Planting ideas for my garden ?

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Thanks so much Whitewave ! do you want a working holiday in Cheshire lol .
I have been looking on Ebay at all the suggestions to get an idea of what they look like .
Would you do anything to the soil pre planting? compost, manure , soil improver? It is clay soil and some things do very well ie Lupins , geranium family , large daisy type plants -which I love .
Beginning to look forward to spring now and making a start xx

f77 take it in small chunks. So just look at say the first 6 ft and concentrate on that for the time. Just keep the rest from taking over the garden. So assuming it is the bit nearest your house and south facing. So if your fence is 6ft as is mine. Begin to look at climbers. Something that will behave itself and not go mad. Good to plant in March.

If you are happy to train and prune then a climbing rose is a delight. Look on the David Austin site - you can get an idea about eventual height, colour, and fragrance which I think is important. I have just planted "The generous Gardener" for an arch.

But say pruning is not an option then Actinidia kolomikta is a very well behaved shrub growing very slowly and as it matures its leaves look as if it has been splashed with white paint in spring and early summer which gradually turn pink as the season progresses. You will get lots of comments with this one!
Both are for summer interest.

So that's the first 6ft back sorted, now let's look at what to plant in front. Right in front a fragrant shrub would be good near the house.
If you are feeling flush then aDaphne odorants "aureo-marginalia" is evergreen 5'x5' and smells divine in mid winter/ early spring.
Or if you don't fancy that then say a Sarcococca humus is evergreen fragrant in late winter and grows to about 3'x3'.
If you would rather have something for summer interest a Hebe is a good choice. Say "purple Queen" if you can get it. But make sure it is one that only grows to a maximum go 4-5' and summer flowering.

In the autumn plant say daffs. Or other bulbs you fancy. You could also bung in a group of 3 stipa tennunisima (can't spell that!) They will wave in the wind, good for planting in April.

Mulch the ground with say a 4" bark to give it a good appearance and stop weeds.

We're due more snow here, so not a lot to be done here but look at catalogues and gardening mags for ideas... too cold to put any plants out either - so I'm jumping them in and out daily as my greenhouse is full of pansies, violas and primulas that I haven't got planted yet! The open garden scheme is a great idea for visiting other gardens and getting ideas as J52 says. They may be selling off plants too?

Most of the time at this time of the year I also feel overwhelmed when I look out at my garden, f77ms! I did make a brief foray out there on Sunday to chop down some stuff but only because I was in a bit of a strop and needed to work through it! Better gardening days lie ahead!

In the summer people will open up their gardens to the public, under The Open Garden Scheme. They are all varieties and situations, both large and small. Sometimes whole villages, roads and towns.

Why not see what's in your area? They are great for getting ideas. The owners are always ready to chat and will often sell plants that grow well in the area.

You can find what's open, usually from Easter onwards, on the Internet.

x

I must admit I feel totally overwhelmed when I look out at my back garden ,
It is a case of the head is willing but the body isn`t !
I will try the RHS site for some ideas too .

Asters are good for late colour if you're going down the perennial route.
Or you could go to www.rhs.org.uk/plants and put in your information and see what comes up...

Well I can give you masses of ideas for well behaved shrubs but it depends on your soil. Also not cheap so you could sit and plan (I love planning) your border over the next year or so - depending on your budget. Say draw out what shape border you would like then fit the shrubs in bit by bit.

Also if you live somewhere extreme need to take this into account.

roses that works really well and you don't have to plant them out either, just use them to fill in a space. DS does this with lilies because DDIL loves them so.

Plants being 'over' by August is often a problem, but you can overcome it by having a few pots placed here and there [ we do this] with later flowering annuals.If you have a clay soil, it can be really hard to work, so by planting in pots using good quality compost, it makes planting easy.Hydrangeas keep flowering late, either in the border or in a pot, as do pelargoniums [geraniums] or dahlias.

f77ms If there is a local garden club do go and join it as you will have access to cuttings, throw outs and loads of helpful advice as well as new friends. Perhaps even a helping hand too?!

I have a long and very wide herbaceous bed in my new garden and I am looking forward to planting it up properly. I know that some think it is labour intensive but we have had them in every garden we have ever had and once you get them planted and keep them well mulched to keep the weeds down and retain the moisture they really are easy peasy. Planting in odd numbers is the key for good flow and to ensure you don't get a spotty look. We often buy one really big perennial plant and split it into three to make it go further and be more economic. You could use seeds for perennials or annuals which is a cheaper way of filling the beds. We make bays with their own colour themes, breaking them up with shrubs. This has the effect of pulling you into the garden to see what is round the next corner and it is good not to be able to see the whole thing in a glance. Just keep cutting the shrubs back hard to the size you want to maintain but not all at once or it makes it hard work!

