The Casa Blanca oriental lily is a quilted, white perfection I wouldn’t want to live without, day or night.

But if the only time you can spend in your garden is during evenings after work, then consider a white garden and be sure to include Casa Blanca lilies—with a chair nearby to enjoy their wonderful perfume.

                                                                               Another wonderfully perfumed late bloomer that is a good choice for a garden viewed mostly in the evenings is this Clethra, or Summersweet as they’re sometimes called.

Clethra have clean, bright green foliage.  The flowers form seed pods that give long-lasting interest to the fall garden.  They love lots of water, but are otherwise quite undemanding.  Mine are in partial shade and still bloom heavily.

And don’t forget the lowly coneflower as a candidate for a white garden.  This variety, “White Swan,” has petals that shimmer in low light and also have a light, pleasant vanilla scent.

Sometimes the best time to be in the garden is when it’s too dark to doing anything but enjoy the sweet smells of your success.