Summer’s Luminous White Blossoms Dance in Ethereal Light & Shadow …

Positioned at the woodland edge to catch the late afternoon light, white plumes of Aruncus dioicus and clusters of pearly Valeriana officinalis dance on the breeze like beautiful girls in diaphanous summer dresses …

Moving into high summer now –with temperatures soaring and humidity rising– cooler hues and lighter textures have an undeniable appeal. Strolling through the garden at twilight, I caught the rays of the setting sun, filtering through the plumes of Goat’s Beard (Aruncus dioicus) and Valerian’s (Valeriana officinalis) lacy flower clusters. I couldn’t help but think of this evocative line form F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby …

“The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.  The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.”

Valeriana officinalis & Aruncus dioicus, both in white, swaying but anchored at the forest’s edge. Timeless, elegant & soothing: an afternoon in the garden, wearing airy cream & white …

Deep in the Shadowy Corners of the Secret Garden, the Delicate, White Lace Flowers of Schizophragma hydrangeoides Flutter and Flicker

Up Close, the Petals of Japanese Hydrangea Vine’s Luminous White Blossoms are Exquisite as Silk Lace

Crisp and Clean: Hosta ‘Patriot’ Heart-Shaped, Creamy-Edged Green Leaves

 Airy Cream and White, Catching Light in the Shadows

*Quote: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chapter One of The Great Gatsby

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