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White flower garden

bazbradybazbrady Posts: 6
in Garden design
Hi guys,
Some im looking at converting a section of my front garden into a white only themed area,its roughly 5 metres by 4 metres.at front of the house so is north and east facing.Some of it gets sun which comes over the top of the single story bungalow so its not exactly in deep shade but doesnt have full sun either.Im looking for suggestions to keep interest all year.Im going to start with a white annabell hydrangea right in the middle,have one or two white hellebours at the corners,was thinking a few white digitalis,lily of the valley and white echinacea.Any other suggestions and should i mix 50 50 shrubs and flowers,Also i find alot of the nice long flowering shrubs and flowers require prefer full sun so thats the challenge.


thanks
Barry 

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    There's plenty  :)
    I have white Spireas [arguta for spring, and Snowmound is a good variety to follow on] Viburnum, white Potentilla as shrubs, Polemoniun [Jacon's Ladder] , Astilbe, Polygonatum [Solomon's Seal], Japanese Anemones, Dicentra and Lilies for perennials, and a stand of Actea.
    Lots of white or cream daffs too, snowdrops, white Camassias,  and white Saxifrages for ground cover, and the other plants you have. I also have honeysuckle, and will be adding some clematis next year. 
    Vincas would also do well there.
    Mine are in an east facing border, and only one end gets a reasonable amount of sun, and that's in summer. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    And of course you could still get some heavily discounted tulips to kick off your Spring in style. I'd find difficult to resist to add a really fragrant white rose...would be great to smell on the way in. Maybe something for the sunny corner?

    Also there are numerous gorgeous white rhododendrons and some cultivars do well without particularly acidic soil. I have a Cunningham's White and it's very happy in my neutral soil with some ericaceous top dressing and suitable liquid feed. And how about an ornamental cherry for some vertical interest...something as narrow as Primus Amanogawa would work. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited December 2019
    Yes - it's a common myth that rhodies/azaleas etc need acid soil. They absolutely don't.  :)
     
    You could add Camellias [with the correct siting]  Pieris and Skimmia to the list too, but bear in mind that most of those get large, and as you already have a Hydrangea, it would be a shame to be constantly pruning some of those shrubs to fit the space and allow perennials to get enough room to thrive. 
    Cunningham's White is quite a nice one and readily available, and grows quite rapidly in the right conditions.  :)
    I should have added Osmanthus and Sarcococca to the list too. 
    Don't forget to add a bit of variegated foliage into the mix too - many Hostas have white flowers,and there are plants like Euonymous which provide good background for other plants. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    White variegated Hostas would add to the mix and white annual cosmos would be useful until the shrubs fill out.
    Devon.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    IMO, white borders need a lot of green, otherwise they can look very stark. Try to look at some pictures of the white garden at Sissinghurst to give you some ideas.
    How can you lie there and think of England
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  • CamelliadCamelliad Posts: 402
    edited December 2019
    I have Japanese anemone Wild Swan, rhodo - Cunninghams White, camellia Nuccio's Gem, white foxgloves, hydrangea annabelle as you do, iceberg climbing rose, euonymus paloma blanca, fatsia spiders web (I think it's called?), sweet woodruff for ground cover, lily of the valley and white crocus and white daffodils. And white dicentra (or whatever it's called now). My favourite. Also have some ferns that look like hostas (but not hostas as too many slugs) - lovely shiny green leaves. Damp shade. Every month I look forward to seeing what will come up next.
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    The main difficulty with white flowers is that they turn brown, so you don't want them staying on the plant spoiling the look. It's worth thinking about any roses in that light--for example single-petaled ones like 'White Flower Carpet', or the scented 'Susan Williams-Ellis' seems to shed its old flowers well too. The other thing you might want to aim for is continuity of bloom. You could put white flowered hardy cyclamen under 'Annabelle', for example. And how about some astrantias? 'Shaggy' flowers for a long time.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Don't keep it pure white either - go for some silvery foliage too and white flowers with bits of colour such as this - https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/136109/Cistus-Jessamy-Beauty/Details or acidanthera - https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/182096/i-Gladiolus-murielae-i/Details assuming the soil is right.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
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  • PeggyTXPeggyTX Posts: 556
    edited December 2019
    Artemisias (silvery pale greens and lots of interesting leaf varieties in this species) mix nicely with whites.  This young specimen (photo taken summer) is now 3 times this size.   
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