Garden plan

Garden development

White flowers in the garden

The white flowerbed is a classic

Very elegant with white flowers in the garden

A flowerbed with only white flowers is a very elegant garden design, which signals calm and simplicity. Since Vita Sackville-Vest designed the classic white bed in the Sissinghurst garden, the white flowerbed has been in fashion. But it is not easy to design. White flowers in the garden can look dull in the sharp daylight, while they are incredibly beautiful once the sun has set. Therefore it is recommended to add grey flowers and leaves, for instance Lamb’s Ear, to the white flowerbed.

Another problem with white flowers is that they become brown when they die – therefore it is recommended to choose flowers that look impressive even when dried out, for instance Astilbes, or have beautiful green leaves. In this way there is always something interesting to look at in the white flowerbed.

White Christmas Rose

Helleborus niger on one of the few snowy winter days. With beautiful, sometimes pink-flushed, white flowers from January to March it is perfect for brightening af shady bed. It is one of the earliest flowering plants. Hellebores like this used to be planted close to doors to prevent evil spirits from slipping in.

Hellebore in the snow

Snowdrops

Snowdrops

Feather flower

Astilbes (Astilbe arendsii ) have long lasting, feathery plumes and are easy to grow. Astilbes come in white, light and dark pink, red and even lavender. They require light shade to thrive. The height of the plants varies from 10 inches to 4 feet or even higher. The winther garden can appear more interesting if the beautiful dried flowers of the perennials are not cut down in autumn.

Rhododendron ’Cunninghams white’

'Cunninghams White' is a very popular rhododendron cultivar. It is a large, evergreen shrub with oval, leathery leaves. The most important characteristic is that the buds are pink just before they bloom in the middle of May. Afterwards they become large white flowers with a subtle light yellow drawing.

Rhododendron 'Cunninghams White'

White Bleeding heart

‘Alba' is the white flowered cultivar of the common bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) which has been a popular garden favourite for many years. It blooms in spring and thrives in the shadow, thus making it a perfect perennial in a north side flowerbed.

White hearts - just planted

Fragrant Burkwood viburnum

Viburnum burkwoodii is a popular semi-evergreen hybrid. The white flowers in May are nicely fragrant. The flowerbuds are pink and the leather-like foliage is dark green.

Burkwood viburnum in bloom

Ground-elder

The ground-elder (Aegopodium podagraria) is regarded as one of the worst weeds. It belongs to the carrot family and spreads eerily fast over large ground areas by underground rhizomes, particular in shady places. The flower is decorative, but do cut it off immediately or the plant will seed itself and spread even faster.

Ground-elder flower

Bride's Feathers

Bride's Feathers (Aruncus dioicus) is also known as Goatsbeard. The featherlike white flowers bloom from early summer to late summer. The perennials can get quite large and very tall and will benefit from parting.

Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum) are large white daisies with yellow centers. The perennial returns each spring from the same roots that expand over time. It blooms second spring from seeding.

Shasta Daisy

Roses

The garden’s white rose (Rosa Alba 'Maxima') is a shrub that reaches 2 metre in height. It has been planted on the North side of the house and has been recommended by the garden architect.

Peony

The white Peony (Paeonia lactiflora) is like all peonies a beautiful, showy flower that unfortunately only blooms for a couple of weeks. But the dark green leaves are also quite pretty.

White Peonies

Anemones

Anemones thrive in the shade under trees, shrubs and hedges. They come in many colours, but the white anemones are the most pretty.

White anemones

Snow-In-Summer

Snow-In-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) is an excellent good groundcover. The grey leaves and white flowers look pretty through the whole season. It is often cultivated as an alpine plant as it does not need much water and can grow in rocky conditions.

Snow-In-Summer is good groundcover

Flowerbed design and colour

Blue flowers in the garden

Yellow flowers in the garden

Pink flowers in the garden