Associate the Lady's Smock

In a country garden

Iconic plant of the vicar’s garden, the Dame’s Rocket is actually one of the oldest perennials we know. Its flowering period, spanning from April to July, allows it to be combined with spring and summer perennials, creating a long-lasting and generous display. Choose soft tones for this slightly wild space. Keep some inflorescences in place so that the Dame’s Rocket can self-seed freely, ensuring its longevity as it remains ephemeral in the garden.

Amid retro plants like Digitalis and Lavatera, and Phlox that resemble it somewhat, as well as wild Epilobiums (willowherb), Anthemis, and Agastaches, the Dame’s Rocket shines. This rural scene is enhanced by a spring-flowering bush such as Prunus triloba ‘Multiplex’, a Physocarpus opulifolius, a mauve Lilac, and a Cotinus a little later in the summer. Don’t forget to insert some spring bulbs.

Hesperis matronalis in a rustic setting: Lavatera ‘Barnsley’, Anthemis tinctoria, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’, Digitalis lanata, Agastaches, and Phlox

In a white garden

Often chosen for its beautiful shades of pink to mauve, even purple, the Dame’s Rocket features lovely white varieties, ideal for enhancing a monochrome white garden. It brings great softness and much grace with its immaculate terminal inflorescences.

Available in double or single flowers and tall sizes, they will blend well with other wild white blooms like it (Penstemons hybrid ‘Husker Red’, Lysimachia barystachys), not to mention graphic habit perennials like Eremurus, stunning in a white garden, or a few white Foxgloves. Some white-flowering shrubs with variegated foliage (Cornus alba, Abelia grandiflora ‘Hopley’s), a beautiful Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’, and one or two more strictly upright evergreens (Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’), shaped into a ball (Pittosporum tobira) or trained (false jasmine) will give this white garden a very elegant sobriety.

White Dame’s Rocket, in perfect harmony in a white garden with some Penstemons hybrid ‘Husker Red’, a Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’, upright Eremurus, and a Pittosporum tobira

In a sunny rockery

Some cultivars of Dame’s Rocket remain small, under 50cm, making them lovely perennials for sunny to partially shaded rockeries. With Hesperis matronalis ‘Pleno’, approximately 45 cm tall, you can create a charming little scene with a beautiful carpet of Phlox subulata in pink or blue aubrieta blooming at the same time in spring, along with some Iberis sempervirens in white that also ensure a long flowering period, followed by evergreen foliage. A dwarf barberry like Berberis thunbergii ‘Tiny Gold’ will add a particularly bright and contrasting golden touch with a rounded habit, while a lavender or several Geranium cinereum ‘Joly Jewel’ or ‘Ballerina’ will also provide a long violet flowering period.

Hesperis matronalis ‘Flore Pleno’ in a sunny rockery accompanied by a lovely dwarf Berberis ‘Tiny Gold’, Geranium cinereum ‘Ballerina’, and Phlox subulata

In a romantic mixed border

This is one of the scenes that best showcases the simple beauty of Hesperis! To create your romantic mixed border, all you need to do is combine a wide range of plants with staggered flowering, in pastel colours, while including a few more vibrant plants (purples, some yellows, all chosen for their soft and abundant appearance).

The choice is truly vast, from Deutzias and Perovskias to Eupatoriums, Thalictrums and Persicarias, as well as California poppies… A few tangy touches with Euphorbias or Alchemillas, some verticals with Digitalis, Aconitum napellus and lupins, along with spring blooms to accompany the early flowering of Juliennes (Allium christophii, Iris, peonies, Astrances…): the volume and colours are definitely there! The velvety blue of hostas can be inserted into a sufficiently sheltered area from the sun, and the golden hair of Carex testacea ‘Lime Shine’ to tie all the perennials together.

The Julienne des dames (bottom left) pairs well with all sorts of perennial plants and bushes in a mixed border: Aconitum napellus, Deutzia gracilis, Peonies, Allium christophii, Carex testacea ‘Lime Shine’ and Eupatoriums

On a path or a walkway

From its Greek name “hesperis,” meaning evening, the Dame’s Rocket holds one of its most beautiful promises: a divine fragrance that reveals itself at the end of the day! It is therefore perfectly suited to be planted where you will often pass: an entrance to a house, a passage, or a frequently used pathway.

