There’s something quietly enchanting about a white flower bed. It doesn’t shout for attention, it just glows—especially in that hush between day and night when everything softens and the garden becomes a gentler place. I’ve been planning a bed of predominantly white biennials for next spring and early summer, and I think you should too.
The line-up is a corker: Sweet William ‘Alba’, Hesperis (or sweet rocket), Foxglove ‘Alba’, Wallflower ‘Ivory White’, and good old-fashioned Honesty. All easy to grow, all brilliant for bees, and all positively saintly when it comes to flowering just when the garden needs a bit of continuity in that late-spring/early-summer gap.
But before we get into the how-to, let’s take a moment to appreciate these beauties.
Sweet William ‘Alba’ is the quietest show-off you’ll meet—spicy-scented clusters of pure white blooms that last for yonks in the vase and look as though they belong in a still life painted by candlelight.
Hesperis is a favourite of mine—lightly perfumed, loose and airy, and a proper cottage garden plant if ever there was one. Plant enough of it and it looks like a low-lying cloud drifting through the border.
Foxglove ‘Alba’… well, she needs no introduction. Tall spires of creamy-white bells that bumblebees get giddy over. She brings height and drama to the mix but still feels effortless.
Wallflower ‘Ivory White’ is the underdog here, but don’t overlook her. She gets going earlier than the rest and has a gentle warmth to her white—more clotted cream than brilliant paper. She bridges the seasons beautifully. ‘Ivory White’is one of Higgledy Anne’s favourites.
And finally, Honesty. She’s a dependable old friend with her silver seed pods and clusters of simple white flowers. The sort of plant that quietly underpins the whole scheme with no ego at all.
Now then. The tricky bit is timing. All these plants need to be sown now, in July—but the bed they’re destined for is currently packed with jolly annuals, and I don’t fancy ripping them out until mid-September. The solution? Three-inch pots.
Sow your biennials in pots and grow them on somewhere sheltered. A cold frame, a north-facing wall, or even a greenhouse if you’ve got one. I use peat-free compost and pop a seed or two in each pot. Keep them moist (but not soggy) and they’ll be up before you know it.
Once they’ve got a few proper leaves and the roots are starting to fill the pot, you can just let them tick over until the annuals have done their thing. Then, in September, clear the bed and plant out your lovely white biennials, giving them a good watering-in and a few kind words.
Come May and June next year, you’ll have a glowing, elegant patch of garden that looks good in sunshine and utterly magical at dusk. A white bed doesn’t shout—but it sings.
We have lots of biennials for you to choose from….click ‘Higgledy Garden biennials portfolio.’
Have fun in the sun!
Higgers and Flash.