Hesperis matronalis var.albiflora
(Dame's Violet)
Family - Brassicaceae
Category - Biennial
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer
Hardiness - H6
Height - 90cm
Width - 40cm
Location - The East Border, The White Garden
Description: A clump-forming Biennial with upright stems. Bright to mid-green leaves are ovate to lanceolate in shape and have finely toothed margins. Glistening white, cross-shaped flowers, each with a yellow Eye are sweetly scented, most noticeably in the evenings. The Blooms are held in panicles on upright stems and are produced from late spring into mid-summer. Good for use as cut flowers and attractive to pollinating insects.
This plant can be used as a short-lived Perennial, but flowering tends to decrease with age and therefore usually treated as a Biennial.
Flower:
Cruciform flowers are a glistening shade of white and each bloom has a yellow eye. The blooms are held in panicles atop upright stems and are produced from May into July. The flowers are evening scented.
Flower colour: White
Flower shape: Cruciform flowers in panicles
Flowering time: May, June, July
Foliage:
Bright to mid-green leaves are ovate to lanceolate in shape and have finely toothed margins. The leaves are Alternately arranged on upright stems.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Ovate to lanceolate
Propagation:
Cuttings, division, seed.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun to partial shade in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.