How To Install Stone Garden Border

Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) 'Alba' and roses (Rosa) in summer border

Juliette Wade Getty Images

Tranquil, calming and reminiscent of the British countryside in spring, white borders are undoubtedly a garden classic. Understandably popular in rural gardens, white plantings are most successful, to my mind, in urban gardens where the dramatic contrast from street to serenity is soothing, particularly at dusk.

If you're considering embarking on a wholly white border or entire garden, be assured that there are more plant varieties in white than anything else on the colour wheel.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

When making your initial plant selection list, r emember that very few flowers are pure white – most have touches of pink, yellow or ivory, so take this into account to ensure your shades are complementary. Texture is also key. For example, the fragile haze of Gypsophila paniculata 'Bristol Fairy' or, in shadier spots, Astrantia major 'Large White', will resemble clouds threaded through a border with striking Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan' and Lupinus 'Noble Maiden'.

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Astrantia major

astrantia crocus.co.uk

£16.99

The success of a white garden also relies on the foliage that supports the blooms. I feel that at least a third of any white border should be foliage; leaves provide the frames that make white blooms appear abundant and ethereal. Ferns such as Polystichum setiferum 'Herrenhausen' are ideal in a shady border, while, in sun, grasses such as Melica altissima 'Alba' offer movement as they catch the breeze. Silver foliage gives a more contemporary look for a sunny border.

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The white daisies of Anthemis punctata subsp cupaniana rising above its finely cut silver leaves would work in harmony with the aromatic grey-green foliage of Lavandula angustifolia 'Arctic Snow'. Thread through the elegant heads of 'White Triumphator' tulips, which flower earlier in the season than the lavender. This combination is perfect for dry or gravel gardens, especially anchored here and there with clumps of large, downy leaved Verbascum chaixii 'Album'.

SELECT FOR SCENT

It's in shady spots that white blooms shine, particularly in the gloaming where other colours simply fade into the shadows. And an added bonus is that many of them also send out bursts of fragrance in lowering light. This is because white flowers are often pollinated by night-flying insects such as moths, which use the flowers' night-time glow and their aroma to help navigate. For scent, make sure you add the biennial Matthiola perennis 'Alba' (night-scented stock), Nicotiana sylvestris (flowering tobacco) and white lilies – the waxy flowers on tall stems are simply exquisite at dusk.

Waitrose Garden

CREATE A BACKDROP

February is the ideal time to plant those backbone shrubs to provide structure, height and backdrop for your new white blooms. Evergreens offer interest in a garden year round, and the compact and informal Myrtus communis subsp tarentina is the perfect base shrub, together with Osmanthus delavayi, with its masses of scented, white, jasmine-like flowers from mid-spring, as well as the more compact Sarcococca hookeriana var digyna. Its clusters of small, creamy white, vanilla-scented flowers provide the headiest of all winter perfumes, so plant it close to a window, entrance or path.

Deciduous shrubs pack more of a visual punch in the summer months to add height and drama to a border. The huge, blowsy globes of Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' are ideal as a centrepiece; the dramatic plumes of scented, yellow-eyed buddleja are a magnet for butterflies and other beneficial insects, while Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile' with its cup-shaped flowers reminiscent of orange blossom, is an ideal low-maintenance shrub.

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Buddleja davidii

buddleja crocus.co.uk

£16.99

LIGHT UP SMALL SPACES

If you want to trial the effect of white or bring it to a terrace, balcony or windowsill, then containers of white blooms can dazzle. I favour a reclaimed, battered metal planter with a patina of age for contrast. Consider agapanthus on their own, white peppermint-scented pelargonium tomentosum, marguerites (Argyranthemum frutescens), and, of course, white petunia. For crisp modernity, climber Muehlenbeckia axillaris, with its wiry, scrambling foliage and diminutive white flowers, looks contemporary in a brushed-chrome pot.

Finally, no white garden would be complete without romantic roses. Rosa 'Madame Alfred Carrière' is one of the best climbing roses for a north-facing fence, wall or rose arch. And, for the terrace, follow master rose-breeder David Austin's selections of Rosa 'Claire Austin' and Rosa 'Susan Williams-Ellis'. Surround with Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' and a scattering of pure-white foxgloves to create a traditional scene with plenty of impact. White cosmos, white snapdragons and white hellebores will extend your display from autumn to winter.

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22 best gardening gifts under £35

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