As it only scents the air with its fragrance in the evening, you can pair it with other fragrant plants, chosen to bloom in different seasons: at the entrance of a house, you might select compact and evergreen bushes, such as a Trachelospermum jasminoides trained and contained, or a Burkwood Viburnum ‘Conoy’ for spring scents, a Camellia sasanqua ‘Frosted Star’ for autumn, or a Daphne for its long winter flowering.

If you prefer to scent a small pathway, opt for a low Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis ‘Alba’), and pair it in a duo, for example, with a blue fescue and Iris or a Stipa Barbara to maintain ground cover throughout the year.

At the entrance of a house, for example, pair a fragrant liana (a false jasmine), Hesperis, and a Daphne that will bloom much later

In a rose garden

Try a very fresh combination with some roses and a backdrop of dark green bushes so that your Hesperis stand out beautifully and showcase their rosy tones. They are indeed perennials perfectly in tune with the romanticism of botanical or bush roses.

To elegantly enhance this rose garden, insert garden Juliennes in contrasting colours with your roses. For example, play with the soft pink of a climbing rose ‘Jasmina’ and the violet of an Hesperis matronalis that will dress the base of the climber, or the bright apricot pink of a rose ‘Belle de Londres’ alongside a beautiful mass of mauve Hesperis.

Made to complement each other, Hesperis literally enhance the roses!

In a flower meadow

Just like in the setup of a wild garden, Dame’s Rocket graces flowering meadows with the charm of yesteryear’s flowers. In well-worked, cool soil, it thrives, often reaching a height of nearly 1 metre. Surround it with clumps of white Filipendulas and pink or white Epilobes, very delicate ephemeral Lysimachias, mountain cornflowers, Achillea millefolium ‘Salmon Beauty’, and soft, graceful grasses like ‘Kiwi’ sedges or Eragrostis spectabilis fluffy.

If you have a large sunny space, Dame’s Rocket combined with Epilobes, Eragrostis spectabilis, ephemeral Lysimachias, and mountain centauries will create a beautiful flowering meadow

In blue and white table

The White Dame’s Rocket readily associates with lush and generous perennials in bluish to violet hues. By adding several white flowers and distinct habits, a wonderful blue and white scene is created. You have an immense choice to compose this delightful bicolour tableau: shrubs like Ceanothus, interesting for their beautiful evergreen foliage, or Vitex and Caryopteris for late summer, along with a plethora of perennials: the strikingly white Oriental Poppy ‘Royal Wedding’, Iris germanica, Aquilegia ‘Blue Barlow’ or the white columbine ‘Snow Queen’, then blue and white Agapanthus, upright Delphiniums also chosen in white (‘Double Innocence’) and/or blue (‘Pacific Blue Bird’), white Echinacea, not forgetting a few Agastache to accompany this bed all summer long!

Ceanothus, Agapanthus, Delphiniums, Echinacea, Eremurus… The palette of blue and white is very varied and offers fresh scenes with Hesperis

In pots on the terrace or balcony

One might think less of it, as Hesperis matronalis has all the qualities to thrive in various garden spaces, but it is also well-suited for pot cultivation. You can group together 3 to 4 beautiful plants that will develop quickly during the season.

The cultivar Hesperis matronalis ‘Alba Plena’, reaching 45 cm in height, is the most suitable for this. Again, prefer grandmother plants around it to create a cocoon effect, which also thrive well in pots, such as Dianthus barbatus, forget-me-nots, and arum lilies, for example. A compact Hydrangea will also be welcome. Add some late white daffodils like Narcissus poeticus ‘Albus Plenus Odoratus’ on the edge of the Hesperis pot; they will beautifully accompany a mauve Julienne at the beginning of flowering in May.

A beautiful harmony of blue, pink, and white on a terrace: Julienne of the dames, arum lilies, forget-me-nots, and Hydrangea