A garden integrating pale plants works well in the gray of a Northwest winter day. White pops out close-up in smaller plants and, in larger plants, from a distance. Consider using some white near the entry, or creating a white winter view to be seen from a window.
Selected plants for winter magic:
WHITE FOLIAGE
Abies koreana
'Horstmann's Silberlocke' (Korean fir): Broad, upright evergreen; about 15 feet tall. Needles on the branches curl up, exposing their white undersides for a year-round frosted look.
Azara microphylla
'Variegata': Evergreen shrub/tree with tiny, round green leaves edged with white. Tiny scented creamy-white flowers last from midwinter to spring. 30 feet tall by 12 feet wide. Sun to part shade, regular water. Zone 8.
Euonymus fortunei
'Silver Queen': Evergreen upright shrub with white-margined leaves. 8 feet tall by 5 feet wide. Full sun, regular water. Zone 5
Tsuga canadensis
'Gentsch's White' (variegated Canada hemlock): Conifer with white-tipped leaves. 4 by 4 feet. Sun to part shade, regular water. Zone 4
WHITE FLOWERS
Camellia sasanqua
'Setsugekka': Upright evergreen shrub with large, fragrant semidouble flowers in December-January. 20 feet tall by 10 feet wide. Part shade to sun (when established), regular water. Zone 7.
Daphne odora f. alba
(white winter daphne): Evergreen shrub with clusters of very fragrant white flowers from midwinter to early spring. 4 feet tall and wide. Needs shade around midday, moderate water. Zone 7
Erica carnea
'Springwood White' (winter heath): Trailing evergreen subshrub with masses of white flowers winter to midspring. 8-10 inches tall by 1 foot wide. Sun, moderate water. Zone 5.
Garrya elliptica
'James Roof' (silk-tassel bush): Upright evergreen shrub, Western native, with long greenish-white catkins midwinter through early spring. 12 feet tall and wide. Sun to part shade, moderate water. Zone 8.
WHITE BERRIES
Symphoricarpos albus
(snowberry): Native deciduous shrub, white berries fall into winter, 2-6 feet tall and wide. Can be invasive where happy. Full sun or part shade, little to moderate water. Zone 3
WHITE BARK
Acer
davidii ssp. grosseri
(Père David's maple): Deciduous tree with boldly streaked white-and-green bark. 20-30 feet tall and wide. Sun, regular water. Zone 5
Acer pensylvanicum
(striped maple): Deciduous tree with green-and-white striped bark. 40 feet tall by 30 feet wide. Sun to part shade, regular water. Zone 3.
Betula utilis var. jacquemontii
(white-barked Himalayan birch): Deciduous tree 60 feet tall by 30 feet wide. Sun or part shade, regular water. Zone 5.
Lagerstroemia 'Lipan'
(crape myrtle): Deciduous shrub/tree with summer lavender flowers and mottled bark. 15 by 15 feet. Full sun, regular water. Zone 7.
BONUS: FRAGRANCE
Some white-flowering plants, while not as showy, provide a wonderful winter surprise: fragrance. Good bets:
Sarcococca, Lonicera standishii, Daphne bholua and Osmanthus
.
-- Homes & Gardens staff