A Paler Shade of White

White light consists of seven colours: Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red which helps explain why there are so many different shades of white. When it comes to decorating there are apparently over 150,000 different shades of white paint to select from, a detail you might not choose to share with your clients if you are an interior designer. Wallpaper can be white, clothes, porcelain and many household goods are white but in nature, white isn’t always white even if it is supposed to be because with nature anything can happen. Take a rose for instance: there is blush white, creamy white, and then the odd pearl pink or ivory bloom might appear on an otherwise white rose bush. Rosebie’s favourite rose, Margaret Merril has blush white petals, and there are ivory roses which are neither white or cream, and A Whiter Shade of Pale rose is actually pink.

Changes in temperature or soil Ph can slightly change the hue of flowers and although we try to redress the balance, it is after all Mother Nature that we are working with and we respect the way she does things. We are only mentioning all this because sometimes customers can be quite prescriptive and might request a very particular colour rose that they have had before and are disappointed when it is not the exact shade they recall, even though it is the same type of rose. A blush white rose might be remembered as a bit whiter, the dreamy apricot more pink, and was that pink from the wedding bouquet perhaps less morning-fresh and more dusk? We do understand and we also appreciate that high expectations are a compliment so we do our best whilst trying to keep things natural.