White

White flowers lack the splashy color of their brighter siblings, but they have everything else. The soft petals with delicate glistening surfaces, with curves and lines that reflect and transmit shades and tones of light. They have centers with waxy pistils and pollen covered stamens. In fact, the yellow of the dropped pollen grains can be very beautiful on the petals of a white flower. The fragrance of a white gardenia is like none other, deep and sweet, almost intoxicating. I never liked fall and I never saw much in white flowers until I reached a certain age where I appreciated subtle beauty as much as a riotous show. That white flowers do not need color to be beautiful should make us look beyond superficial flash to what is behind and beneath and beyond.