A WHITER shade of pale

Wherever they grow, white flowers will oblige with a glorious show

- ADRIENNE WILD

Sissinghurst Castle, now looked after by the National Trust, is home to a horticultural masterpiece – the famous White Garden created by Vita Sackville- West in the 1950s. Her aim was to allow pale blooms and silvery foliage to stand out against the green of they ew and box hedging – and gardeners are still inspired by her use of white blooms.

In this unique design, she chose various grey mounds of artemisia, santolina and silver-leaved Cineraria maritima, studded with the white trumpets of Lilium regale and spires of foxtail lilies, delphiniums and foxgloves. To add volume and structure to the borders, she used hydrangeas, roses, peonies and cistus with clouds of foamy gypsophila – and the effect is stunning.

Once you start researching, you quickly discover there’s a vast range of shades, from rich, creamy tones to cool, green tints and dazzling white.

Wow factor

For a touch of glamour on your summer patio, use exotic-looking brugmansia (Angel’s Trumpet). These amazing, tree-like plants produce large, dramatic, trumpet-shaped flowers that are sweetly scented.

Deadhead the flowers and plenty of new ones will appear – but don’t put any part of the plant close to your mouth, as it’s poisonous.

Irresistible blooms