White hellebore with snowflakes in the background

Whilst the colour white has a lovely cooling effect in summer, in winter I tend to find myself preferring hues such as reds, oranges and yellows that give at least the illusion of warmth. However, number of years ago, I created a garden bed that holds some white blooms in summer, as well as some white flowers in mid- to late winter, and I am enjoying this area at the moment. I wanted to create a tiny scene that represented the icy crispness of a winter's morning, or even the illusion of snow! It is an area on the southern side of our house, so gets very little sun in winter, so the plants chosen had to be quite shade tolerant.

The bed is really very bare at this time of year, as the Hydrangea bushes, which form the bulk of the plantings, have recently been pruned hard, so they appear as lifeless skeletons. However, there is lush green growth on the Arthropodium, Albuca nelsonii, white belladonna lilies and the arum lilies - and a few of the arums are starting to flower, with the elegant clean white sheaths. I prefer the smaller versions of these plants, as the original old-fashioned species can be very floppy and large.

White form of Iris japonica

White form of Iris japonica

Clumps of snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) have been in bloom for quite a while, with their dainty, white-spotted bells, and white hybrid hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus) are now in flower along the path the borders the garden and in the areas which become exposed when the Hydrangea shrubs are dormant. The waxy flowers of the hellebores last a very long time, eventually ageing to pale green. The easy-to-grow white-flowered Iris japonica, with its ruffled petals, is just starting to come out, embellishing the scene. I hope to add the white-flowered groundcover Campanula poscharskyana soon.

Camellia japonica Lovelight

Camellia japonica Lovelight

Camellia japonica 'Lovelight', a beautiful, pristine white-flowered specimen, planted about 15 years ago, is finally the mature shrub that I dreamed of when it was just a young stick, and it bears hundreds of blooms every year, and is now so tall that it probably should be pruned to keep it under control! A few years ago, I added a beautiful formal double white japonica Camellia called 'Alba Plena', and it is now becoming more robust, with more flowers each year.

Saxifraga stolonifera foliage

Saxifraga stolonifera foliage

These white flowers can be enhanced by nearby foliage - lush greenery is good, but silvery leaves or white and green variegated ones are even better. I love the stripes of the variegated form of Iris japonica to echo the white flowers, the rounded, silver-veined foliage of Saxifraga stolonifera or the frosted-looking leaves of variegated white honesty (Lunaria annua), which self-seeds from year to year. Silvery Lamium maculatum is a groundcover I am thinking of adding to the scene, along with silver-variegated forms of Begonia.

White forget-me-not

White forget-me-not

Some years, white forget-me-nots and primula appear as self-seedlings in the bed; sometimes I transplant them from elsewhere in the garden to fill in any gaps. They add a soft, woodland vibe to the scene. When these annuals are spent, I shake them over the soil in the hope of scattering seed to germinate next autumn. This year I added some white-flowered foxglove seedlings to provide flowers later in spring, though I am not sure if they will be mature enough to bloom this year!

Eomecon chionantha, not to be recommended

Eomecon chionantha, not to be recommended

In one corner of the bed is a white bloom that really cannot be recommended - Eomecon chionantha - with its simple white flowers, often called the snow poppy. I put it in years ago when it was sold to me as 'a good groundcover' - which it is, but it is also impossible to get rid of, as it spreads by tenacious underground runners that travel considerable distances. I mention this plant only as a cautionary tale!

The rest of my garden in pretty much a moonscape at the moment, as it is in the process of being ruthlessly pruned. But small vignettes such as these in the winter garden do give pleasure on the coldest of these late-winter days!

Blog originally posted 8 August 2010; updated 14 August 2022.