Midnight Garden

Evening Blooms

The white-margined leaves of Hosta fortunei 'Green Gold' take center stage here. In the pots surrounding them are (clockwise from top right) moth orchids, an autumn fern, New Guinea impatiens 'Pearl White', and pansy orchids (Miltoniopsis).

These plants are annuals and tender perennials that are grown as annuals in most parts of the country.

• Aster (any dwarf white variety)
• Baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata)
• Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus 'Italian White')
• Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sonata White')
• Evergreen candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
• Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata or N. sylvestris for evening fragrance; not the Nicki or Domino strains often sold at garden centers)
• Four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa)
• Gardenia (Gardenia augusta)
• Impatiens (any white variety; the Fiesta series has an attractive double type)
•Iris (any white variety)
• Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena 'Miss Jekyll Alba')
• Moonflower (Ipomoea alba)
• Poet's jasmine (Jasminum officinale)
• Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
• Spider flower (Cleome hasslerana 'Helen Campbell')
• Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa)
• Tuerous begonia (any white variety)
• Tulip (Tulipa, any white variety)