Advice on plants!

Street

Street

Street

Soldato
Joined
17 Jan 2005
Posts
8,647
Location
Liverpool
I assume at least a few of you should know something about plants and things although this is GD so I'm not holding out much hope of serious answers! :P

Last year I had my driveway done and they guy made me a planter in the middle of one side and a border down one side. After I'd paid him a few grand to do this, he then came back and said he could sort the plants out for me too at extra cost. I couldn't afford it at the time so told him I'd sort it myself at a later date. Now I've just had my roof replaced and the front garden is clear again so I think its time for me to plant some plants and get it looking a bit better..

The only problem is, I know nothing about plants and which ones look good. I can grow chillies indoors but they aren't really for looks! I've asked my GF for advice but she just did a cop out of saying "its your house I can't decide which plants you want".

This is what my garden looks like now..

garden.jpeg


Ideally I'd like some things that are fairly easy to look after and won't die easy! I just need some ideas for plants to put around the edges and in the middle thing.

Thanks! :D
 
Get a gardening book tbh. My mums got loads and they're pretty useful with regards to structuring flowerbeds etc.

You'll want to choose plants that flower at different times of the year, otherwise it will look bare for the most of it. Grab a book, choose evergreen shrubs, box hedges etc if you want things more structured and green all year round, then mix in other stuff I guess!

I like spikey things...:D So I'm gonna recommend some irises
dnjPk.jpg

Put them at the back as they're pretty tall.

As for the centre... how about a really nice 'feature' plant..

Something like a cloud tree if you're feeling flush, they're pretty rad

Hj2bJ.jpg

Or how about an acer (japanese maple)? We had one in our last house, leaves stayed on most of the year and can be trimmed if you want to keep its size down.

j0212.jpg
 
Thanks for the ideas! I like the look of some of those plants.. I think I will need to invest in a book and get it sorted this next week when I'm off work!

I really like the look of that Japanese Maple, have had a look around and they aren't too expensive for a smaller one.

Only problem is the soil is a bit clayey when you get down further, need to investigate if that will be OK!
 
I'd go with hebe then lavender then hebe. Heather round the lavender and where you want some height put in a photina (red robin) , for the area available 2 would be enough. Once a year get out the hedge trimer and shape/cut back the hebe's and the lavender and your done. The photina won't grow out of control and will only need a light prune every 3 years.

If you want spring bulbs then just put them in pots and then when they are finished throw them out and tidy the pots away. Bulbs can be cheap bought in bulk, 50 tulips for £6 means they are cheap enough to throw out each year. Go to http://www.gee-tee.co.uk/

Hebe's are awesome and come in different shades of green and red/purple with different colour flowers so worth checking out.

If your a swinger then don't forget a pampers grass ;)
 
Hard to tell what your soil is like from a photo but digging in 3" of mushroom compost won't do any harm either way.
 
Do you cook? If so, I'd get a lot of herbs on the go. They are pretty easy to grow, pretty much maintenance free (you'll be cutting what you need anyway) and cheap to get plus they attract lots of insects and smell fantastic. Just put them in pots and Bobs your uncle, though you could plant them but you'll obviously need to do some more maintenance..
Sage, Coriander, Mint, Basil, Parsley, Rosemary are just some useful ones you can easily grow.
 
Usel said:
Hard to tell what your soil is like from a photo but digging in 3" of mushroom compost won't do any harm either way.
Click to expand...

Once you get about 2 feet down, it gets quite clayey, although I have had extra drainage put in for the driveway so that should help any water problems.

Would a Japanese Maple be OK in a couple feet of decent soil in top of a clayey layer? The driveway only gets the morning sun and is quite shady the rest of the time so this seems to suit the Maple..

I like your suggestion for the borders, think I'll look into Hebes/Lavender/Photina and Heather! :)

Ahleckz said:
Do you cook? If so, I'd get a lot of herbs on the go. They are pretty easy to grow, pretty much maintenance free (you'll be cutting what you need anyway) and cheap to get plus they attract lots of insects and smell fantastic. Just put them in pots and Bobs your uncle, though you could plant them but you'll obviously need to do some more maintenance..
Sage, Coriander, Mint, Basil, Parsley, Rosemary are just some useful ones you can easily grow.
Click to expand...

Already got a mini veg garden round the back thats got a load of herbs in, could stick some in pots and bring round the front! :)
 
Street said:
Thanks for the ideas! I like the look of some of those plants.. I think I will need to invest in a book and get it sorted this next week when I'm off work!

I really like the look of that Japanese Maple, have had a look around and they aren't too expensive for a smaller one.

Only problem is the soil is a bit clayey when you get down further, need to investigate if that will be OK!
Click to expand...

Clay should be totally fine with the maple, our last garden was VERY clayey! It's a really nice little tree! Grows pretty quick too, you don't need to get a massive one.
 
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