White. . .is not a mere absence of colour;

it is a shining and affirmative thing,

as fierce as red, as definite as black. . .

God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously,

I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white.

~G.  K. Chesterton

Mother nature’s portrait of life on planet earth begins each spring with brushstrokes of vibrant color that little by little cover over winter’s drab canvas.  Appearing in gardens along with the vibrancy of bright colors is the “shining and affirmative” whiteness of which Chesterton spoke.  White, often chosen as the color of wedding gowns and christening gowns, has perennially spoken of fresh beginnings, and so I think it is fitting that many of the Lord’s flowers appear in shades of white.  In some riots of white the posies are marked with smidgens of contrasting colors which seem in early spring to foreshadow the glorious pigments yet to be dragged off the Master’s palette.  So notable and stunning are the images depicted on earth’s canvases that down through the ages many references to gardens and white have been made in prose as well as music, art, and poetry.  One line in particular was penned by Walter Bellingrath who rightfully noted that a garden “is like a beautiful woman with a different gown for each week of the year.”  And I think that when dressed in gowns of glistening white, these ladies of the garden are especially powerful and inspiring muses.

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.  Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.  ~Ecclesiastes 9:7-8