. White is not a harmonizer; it is a 
divider, a separator, if you will; and only 
in this sense is it the “peacemaker” that 
some are fond of calling it. It is too showy 
to be a harmonizer; indeed, it is the most 
showy of all colors, and it demands more 
careful consideration than any other, 
whether it is used in combination or alone. 
The Character of Line 
Let us consider first the character of 
flower mass as expressed in line or form. 
There are two very distinct divi¬ 
sions, strongly marked. One is 
vertical, the other horizontal; 
and the latter is modified often¬ 
times into what amounts to cir¬ 
cular. That is, by the scattering 
of the flower heads over the 
plant, an all-over effect is cre¬ 
ated, which presents itself to half 
closed eyes as a circle, or globe, 
roughly speaking. 
All of the creeping plants are 
horizontal, pure and simple; but 
such things as feverfew and 
achillea, hardy chrysanthemums 
and the hardy asters are more 
than horizontal—they are all- 
over, or globular, if you look 
at them through half closed 
lids to get the impression only. 
It is always the custom to con¬ 
sider the form or habit of growth 
of a plant when selecting for a 
special place or purpose; that 
goes without saying. But I do 
not think it is usual to give any 
more consideration to this when 
they are white one is choosing 
than is given to flowers of any 
color; yet white flowers, by rea¬ 
son of their showiness, emphasize 
to a remarkable degree these 
lines of the flower mass. So if 
they are inharmonious lines, or 
inharmonious forms, the effect is 
much more pronounced than the 
same combinations would be in 
familiar flowers that 
it seems hardly any¬ 
thing need be omitted, 
even though one pur¬ 
poses to confine him¬ 
self to white alone. 
But when using white 
with other colors se¬ 
lect those things 
which have no dupli¬ 
cates in the other 
colors in your garden. 
That is to say, do not 
include white lark¬ 
spurs in a flower bor¬ 
der where the blue 
larkspurs are also 
planted. All the force 
of contrast is lost in 
such , a combination; 
and neither the white 
nor the blue flowers are impressive. Use a 
different species entirely—plants like achil¬ 
lea or white campanula or white Stokesia. 
Certain combinations with white are hap¬ 
pier than others. All flowers of delicate 
coloring are intensified by proximity to 
white, naturally; and similarly, all flowers 
of strong color are strengthened. If a start¬ 
ling effect is desired, choose bright and 
strong colors to combine with white; but 
if delicacy is wanted, select the palest 
mauves and yellows to use with it. Pink, 
curiously enough, is not improved by the 
company of white; for pink is so 
luminous a color of itself that the 
combination lacks character. 
Probably the most effective com¬ 
bination is white with yellow, as 
white phlox with yellow lemon 
lilies, white iris with the yellow 
hardy alyssum, or white cam¬ 
panula in connection with yellow 
Iceland poppies. 
I am speaking, of course, of 
white flowers as they appear out- 
of-doors in the garden, and not 
as they may be combined in the 
house ; their garden use presumes 
that they shall take their proper 
place in a picture, and it is to this 
end that careful planning is 
needed. For, being conspicu¬ 
ous, they will “jump” at the ob¬ 
server, if used too freely, or in 
the wrong places. A light scat¬ 
tering of them throughout the 
garden is agreeable; but never 
large masses in any one place, 
save as they are used to form one 
of the contrasting color combina¬ 
tions just referred to. 
Where a White Garden Fits 
Color schemes are so largely 
a matter of taste that it seems 
almost presumptuous to condemn 
The lohite hollyhocks, from 
6' to 8' high, will provide a 
vertical note in June 
Stokesia can well be 
used freely in the white 
flower garden 
Sometimes physostegia 
combines well with 
‘'Fair Maids of France" 
No other white flower 
quite compares with the 
speciosum. lily 
color mixture, or even in any other single 
color. This is the plain logic of the situa¬ 
tion, and we have to conform to it if we 
would succeed. 
With the thought uppermost that white 
provides always the strongest contrast when 
used with any color, introduce strong con¬ 
trast in the form of inflorescence also. Con¬ 
trast in every way should be the essence of 
the effect resulting; vertical lines combined 
with horizontal, and combined with the most 
startling abruptness possible. 
There are white forms of so many of the 
