What's as hardy as lavender and rosemary?

[somedizzywhore1804]

Hello the green fingered of mumsnet

Wonder if any of you can help. We have a flat roof/veranda type area that gets lots of sun as is south facing. Moved here last year and had it looking lovely with lavender and rosemary and a few other pots and containers. However pretty much everything except the lavender and rosemary died. We managed to keep a few sunflowers going but that was about it. It's also quite windy up there at times even on fine days.

I'm not green fingered, I just want the area to look nice. So what else survives as well as lavender and rosemary with minimum effort?

Thanks all!

[PotteringAlong]

Buy a rhododendron - works well in a pot and nearly impossible to kill!

[somedizzywhore1804]

Thanks- I'm sure I will give it a good go!! Anything else? I'm guessing woody plants are best but I'm never sure what's woody!

[kawaii]

A buddleia is very hardy and has nice flowers. You can get smaller dwarf varieties if you don't want height.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

fushias are quite hard to kill I think although they look dull in the winter. hydrangea, ceanothus, hebe, heuchera, pieris (think that is what they are called) fennel looks great in the summer and comes back year after year.

[CheesyBadger]

Sage is relentless and grows huge, smells lovely, and is lovely in a chicken

[LaurieFairyCake]

The reason everything will have died is due to lack of watering - if you want lusher plants you needed to water more frequently

If you don't want to water much then loads of different lavenders, thyme, Rosemary's, other med plants will look fab.

[somedizzywhore1804]

Not sure Laurie- in the summer we were watering 3 times a day. I just seem to kill plants!!!

[Ploppy16]

Lemon balm is good, hardy, smells gorgeous and thrives in awful soil according to where it is in my garden! Put it in a pot though, it takes over otherwise..

[Nocomet]

Sea pinks (thrift), not as tough as lavender, but pretty.
Thyme is pretty tough.

Some helpful person will tell you what the succulent things in my strawberry pot are called. You know the risers that bud of little rosettes. house leeks, that's them

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

house leeks - never heard them called that but I know the ones now I have looked at the pictures.

sedums

off to investigate lemon balm and sea pinks now.

I killed my thyme - not sure how.

I agree there are different varieties and colours of lavender (I am a big lavender fan).

[somedizzywhore1804]

Thanks all. I do actually have some safe still on the go so I will get more of that!

Ironically my dad is and grandfather was really green fingered but that ability hasn't passed itself down the generations at all! Maybe my children will be little Alan Titchmarshes!

[Rhubarbgarden]

Convolvulus cneorum is tough and looks good teamed with lavender and rosemary.

[SylvaniansKeepGettingHoovered]

I've had success with broom in sunny, dry areas

Winter jasmine is woody and hardy