If you don't know what they look like search on these names and you will find others alongside them. Eremerus x Isabellina are gorgeous and would look lovely against a solid green hedge. Echium Pininana is another one and a very appropriate name for GNers!
Other favourites are Leucanthemum, Centaurea, Coreopsis, Lavender, Lithospermum, Liatris spicata, Monarda, Actaea cordifolia, Heleniums, Penstemmons, Sedums and Sidalcea and loads and loads more!
The bees really love Scabious and if you search for bee and butterfly flowers you will find many others. Autumn bulbs are useful too.
You have really set me off now! DH will be getting anxious about the bank balance if he knows I am talking plants! Have fun and just be warned it is very addictive even if like me you can't do so very much yourself and have to get your enjoyment vicariously.

What a shame! Maybe you are in a cold or wet spot? I kept my seedlings under glass for the first winter. They've just been in a sheltered spot this winter and are sprouting!

x

Thinking back to my last garden, we had a lovely sidalcea which was tall and looked well against the privet hedge. It didn't seem to need much in the way of attention and came back year after year. They come in shades of red and pink.

j52 I wish I could tell you that I hadn't tried that. They did OK the first season, but didn't survive the winter even though the pots were sheltered. I might give it another go this year.

I envy you. Lavender, repeat flowering shrub roses (try David Austen) that require little pruning, scabious in various forms, I've found the short ones floriforous last year, Iris which love the sun and their foliage is constant.
Any hardy fuschias (flower until the frost), bulbs such as allium that have good seed heads, perennial geraniums (so many different colours and sizes available),
Good luck and enjoy.

f77ms Simon is flooding the forum with spam links to his London website, which seems to be all things to all people but is no use whatsoever to most of us, and the links are probably about to be deleted anyway as against the rules!

As your garden is south facing you need to go for drought tolerant plants with autumn interest like heleniums and sedums. Ornamental grasses like stipa arundinacea are low maintenance and would look good in front of a privet hedge.

Steer clear of plants like asters and hollyhocks which can easily become diseased in dry conditions.

I have a dry garden and Beth Chatto's book is my bible.

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dry-Garden-Beth-Chatto/dp/075281642X

Hope you enjoy your garden this summer.

Simona818 , I bit far for him to come I am in Cheshire Lol !

Thanks for all the ideas folks .

Whitewave , any ideas which shrubs ? my problem is lack of knowledge as well as lack of stamina . I do spent lots of time in the garden when it is better weather and am OK if I only do a bit at a time and rest in between . Lupins do very well for me but dahlias don`t seem to grow unless in pots . I have got some shrubs which have got out of hand (lavateria for one ) it is so massive I can`t get it out and I don`t want to make the same mistake again .

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Quite honestly if you can give little time to your garden because of ill health I think perennials are one of the highest maintenance plants there are. You would be much better to plant up your long border with shrubs and bulbs with perhaps a few perennials, such as grasses to add movement. Rather than a straight line perhaps you could "snake" it to add interest, taking the border further out into the garden and then winding it back thus softening it. Your shrubs could easily supply you with flower/interest all year, and climbers would add height.

Greyduster my soil does not like lupins so a couple of years ago I grew some from seed, in large pots. They have done very well and the slugs don't seem to have found them!

I put the pots in the boarders to fill gaps.

x

That's a coincidence Greyduster I have just bought four Arabian Night to plant out this year. They looked such a gorgeous colour and I couldn't resist.

I've grown dahlias for years and there are some for every situation, tall, short, heads as big as dinner plates if you like them like that, though I don't. The old variety Arabian Night is lovely grown with montbretia - they seem to complement each other very well. I wish I could grow lupins, but having tried in every garden I've ever had they simply won't grow for me. Galling really since they grow wild in colourful abundance on railway sidings up and down the country.

I learned how to garden by watching Gardeners World. Geoff Hamilton was the lovely presenter then, but Monty Don is better looking. The beauty of watching is you can see how to do it. There's probably lots of tuition on YouTube. I came late to gardening and consider that it feeds my soul. I even like weeding. I hope you find enjoyment in your garden F77.