White winter gardens for season sparkle
Think “winter white” and your thoughts probably turn to frosty mornings, a blanket of snow and shimmering ice particles.
But how about white flowers and shrubs to give your garden some show-stopping seasonal sparkle? While we don't often think of a winter garden blooming with colour, it certainly can if that colour is white!
Stunning on a clear winter’s day
Clean, dramatic white can look stunning on a clear winter’s day. So let’s brush aside gloomy thoughts about the “dead of winter” and celebrate the wonderful whites that bring winter gardens to life.
“great garden design amplifies all that is good about each season”
In the words of The Guardian: “Great garden design amplifies all that is good about each season; so in winter, it’s time to home in on white plants. A few ivory flowers or white-barked trees maximise the enchantment and quiet of the big freeze. We need time to chill – spring can wait.”
At Alaster Anderson we couldn’t agree more.
For a full-on seasonal theme you might choose Clematis ‘Jingle Bells’ (a climber producing nodding, lemon-scented, ivory-white flowers from December to March) or Camellia ‘Winter’s Snowman’ (frothy creamy blooms on an evergreen shrub from October to December).
Our personal favourites
But here are our personal favourites for white winter gardens.
The perennial Liriope ‘mascara Monroe White' is a talking point as a homage to the unforgettable Marilyn … and because it does indeed look like a mascara brush!
Helleborus niger (Christmas Rose)
It flowers from August until November and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) describes it as “a low-maintenance plant that works equally well in containers or borders. It looks very effective when used to line the edges of a partially shaded pathway, or when planted throughout a woodland floor where it will add year-round interest.
The larger-than-average, pure white flowers appear in short racemes at the top of green stalks and create a vibrant contrast to the rich green foliage.”
Another vivacious specimen is Helleborus niger (Christmas Rose), with saucer-shaped white flowers hovering above copious semi-evergreen leaves. Some gardeners even remove this foliage during flowering from January to March to better show off the flowers.
Camellia sasanqua ‘White’
The shrub Camellia sasanqua ‘White’ boasts glowing white flowers from October to December, standing out vividly against a backdrop of lustrous green leaves. The RHS rates it as a versatile and relatively undemanding evergreen.
Clematis urophylla ‘Winter Beauty' is an evergreen climber that also reaches 3m tall. It has dark green foliage contrasted by urn-shaped small flowers with wax-like, creamy-white sepals.
Surrounded by a prominent boss of cream anthers, these emerge from pale green buds, and become paler and more flared at their tips as they mature from early to late winter.
Also recommended:
Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price' laurustinus: pink-white flowers open from dark pink buds from December to April, followed by blue-black fruit. A dense, compact laurustinus that flourishes in sun or shade.
Cyclamen persicum ‘Blac Pur’ are a small-headed pure white cyclamen that look wonderful planted en masse in pots and containers.
Erica carnea f. alba 'Whitehall' winter heath heather: abundant white, bell-shaped flowers bloom from January to March among bright green foliage.
Erica x darleyensis f. albiflora 'White Perfection' Darley Dale Heath Heather: bright green, needle-like foliage (very Christmassy) with lots of beautiful little white flowers in spike-like racemes from December to April.
To find perfect whites for other seasons, see our recommendations for Summer and Autumn in the rest of the blog series.
Please get in touch to see how we can help you with your garden. You can reach us on 0207 305 7183 or email at enquire@alasteranderson.com
