a white garden

Cool and calming, a garden filled with white flowers and silver leaves conveys a timeless, sophisticated look. Here, we show you how to achieve a stylish white garden of your own

WHITES FOR WINTER

To sustain a white theme throughout the winter, keep the look classically smart with immaculate white-painted furniture, topiary spirals and balls, and an avenue of pleached trees, such as small-leaved Tilia

cordata (limes) or Acer campestre (field maples). Add the scented white flowers of

Sarcococca confusa (sweet box) to perfume the cold January and February air. For a bench similar to the one shown here, try the Alexander Rose Roble Santa Cruz bench (alexander-rose.co.uk), or the bespoke range from Britannic Furniture, britannicfurniture.co.uk.

CONTRASTING BACKDROPS

Enhance a white garden with cream and beige-toned walls, paving and gravel to complement the purity of the planting scheme. Hard elements in these tones maintain the pale colour theme and provide a subtle contrast to the white flowers; white materials may seem like an obvious choice here but they can create rather too much glare, especially in sunny spaces and, as a result, will fight for attention with the blooms. Use gravel and cobbles to inject texture, and include green foliage plants, such as the scented climber

Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine), and shrubby Pittosporum tobira, to create a foil for the paving and walls.

SILVER AND SCENT

Silver foliage plants, such as the velvety

Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ear), sparkling artemisia, and bright Convolvulus

cneorum, provide a long-lasting backdrop to seasonal white flowers. Scented plants will also add another sensory layer to your surroundings. Among the best of these for a white scheme are Lavandula

angustifolia ‘Nana Alba’ (dwarf English lavender), Lilium longiflorum (the

Easter lily), Phlox paniculata ‘Mount Fuji’, philadelphus (mock orange) and Viburnum carlesii.

FEATURE TREES

Trees with white or silver bark can be an eye-catching way of using this colour theme in a garden. Small copses of white-stemmed

Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (Himalayan birch) will transform a large garden into a work of art – their vertical stripes creating a dramatic design. In autumn, underplant with large swathes of dwarf white narcissus bulbs, such as ‘Ice Wings’ or ‘Petrel’, and crocuses (available from De Jager bulbs,

dejager.co.uk) for a dazzling spring show. For winter flowers, plant snowdrops in the green the previous spring.

PAINTED WALLS

Use the exterior of your home and any boundaries to complement and add another decorative layer to the white scheme. Here, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ is offset by the grey-painted walls of the house behind. The leafy climber Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Boston ivy) contributes to the theme, with its tiny green-white flowers in spring, as well as a supplementary backdrop.

ECO-FRIENDLY LAWN

A carpet of green and white spreading plants is an easy-to-manage and eco-friendly alternative to a traditional mono-culture lawn. Soleirolia soleirolii (mind-your-own-business), with its sprawling stems of tiny round leaves, will quickly form a green mat, while the starry-flowered Pratia pedunculata ‘Alba’ (shown left, in the garden scheme at Neo Bankside by Gillespies, gillespies.co.uk), will add white highlights; Galium

odoratum (woodruff), which has similar blooms, is good for shady areas. Plan your lawn area using a solid edging and a pattern of stepping stones, so you can contain these vigorous plants and walk over them without causing damage.

SEATING AREAS

Take the white theme up and over the doorstep into your garden room or veranda, with furniture, soft furnishings and accessories that will create a fresh, clean design and lead the eye through to the outside space. For classic styling, look at Bridgman woven rattan loungers,

bridgman.co.uk, and for contemporary seating, try Skargaarden, skargaarden.com, and Gloster, gloster.com.

“Create a contemporary display for a terrace using evergreen shrubs, such as Camellia japonica ‘Silver Anniversary’, or Pittosporum tobira in large white Urbis pots (urbisdesign.co.uk).”

ROBIN MCAFEE, garden designer, robinmcafee.co.uk.

EASY-TO-MANAGE FRONT GARDEN

For a low-maintenance front garden with a white-themed plot, a white clover lawn is ideal as it requires no mowing. Plants, such as Euphorbia characias subsp.

wulfenii (Mediterranean spurge) and self-seeded buttercups (they will act like splashes of sunlight) are easy to care for. You could finish off with a container pond packed with white-flowering aquatics such as Myosotis scorpioides ‘Alba’, Nymphaea

‘Pygmaea Helvola’ (available from Waterside Nursery, watersidenursery.co.uk).

A BOLD ENTRANCE

Set the stage for your white garden with an archway entrance to match. Wrap Wisteria floribunda ‘Alba’ over a sturdy arch or pergola and flank the path with variegated shrubs, such as Cornus

alternifolia ‘Argentea’ (silver pagoda dogwoods) or Pittosporum tenuifolium

‘Irene Paterson’. For another decorative touch, these two large glazed urns draw the eye through the archway to the sculpture of a pair of birds on the far side. World of Pots, worldofpots.com, offers a wide selection of urns.

“For all-year blooms, start with Helleborus niger, then Pulmonaria ‘Sissinghurst White’ followed by Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Herbstschnee’.”

CLAIRE AUSTIN, claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk

A SHADY COURTYARD

In a small shady garden, where large, blowsy white blooms may fail to flower, you can still enjoy the romance of a white theme by implementing the style through furniture and artworks. Adorn pale-tinted walls with contemporary art, such as these silver birch-inspired pieces by visual artist Mary Bourne

(marybourne.co.uk), and choose white seats or commission a bespoke aluminium bench that will reflect the light and colour co-ordinate; the one pictured was made by Matt Keightley MSGD

(rosebanklandscaping.co.uk), for a garden he also designed, with black painted walls and simple yew topiary cubes to complete the crisp, contemporary look.

BORDERS AND CONTAINERS

Remember to factor in foliage for texture and interest in a white border or container display. Plant grasses, such as Panicum ‘Dallas Blues’ and Stipa tenuissima beside antirrhinums (snapdragons), Ammi majus (bishop’s flower) and Agapanthus ‘White Heaven’. If you are not too strict about the white theme, thread hints of steely blue eryngium (sea holly) and Festuca glauca

(fescue), for waves of subtle colour.

“Make a white potager garden by including white- owering vegetables and herbs, such as garlic chives, coriander and chop suey greens ‘Shungiku’.”

MARK DIACONO, Otter Farm, otterfarm.co.uk.