MASTER GARDENER: White plants add sparkle to garden

Cool white plants can have a pronounced effect on your garden, especially during the hot summer days. They can be used to soften brightly colored plantings or even be used exclusively, creating a moon garden. By planting solely white plants that reflect the moonlight you can have a garden to enjoy in the evening. There are white annuals, perennials and shrubs that can tolerate shade or sun so you can have a cool white look anywhere.

Listed below are some favorite cool white plants that can add sparkle to your garden:

Lily of the Valley: Perennial ground cover that works well in the shade. It has small white flowers and spreads quickly. It blooms in the spring and grows about 6 to 12 inches tall. Please note all parts of this plant are poisonous.

Shasta Daisy: Another perennial that prefers part sun to full sun, growing from 1 to 3 feet tall. This plant is drought tolerant and blooms in the summer and fall.

Annabelle Hydrangea: This hydrangea needs to be planted in part shade and prefers moist, well-drained soil. It can grow up to 5 feet tall and wide. Blooms start in the mid summer and are perfect for cuttings.

Iceberg Rose: This rose plant is very dependable and needs full sun with well-drained soil. It produces clusters of creamy-white blooms all summer and into the fall. The Iceberg Rose can grow to 5 feet tall and as wide as 3 feet.

Angel White Lilac: This lilac plant grows well in the South. The Angel White can grow up to 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide and needs full sun and well-drained soil. It can add fragrant flowers that are pure white with a recurred petal.

Clematis: Another perennial but in this case a vine that can grow from 3 to 20 feet. It needs part sun to sun exposure and can bloom depending on the variety from spring through the fall. Again this plant is poisonous.

There are many other plants that can be used to add the cool effect with white blooms such as Coneflowers "White Swan," Bleeding Hearts "Alba," "Alba" Four O'clock and Butterfly Bush "White Profusion."

If you decide to plant an all-white garden take into account the background. Also, research what the blooms look like after they fade; some look sickly brown. Take into account when the plant blooms so that you can include another plant that can hide a planting that is past its peak.