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IN AN EXTRACT FROM HER EVOCATIVE NEW TOME, MARTHA STEWART'S GARDENING HANDBOOK, MARTHA SHARES HER SECRETS TO DESIGNING ALL-WHITE GARDENS

- Words MARTHA STEWART

White gardens are a century-old trend popularised by renowned British writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst Castle, in the UK. These monochromatic displays look especially stunning at night, when the white blossoms glow in the twilight.

All-white gardens are hardly monotonous. Just as every ray of white light contains a rainbow, 'white' flowers present a vast spectrum of pale tones. Then there's the foliage, which also comes in various hues. In fact, Sackville-West, who strolled through her white plot before and after dinner, actually described it as "my grey, green, and white garden".

That statement sums up the ingredients of any successful white-themed display - silvery grey leaves, deep green foliage, and shimmery white blossoms. Here's how to adopt a white-themed garden into your landscape so it shines morning, noon and night.