White plants to brighten up your garden in winter

From pint-sized snowdrops which can easily be naturalised, to pot-perfect winter-flowering heather and cyclamen, plus white Helleborus niger and the glorious bark of birch, there are numerous options for illuminating your outdoor space.

As their nodding white heads emerge despite the most inclement of weather, snowdrops are among the first bulbs to appear in late winter and early spring.

How to grow: Plant the bulbs in early autumn around 6-7cm deep. If you want them to naturalise, you’ll need to plant in groups of 10 or more spacing them 4cm apart.

Sweet box (Sarcococca confusa)

Sweet box grows to 2m and will brighten up a shady border or woodland area, performing well in urban gardens. Once it has flowered, it should also give you glossy black berries, so prolonging interest further on in the season.

How to grow: Sweet box likes partial to deep shade and will grow well in most well-drained humus-rich soil.

Cyclamen coum ‘Album’

These pretty little cyclamen with marbled leaves produce a white flower with a deep purple mark at the base of each petal. They can thrive under trees or in alpine beds and rock gardens, their fresh green foliage emerging around the same time in winter and early spring.

How to grow: Plant 5cm deep in moderately fertile, humus-rich, well drained soil – and don’t overfeed them – preferably in partial shade, mulching them when their leaves die off. Being among the hardiest of cyclamen, they should return year after year.

Erica carnea ‘Alba’

White winter-flowering heather is always a hit in containers – and if you are wanting a flourish of white you could pair it with white violas or pansies and silver-leaved senecios, which will give their best if you place the pot in a sheltered position. It also looks great in rockeries and coastal gardens, on banks and slopes and as garden edging. As well as looking pretty, it is also a magnet for bees.

How to grow: Unlike some heathers, this one can tolerate some lime so will grow well in virtually any soil. For best results, place it in full sun in well-drained soil, or in a soil-based compost if you are growing it in a pot. After the heather has flowered, trim it with shears, cutting just below the faded blooms to promote new growth.