White Gardens inevitably give a sense of peace and calm. Quite the reverse for my latest article for Hort Week on Hot Borders ! The emphasis being on hot colours of orange, red, purple, deeper pinks, and yellow flowers, with contrasting foliage colours, with the added contrast of textures coming from the element of foliage.

But let’s just take a look at that last colour, yellow. Strange it is, it’s a versatile colour that can be used in both the Hot Border colour scheme to spark the senses, but equally within the white garden planting scheme to add serenity and calm. Having said that, the yellow tone mustn’t  be too rich, but subtle and gently pushing the boundaries on the colour wheel !

Before I continue, let me tell you a bit about the White Garden at the Lakeside Hotel Garden where I’m Head Gardener. The White Garden forms part of four smaller gardens set aside the main garden, but within the total of the 1 and a half acre site facing Lake Windermere.  The sister gardens as well as the White Garden comprise a 

* Sub Tropical garden.

* Aromatherapy garden.

* Scented garden. 

Each smaller garden areas are similar sizes, the dimensions are approximately 8×8 metres. Due to a number of reasons, all the gardens are currently under a period of restoration, the White Garden being the 3rd on the list in terms of how much needs to be undertaken to bring it up to a better standard. 

I’ve been the Head Gardener at the Lakeside Garden for nearly 3 years. It takes a year to turn the corner in managing any garden, and getting used to its idiosyncrasies.

If we look at the White Garden theme in the UK, there are a good number of White Gardens, but probably the two most recognised are the White Garden at Sissinghurst and Hidcote Manor. 

A really noticeable point when a collection of white flowers are put together is how many different shades of white there are ! One might say that the only exception to the rule is for the odd green flower to be allowed, as the colour green is already present of course in the foliage. 

As already mentioned,  in my White Garden theme I’m using yellow. The trick is, that of course, White must remain the predominant colour ! that way, the yellow will work. 

The small White Garden at the Lakeside Hotel was designed to have an overall calm and peacefull feeling. The small circular lawn and curved ends of the beds help add a restful touch. 

Some of the existing shrubs include 

* Osmanthus delavayi ( tiny clusters of fragrant white flowers in spring) 

* Potentilla Abbotswood ( non stop white flowers throughout the summer) 

*  Lonicera pileata ( evergreen shrub, tiny spring flowers are sharply scented) 

* Jasminum officinale ( common white Jasmine, introduced to England  1548) 

* Buddliea davidii ‘ White Proffusion’  ( stunning white flowers to attract the butterflies) 

* Rosa ‘ blanche double de coubert’ ( rugosa rose with double white scented flowers) 

* Lysimachia ephemerum ( tall herbaceous, small silvery white flowers in mid summer ) 

This White Garden was originally designed with the theme being mainly shrubs with a smattering of perennials. This last winter some older Choisya ternata shrubs which fell victim to substantial snow fall  had to be cut back. We still have one by the gate entrance which sets the scene with its beautiful Scented white flowers in late spring, early summer. 

During early spring this year I undertook a transplanting project totally against the gardening  grain, a challenge ! Transplanting three Argyrocytisus battandieri  ( Moroccan pineapple broom ) from large terracotta containers from another area of the Lakeside garden into the White Garden.

The idea of this was to add more structure in pocket areas to replace the Choisya ternata.  Using a specialist spade, I was able to extract the Argyrocytisus battandieri from the pots and plant  into areas of the White Garden with a substantial root structure still intact. The ideal time for undertaking this would have been autumn / winter. Incredibly, after persistent watering the Argyrocytisus produced their erect clusters of golden yellow flowers during June and July, coupled with the silvery/ grey foliage as seen in the image, this was a great addition/ replacement to the theme of the White  Garden. The foliage adds a complimentary feel to the white garden with the visual  sheen and texture.

In early summer I decided to include some perennials into the garden, a substantial number of Delphinium Delfix White  ( Delphinium grandiflorum) , height approximately 38 cm × 20cm width. This Delphinium is a lower growing perennial with a branching habit producing single spurred white flowers during June and July.  This Delphinium is ideal for the planting display as it requires no staking. D –  grandiflorum is a shorter lived perennial, and although for the HPS we’re primarily focusing on Hardy perennials, it will still be a good winter test for this species, weather dependent ! 

The plant association for the white Delphnium grandiflorum are the short lived perennials Antirrhinums: 

* Liberty Classic Yellow.

* Sonnet Yellow.

This planting scheme is designed to add a subtle touch to  the overall effect, it has raised many positive comments.

Next years planting scheme will include additions of White Agapanthus and White Phlox species. 

*Kevin Line is Head Gardener/ Horticulturist,  Lakeside Hotel Garden, Cumbria, Freelance Garden Adviser.

Kevin also contributes to the Hort Week Parks & Gardens Website and magazine. A member of the Professional ‘Gardeners’ Guild.

A member of the HPS for 11 and a half years, and into his 10th year of blogs for the Hardy Plant Society ! 

Images – 

* Foliage of Moroccan Pineapple Broom.

* Flowers of Delphinium grandiflorum.