Dressed in White, Shasta Daisy

Some rules of the past make us chuckle: “Wait until Memorial Day to wear white, and don’t wear it past Labor Day.” Now we say, “Wear what looks good.” Or if you are in charge of laundry, you might call out with more than a hint of frustration, “Just wear what’s clean!”

In regions with four seasons, white annuals such as Petunias make their debut around Memorial Day, with some staying in their glory a little past Labor Day. But then there are white flowering perennials which tend to take longer to show their color. The classic Shasta Daisy variety called Becky stays green until mid-July, but when its white blooms open, it adds a classic look to any garden. And oh, does it have staying power, flowering well into autumn.

Becky has single blooms of bright white with yellow centers. The look of each flower is that of a wild daisy. Each Shasta Daisy bloom is sizable, around 3” across. When summer really starts to heat up, Becky unfolds into a sea of clean white that can light up any space.

It must be the feminine name Becky that makes me think of this perennial as a girl. I think of her as a girl with a classic sensibility, and one who is reliable, cheery, youthful, and just plain nice. Ah, I guess that is silly, but those descriptors are as well suited to this plant as they are to a person. So Shasta Daisy, Becky, you are absolutely reliable, cheery, and nice. It’s all true.

My garden contains many colors. Some show best in different lights. Midday sunlight makes reds and oranges pop. Blue looks great at sunset when the sky turns pink behind a sea of flowers. But I have learned that white flowers are key ingredients in a beautiful garden because they show well at all times. White blooms catch the light of day beautifully, rarely seeming tired under hot sunshine. And flowers such as Becky’s tend to be visible, even after sunset.

So, speaking of this, last September, my neighbor got married in an adjoining yard. All summer I added plants to my garden to enhance the nighttime wedding’s color scheme of blue and orange. After having shopped online, a packing mix-up caused me to wind up with Shasta Daisy plants. They looked nothing but green when I got them. They certainly were not in the blues and oranges I had ordered. But in telling the seller about the error, I was kindly urged to keep those plants, just to try them out. And I did.

Over the summer, my Shasta Daisy plants formed buds and eventually opened to show the happiest faces. Seeing those faces convinced me to add more pre-wedding white in the form of other Shasta Daisy plants, Impatiens, Gaura, and more.

On the night of the wedding with all neighbors present, the sun went down, and twinkling lights went on. My blue and orange flowering plants that looked great prior to sunset became barely visible when darkness fell. Instead, it was the white flowering plants that added to the beauty of the night.

Only the bride and I knew I had added plants for the occasion, and that my Shasta Daisy plants, the start of my focus on white plants, had been sent to me in error. All they knew was that there was beauty all around.

I am not sure if my Shasta Daisy plants are Becky or another variety. But like Becky, they were dressed in white for this post-Labor Day wedding, and they remained bright and lovely long after. 

Those same Shasta Daisy plants are looking healthy this spring. They have not shown their white prior to Memorial Day. Shasta Daisy plants follow traditional rules. But mid-summer to fall, they will do their thing. They will show up, no matter the hour. They are reliable garden friends. What else would my neighbor and I expect from Becky?