10 plants to get the Bridgerton look in your garden

Regency gardens

During the Regency period (1811-1820), Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s successor, Humphrey Repton, was the country’s foremost landscape designer. Repton revived the use of terraces and flower gardens around the house and introduced the idea of themed gardens. Geometrical layouts were softened to include groups of flowerbeds set within lawns accessed by serpentine paths, and ornamental shrubberies aimed to create more naturalistic areas in the garden. At this time, plant collecting was at its height, meaning many exciting new species were available from distant lands, including Australasia and South America.

Bridgerton depicts the extravagant lifestyle of the ton. Although most scenes take place in grand houses, they also feature lavish gardens with extensive lawns for croquet, immaculate flower borders, elegant topiary and secluded parterres – providing the perfect spot for clandestine liaisons. Filming locations included some of the most awe-inspiring gardens in the UK, such as Hampton Court Palace, Castle Howard, Hatfield House and Painshill Park.

More on Bridgerton:

• Bridgerton's Lady Danbury (AKA Adjoa Andoh) talks gardening, growing and more
• Bridgerton's Chelsea Garden – our essential preview

10 best plants to create the Bridgerton look

Rose

Roses were the archetypal romantic flowers of the Regency period. They were displayed in bouquets, given as love tokens, and planted in a new style of flower bed – the rose garden. For the first time, roses were planted in groups, as seen in Repton’s 1813 design for a Rose Garden at the Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire. Gallica roses were particularly popular with their beautiful fragrance and pinky-maroon blooms. Rosa ‘Rose du Roi’, shown above, is a double-flowered medium red variety with almost thornless stems. Bred by Comte Lelieur de Ville-sur-Arce in 1812, it was just one of many new varieties developed during the Regency period.

Most of us don’t have room for a dedicated rose garden, but you can create an elegant, romantic atmosphere on a sunny patio by growing compact roses in pots. Try a beauty such as ‘Raspberry Royale’ or ‘Sheer Silk’ for a profusion of glorious flowers right through from June to September. In The Bridgerton Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, designer, Holly Johnston, will be using Rosa ‘White Pet’ (a good variety for containers) to enhance the sense of enchantment around the moongate and dry stone walling.

Many patio roses also have an enchanting scent and their blooms are perfect for cutting. Roses in pots will require regular watering, especially in warmer months. Other than that, as long as you feed your roses with liquid plant food until August and deadhead spent flowers to encourage more blooms, you can enjoy the romantic spirit of Bridgerton in your garden all summer long.

• Buy patio roses from David Austin, Harkness Roses and Peter Beales

Bay

Regency planting schemes offered a succession of flowers throughout the seasons, but also valued evergreens to provide structure and colour, particular in the winter. Topiary created formality and emphasised status, as seen in the lollipop bays flanking the front doors of members of the ton, and displayed outside the most stylish of Regency shops. Although bay was in fashion at the beginning of the nineteenth century, box, holly and narrow-leaved mock privet (Phillyrea angustifolia) were also popular choices. All four evergreens can be grown as shrubs or clipped into topiary shapes.

Topiary is ideal for both modern and cottage garden borders. It creates a permanent green backdrop to enhance exuberant, colourful planting and also combines beautifully with more muted colour palettes. Use repeated shapes such as balls, cones or lollipops to carry the eye through a border, or create formality with paired topiary on either side of a path or entrance. Topiary in pots can be moved around the garden during the year or added to a patio. Planting in containers enables more tender plants, such as bay, to be protected in sheltered, frost-free conditions over winter. Plants in containers will need watering over the summer. Topiary also benefits from trimming once or twice a year, with a summer trim around June.

• Buy topiary bay from Crocus, Dobies and Thompson & Morgan

Wisteria

The iconic wisteria-clad Bridgerton house has become the epitome of Regency glamour and style. Wisteria would have been a novelty at the time as Wisteria sinensis was only introduced to the UK by botanist and plant collector, James Reeves, in 1816 as cuttings from a plant in Guangzhou (Canton). Wisteria floribunda wasn’t introduced from Japan until 1830, by which time Wisteria sinensis was being widely grown across the UK.

Wisteria needs plenty of space to spread, so to enjoy the glorious racemes of scented lilac or white flowers in a smaller garden, why not grow a wisteria that has been trained as a small tree with a bare trunk supporting a branched crown, known as a standard? These can be planted in moist, well-drained soil in a sheltered sunny position, or grown in a container – although pot-grown plants need copious amounts of food and water, so planting in the ground is preferable. Wisteria frutescens ‘Amythest Falls’, Wisteria floribunda ‘Domino’ and Wisteria brachybotrys ‘Okayama’ are more compact varieties, which can be grown as standards.

• Buy wisteria from Crocus, J.Parker's and Sarah Raven

Jasmine

What could be more romantic than an evening tryst under a scented bower of summer blooms? If you’d like to add fragrance to seating areas in your garden, jasmine is an ideal choice. Jasminum officinale was introduced to the UK in the sixteenth century, so it would have been planted in Regency gardens, as shown in the paintings and etchings of the time. There are gorgeous varieties of jasmine, including the soft yellow blooms of ‘Clotted Cream’, Jasminum officinale f. affine with its large scented flowers, and more tender varieties such as Jasminum angulare, which may need winter protection in colder areas.

Jasmine thrives in a sunny spot growing up a wall or fence. A versatile climber, it can be grown in large pots and will need to be supported on trellis or wires. For a more shady site, try adding the perfumed flowers of star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), honeysuckle or a shade-tolerant rambling rose like Rosa ‘Wedding Day’.

