White cottage garden in my head, puddles underfoot

Hard choice: go for a walk in the heavy rain, or stay inside and plan a new garden? 

I have a sunny, irrigated, six-foot by six-foot dooryard that cries out for a design. It used to be a shade garden, filled with Bergenia cordifolia and Acanthus mollis by the previous owners. The Incense Cedar that towered over it all suffered a tragic end, the Bergenia have gone to live under a plum tree in Grass Valley, and the Acanthuses manfully grow then faint in the heat of our summers.

The county government may be sending Plant Protective Services over to rescue the poor Acanthuses. We promise to dig down deep and move them as soon as we safely can.

We have neglected this dooryard, thinking that next year we will revamp and expand the front walk. So here is a desert eyesore, banked on either side by woodsy shade gardens. Something pretty and temporary is called for.

My brilliant idea yesterday was a potager, and then I remembered my good friends the mule deer. A deerproof potager of garlic, onions and rhubarb did not beguile me.

Today's thought is a cottage garden of white blooms. I love white gardens and there is an old patch of Iberis Candytuft in place. Here is a list of other possible flowers, short to tall. Please let me know if you have experience with these:

Alyssum 'Tiny Tim'

Eschscholzia californica California Poppy 'White Linen'

Tanacetum partheniven Feverfew

Nigella Love in a Mist

Zinnia elegans 'Polar Bear' 

Nicotiana alata 'Jasmine Alata'

Nicotiana sylvestris Indian Peace Pipe

Cosmos bipinnatus 'White Seashells'

Helianthus debilis Sunflower 'Vanilla Ice'

And what cottage garden is complete without Alcea Hollyhock? Mine--the deer delight in it.