What is your favourite plant in your garden ?

[NomDePlume]

Yes, it's another NDP gardening thread... I moved house a few months ago and inherited a completely blank canvas, literally nothing but grass. We've had a landscaper in to do the groundworks - shaping the lawn and creating beds, also adding a nice big barked play space at the end of the garden where the big trampoline will go when it arrives. I now have the bare bones of a garden, but not one single plant aside from grass (is grass a plant ?! I guess it must be).

I'm keen but clueless when it comes to gardening and the thought of designing a planting scheme from scratch is pretty overwhelming, so I'm after a bit of inspiration.

So, what is your favourite plant ?

[Gingerbear]

It is big and brash, but bees and butterflies love it - buddleia, the sbig shrub with purple flower spikes.

[NomDePlume]

I would love to put a buddleia in my garden (I have one waiting in my Crocus wishlist wheelbarrow), a white one.

[peanutbutter]

NDP i can't give you any worthwhile advice on plants (i'm of the buy it, plant it, if it dies dig it up and buy another school of thought). however - my favourite plants from my garden are:

Wysteria tree - looks beautiful and so easy to keep
Lavender - looks glorious when you've several clumps dotted here and there
Hardy rose bushes and rose standards (lollypop style trees)

then a few others but i'd have to go and look at their tags to remind myself of their names. i'm pretty old fashioned in my garden choices i spose.

[Greensleeves]

My grapevine.

[NomDePlume]

That sounds lovely, pb. I don't think I'm going to go for a country-style scheme, mainly because it would look out of whack with my house (which is very geometric and contemporary in style).

[BettySpaghetti]

If you have space how about some fruit trees/bushes?

We have raspberry bushes (and get a massive crop off them every year) and two apple trees -I love getting something from our garden and eating it!

A herb garden? With a bay tree

Other than that I love lavender bushes.

[NomDePlume]

Is it ornamental, greensleeves, or are the grapes edible ? We have an ornamental vine like a triffid which is spilling over the wall from next door. I like it but it is v overgrown

[NomDePlume]

I like the idea of growing a native pear or something. Raspberries et al are a nice idea, but the the prickles put me off.

[Greensleeves]

No, it's literally dripping with bunches of grapes...it weaves in and out of my big apple tree, so the apples and the grapes are all mixed up, with big bunches of blackberries intertwined with them too....it's lovely We inherited them when we bought the house, we only realised teh vine was there a few weeks ago.

[KBear]

Japanese Acers are lovely. Lots of different types.

Choisia (Mexican Orange Blossom) - small flowers (can't remember when it flowers) but they grow quite quickly.

I love Osteospernum (might be Osteospermum) - very pretty ground-covering plant. Like direct sun.

Skimmia - nice hardy shrub - fragranced too. Need a male and female plant for best flowers I think.

[NomDePlume]

skimmia have berries too, don't they ?

[NomDePlume]

I do like the fragility of acers, they are good for smaller gardens too, I believe.

[pesme]

shove in loads of bulbs so you have something popping up in early spring.

[peanutbutter]

how about having a look at the bbc's garden design site for a few ideas here .

[Avalon]

Fatsia japonica - the Castor Oil plant. Huge, dramatic leaves, evergreen and ok in the shade.

[NomDePlume]

I'm just pondering the crocus garden design service, actually pb. But part of me would like to do it myself, not just pick up a prescribed list of plants. We did a similar thing in our old house (garden 1/2 the size and with 2 mature shrubs and one tree but nothing else) and I really enjoyed putting it together. I suspect that it would have made Sven Wombwell/Monty Don etc shake their heads in disbelief at the mis-matchedness of the planting, but I liked the mix, and rather miraculously all the things that I planted survived and matured rather well.

[NomDePlume]

Just looked up wisteria on crocus and they say it is poisonous/toxic

[peanutbutter]

taking ds to my parents' now but will pop back later.

[NomDePlume]

I love Dahlias too. The double spiky ones in dark, rich colours.

[hub2dee]

You might want to begin by considering what sort of look you see for your garden in your mind's eye... what do you dream of ? How wild / how tamed ? What balance of formal / structured / angular with (or instead of) softer, curvier, wilder ? Where's the light ? Where's the shadow ? How does it change through the day and also the difference in seasonal light due to the height of the sun ? Is there anything you want to screen ? Are there any other defined areas you want to establish aside from the bark play / trampoline bit ? (deck / patio / table and chairs / entertainment / sun lounging / outdoor kitchen / wildlife / veg / workshop / shed etc. etc.)

After you've done a bit of that, you might want to move onto the major structural plants / shrubs / trees... where do you want the 'mass' to sit visually ? Do you need volume / colour in any spots all year round ? Can you use the house for climbers ? Do you want to break up the space and block (or perhaps open) views ?

Get out a measure and sort out a rough plan of the space, and then start playing ! Can you introduce repetition (same plant / tree more than once - together or apart... can be quite powerful). Also, working on the colour palette you want to work with at the beginning can save a lot of aggro and poor plant purchases, creating a more unified look.

PS - LOADS of plants are toxic. MANY common ones. Wisteria is still lovely. Phormiums might be up your street.

[NomDePlume]

Oh blimey ! Never has one post given me so much to think about, hub !!!!

We have a large block paved patio that wraps arund the back of the house and up the side return in a very angular, geometric way (echoing the lines of the house). The big shed is on one side of the play area.

We don't have any open views from the back garden, we are in a v urban position (although you can see for miles from DS2's back bedroom windows on the 3rd floor . We are surrounded by beautiful established gardens, many with trees. I adore trees in gardens and would love a magnolia grandiflora.

[NomDePlume]

No climbers on house, would prefer more structured potted box-type hedging (maybe simple topiary) against the house.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

You can get thornless blackberries.

I LOVE all plants - its hard for me to choose....

I have an amazing wisteria though, ceanothus are brightly coloured in spring, lilacs smell amazing, camelias give a first spring colour with daffodils and other bulbs. Twisted hazels look pretty in winter, jasmine smells AMAZING, as do passion flowers - blueberries - lovely to grow adn atractive looking shrubs...hostas - very attractive (as lnog as slugs dont get them) Magnolia stellata - also lovely, penstemons - continuos flower, goes on for ever, day lillies - beautiful, red hot pokers - strking plants and easy to propogate...

Where do you live NDP?....i may have some spare plants.......(and seeds)....

[NomDePlume]

I am too far from you, QV (I think you are in London, aren't you ?), but thank you for the very kind offer .

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

I am in London yes.......

Roses - not everyones cuppa but of all the roses I have come across...blue moon smells the most lovely IMO.
I can post seeds up if you are interested though...? so much cheaper than buying plants....