• Buy jasmine from J.Parker's, Sarah Raven and Waitrose Garden

Wallflower

The Bridgerton Garden is themed around the wallflower, which symbolises the main character of the third series – Penelope Featherington. In previous series, Pen has been overlooked by the man she loves, dressed in yellow gowns by her mother and forced to wait on the margins while her contemporaries take to the dance floor with their suitors. Now it's her turn in the spotlight and the garden follows her journey from wallflower to a young woman in full bloom.

Wallflowers add early colour and provide an ideal companion for other spring flowers. To create the Bridgerton look, try a bright yellow wallflower like Erysimum cheiri ‘Golden Jubilee’ or the pale primrose tones of ‘Ivory White’ combined with tulips or forget-me-nots. Sow these easy biennials from May to July for superb displays next spring.

• Buy wallflower seeds and plants from Chiltern Seeds, Sarah Raven and Thompson & Morgan

Peony

The blousy blooms of peonies are perfect for adding a dramatic touch to your flower borders. Cottage peonies, like the red double-flowered Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’, have been grown in the UK since the 1500s, but Sir Joseph Banks had tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) brought into the UK by the East India Company in 1789, and the Chinese peony (Paeonia lactiflora) was introduced around the time of the Regency period. Like roses, peonies are the embodiment of romance in a flower with their large blooms, soft colours and sweet fragrance. Moreover, their short flowering period means every single one is a precious treasure.

Peonies are in flower from May to June. Plants can be expensive, so it’s essential they are given the right conditions to thrive. You’ll need a sunny spot with fertile, moist but well-drained soil. If you don’t have the right soil, try growing patio or intersectional peonies in peat-free, free-draining compost in pots. Try Paeonia ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ with its creamy-pink semi-double flowers suffused with lilac or the delightful apricot-salmon flowers of Paeonia ‘Singing in the Rain’. Fertilise plants once a year, remember to water peonies in containers regularly and store in a frost-free place over winter, and they’ll reward you with sumptuous blooms in late spring and early summer.

• Buy peonies from Claire Austin, J.Parker's and Waitrose Garden

Foxglove

Foxgloves were valued in Regency Gardens as vertical accents in shrub borders, along with other tall plants such as lilies, hollyhocks and sunflowers. The Bridgerton Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be using the vertical spires of foxgloves to create a whimsical and naturalistic look, as Digitalis ‘Snow Thimble’ and Digitalis ‘Pink Panther’ will be planted alongside other shade-lovers like ferns and ivy.

Foxgloves bloom in early summer, adding their elegant spires to the array of classic plants in flower at this time of year. If you don’t have foxgloves in your garden, you could sow these popular biennials in late summer for flowers next year. For more unusual colour combinations, try Digitalis purpurea ‘Pam’s Choice’, with its white petals with deep maroon blotches, or Digitalis purpurea ‘Sutton’s Apricot’, which has soft apricot-pink flowers with delicate brown speckles along the throat.

• Buy foxglove seeds and plants from Crocus, Sarah Raven and Thompson & Morgan

Hollyhock

No Regency garden would be complete without stately hollyhocks. Like foxgloves, they're used to create height and impact, but in sunny borders rather than shady areas. For a subtle colour palette, sow the smoky blooms of Alcea rosea ‘Halo Apricot’ or ‘Halo Cream’ with their flushed purple centres. But if you want to dazzle your guests with the brightest of floral displays, try the myriad of colours in ‘Giant Single Mixed’ and ‘Good Golly Miss Holly’. Hollyhocks are easy to grow, provided you have well-drained soil. Sow seeds in spring and plant out in May and June, or sow in summer to plant out in the autumn or next spring.

• Buy hollyhock seeds and plants from Crocus, Dobies and Farmer Gracy

Tulip

Viscountess Violet Bridgerton, Daphne’s mother, embroiders tulips for her daughter’s upcoming marriage as they are symbolic of passion and true love. A popular (though still expensive) bulb in the Regency period, tulips were used in massed planting in grand gardens and estates, but were equally important in smaller town house gardens, where they added vibrant colour in pots and smaller borders. Single tulips were often planted in groups with no colour mixing. English florists’ tulips, with their flamed and feathered markings created by Tulip Breaking Virus, were also at their height in the early decades of the nineteenth century, and many varieties originated from this time.

Summer is the ideal time to start planning your tulip displays ready for next spring. English florists’ tulips are rarely available to buy, so to get the Regency look, try growing flamed tulips such as Tulipa ‘Grand Perfection’, which has soft yellow petals with crimson flames, or spectacular Tulipa ‘Flaming Flag’, which overlays purple streaks on a background of pure white. For massed blocks of colour, try Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ (orange), ‘Golden Apeldoorn’ (yellow) and ‘Apeldoorn’ (red). These vibrant tulips have the advantage of being more reliably perennial than many other varieties, so they should brighten up your spring garden for years to come.

• Buy tulips from Dobies, Peter Nyssen and Sarah Raven

Dahlia

Dahlias were the perfect flower to add all-important splashes of colour to Regency borders and bouquets. Introduced to England in 1804, Dahlia coccinea was the first species to be grown here. By the end of the Regency period, many different varieties were being cultivated across the UK. Dahlia coccinea ‘Mary Keen’ is a scarlet stunner with a lovely yellow eye and Dahlia ‘Bishop of York’ combines rich yellow flowers with deep purple stems and foliage. Alternatively, grow the soft white blooms of Dahlia ‘Eveline’ with their delicate lavender blush for the perfect romantic posy. Plant dahlias out in late spring, once the risk of frost is over, and your garden will be filled with floral drama from mid-summer right up until the first autumn frosts.

• Buy dahlias from Farmer Gracy, Sarah Raven and Thompson & Morgan