Bramdean Sweet Pea Plants

Bramdean . White Flowers That Blush

Bramdean is a Modern Grandiflora sweet pea that opens pure white and then, over a day or two, develops the gentlest pink blush. The effect is almost imperceptible at first - you have to look twice to be sure it is there - and it lends every bloom an old-fashioned, romantic quality that photographers and florists find irresistible. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The scent matches the appearance: refined, sweet, and surprisingly strong. English Sweet Peas rate it 5 out of 5 on their scent scale. As a Modern Grandiflora, Bramdean combines the intense fragrance and prolific flowering of the old heritage types with longer stems and larger blooms than a true Grandiflora. Stems reach around 20cm, carrying 3-4 flowers each, and the plant grows to approximately 1.8 metres.

The Garden Behind the Name

Bramdean takes its name from Bramdean House in Hampshire, where Victoria Wakefield and her mother established a five-acre garden from the 1940s onward. Wakefield was a Kew trustee and sat on RHS judging panels, and the garden she created became famous for its double mirror-image herbaceous borders and its walled kitchen garden of over an acre. It has been open to visitors through the National Garden Scheme for decades. Wakefield raised this sweet pea variety herself, a plantswoman breeding a flower named after her own garden, which seems entirely right.

The garden has since passed to Wakefield's son Teddy and his family, with head gardener Maggie Tran leading a restoration from 2018. In Victoria Wakefield's time there were forty gardeners; today Tran manages with a team of five. The mirror borders have been fully restored and the walled garden replanted, and Bramdean House remains one of Hampshire's most distinctive private gardens.

The Keats quotation that adorns the Bramdean House garden description, "Here are sweet peas, on tip toe for a flight / With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white", could have been written for this very flower.

Where to Plant Bramdean

The near-white colouring means Bramdean shows to best advantage against a dark background. A deep green hedge, a slate-grey wall, or dark-stained timber fencing all set off the pale flowers beautifully. In a busy mixed border, the subtle pink blush can get lost; give it a position where the quiet colour changes have room to register.

Full sun and rich, well-prepared soil are essential. Bramdean is not a difficult plant, but like all Modern Grandifloras it responds generously to good growing conditions. The more care you put into soil preparation and feeding, the longer and more abundant the flowering.

See our sweet pea growing guide for detailed planting instructions.

Aftercare

Pick regularly. Bramdean is a prolific flowerer and will keep producing for weeks provided you never let seed pods form. A potash-rich feed every fortnight sustains the display. Water deeply and consistently - especially important for container-grown plants, which should be checked daily in warm weather.

Companions for Bramdean

White-and-pink needs careful pairing. Heathcliff (dark blue-purple Modern Grandiflora) provides a striking contrast that is both dramatic and tonally harmonious. Erewhon (reverse bicolour, another Hammett-influenced hybrid) sits in a similar Modern Grandiflora category and the two complement each other well.

For a softer scheme, pair Bramdean with Cathy (deep cream Spencer, AGM) and Mollie Rilstone (cream with pink picotee). Three varieties in the cream-to-white spectrum, all strongly scented, all slightly different in tone - a display of quiet sophistication. Jilly (ivory Spencer, AGM) rounds out the palette.

Why Buy Your Sweet Peas from Ashridge?

All our sweet peas are grown from seed on our nursery in Castle Cary, Somerset, and we increasingly use our own saved seed to ensure named varieties come true to type. We use only jumbo plugs, which are deeper and better suited to root development than standard plugs. Every seed is hand-sown at a rate of two per plug, and these are grown on in our polytunnels until the seedlings have fully rooted through. Each one is then pinched out at least once to produce a bushier, multi-stemmed plant that will carry more flowers.

On the day of dispatch, your plants are hand-selected in our polytunnel, packed into purpose-designed recycled cardboard packaging, and sent out the same day by next-day courier. They arrive hardened off and ready to be planted directly into the ground. No greenhouse acclimatisation is needed.

We've been growing and selling plants since 1949, and by mail order since 2003. We hold the Feefo Platinum Service Award and were named a Which? Gardening Best Plant Supplier; both are independent recognitions of the quality and service our customers receive. So, if anything at all is wrong with your seedlings when they arrive, contact us within five working days, and we'll put it right.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bramdean white or pink?

Both, in sequence. The flowers open pure white and gradually develop a faint pink blush as they mature. The effect is delicate and variable - some blooms blush more than others, and the intensity depends on growing conditions and light. In a vase you can watch the colour develop over two or three days.

What type of sweet pea is Bramdean?

A Modern Grandiflora. This means it carries the heritage scent and prolific flowering habit of the old Grandiflora types, but with the larger flowers and longer stems of a modern variety. It is not quite a Spencer (the petals are less frilled) but the blooms are substantially bigger than a true heritage Grandiflora.

How scented is Bramdean?

Very. English Sweet Peas rate it 5 out of 5 and Gardens Illustrated includes it among their recommended scented sweet peas. The fragrance is sweet, warm, and carries well on still air.

Does Bramdean hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit?

Yes, and well deserved. It was awarded the AGM on the strength of its scent, its prolific flowering, and the delicate beauty of the colour change from white to pink.

Who bred Bramdean?

Victoria Wakefield, a Kew trustee and RHS judge, at her garden at Bramdean House in Hampshire. Wakefield and her mother established the garden from the 1940s. It is known for its double mirror-image herbaceous borders and has been open through the National Garden Scheme for decades.

Can I grow Bramdean in a container?

Absolutely. Allow 5 litres per plant and provide a support. The pale flowers look especially good in a simple terracotta pot against a dark wall. Keep well watered and fed throughout the season.

Does Bramdean come back each year?

No - it is an annual. New plants are needed each spring, from seed or from our jumbo plug seedlings. Leave the roots after clearing; the nitrogen they release benefits whatever follows.