Help me identify ..

[PoorOldEeyore]

These plants please
I'm not a natural gardener but I'm trying to improve this year.

[everywhichway]

Vinca, Pieris and (I think) Spirea

[PoorOldEeyore]

That was fast! Thank you

I have some more too then some which look a bit 'troubled' shall we say, that I'd like to rescue ha ha
The first one from this upload doesn't look too happy either. The third one is a really large bush, years old, which gets white flowers in it.

[PoorOldEeyore]

The Spirea looked great at first but then I noticed it looking a bit ' empty' - the leaves started to curl. When I looked closer I found little green caterpillars/larvae - ugh! What can I do to help it?

[Liara]

I would say pittosporum for the first, the second possibly a very miserable gardenia (do the flowers smell very, very nice?) and the third a ballota.

[PoorOldEeyore]

Thank you.
I've searched for ballota and the leaves certainly do look similar but I can't seem to find a variety that has white daisy like flowers like mine does.

The second one, the possible miserable gardenia (lol) - no, the flowers don't have any scent at all.

My Spirea is deffo on the way out.

Now that I've found this forum, I guess I shall work out which plants will do well in MY garden, as opposed to what looks nice in the local garden centre!
I do have a gorgeous climbing hydrangea in my back yard. It's flowering now and is beautiful to look at. I'll take a picture later and hopefully somebody clever will be able to tell me which variety it is - previous owners can claim the credit :)
I have planted some Blue Waterfall for gound cover recently and that's doing well but no flowers yet.

[PoorOldEeyore]

Here is my hydrangea

[everywhichway]

Hydrangea Petiolaris

[Liara]

Definitely not a gardenia then, the smell is very strong. What shape are the flowers? Can't see very well on the photo.

Can you post a photo of the daisy white flowers?

[PoorOldEeyore]

Thanks everywhichway,

I'm going to start a list of everything I already have so then the theory is I can at least find out what I'm supposed to be doing to keep them alive!

I've figured out I have Cherry Laurel's in my back yard. It needs pruning so I've read up on how to make it more compact instead of going crazy.

Liara, thanks for your help so far. I can't upload a pic of the daisy white flowers as it's not flowered yet this season, I just recall it having white flowers each year.

Will upload closer pictures of what might be ballota and also of the maybe not miserable gardenia :)

[PoorOldEeyore]

Close up of gardenia?

[PoorOldEeyore]

Two shots of ballota? The one that gets white flowers on

[Liara]

The flowers look kind of bell shaped in that photo, are they? If so maybe a blueberry? They like acid soil so if your soil is alkaline they could get chlorosis which would explain the yellowing leaves. Don't know why they would be all curled up.

The close up of the leaves of the 'ballota' looks like it could also be a helichrysum petiolare of some kind.

[everywhichway]

I think the plant with the little white bell-shaped flowers might be a Gaultheria rather than a Gardenia.

[Gatekeeper]

I second the 'ballota' as Helichrysum petiolare

do the flowers look a bit like this ?

[Gatekeeper]

or like these...if yes then it is the silver leaved horehound Marrubium rotundifolium

[Gatekeeper]

?? Marrubium rotundifolium)??

[PoorOldEeyore]

The more I try to figure out which it is the more addled my brain gets! I do apologise.

Right next to the Helichrysum petiolare are some similar silver leafed, upright flowers in bloom right now with white daisy style flowers so perhaps I've muddled them up!!?
If not white, then the helichrysum's flowers will be yellow - think previous owners were partial to yellow and white

From googling your suggestions Gatekeeper, I stumbled across a liquorice plant I think - how plausible is that?!
Thank you both for being so patient

[PoorOldEeyore]

www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/23789/Gaultheria-mucronata/Details?returnurl=%2Fplants%2Fsearch-results%3Fform-mode%3Dfalse%26query%3DGaultheria%2Bmucronata%2B%26aliaspath%3D%252fplants%252fsearch-results

Think this is my Gaultheria - thanks all. Info says it's generally pest and problem free - I've done well to almost kill it then!
We removed an old privet hedge from that bed but we did sift the soil and used fertiliser and root powder or something lol
I can double check if it's really important but I'm thinking now perhaps we should have dug up and replaced after the hedge?

[everywhichway]

If your silver leafed plant has yellow rather than white flowers check out Senecio and Brachyglottis. Good luck!

[everywhichway]

Gaultheria's prefer to grow in soil that's on the acid to neutral side, so if you've treated the ground with anything alkaline that could explain why it now looks unhappy.

[PoorOldEeyore]

I have a Brachyglottis - what a wonderful sounding name to say out loud.

Still waiting for my OH to let me know what he treated the soil with but it sounds like the best reason.
In the same bed, one of my Spirea's is dying. I've used soapy water on my rose nearby and as some of the aphids had encroached onto the Spirea too, sprayed that too.
Noticed ants so I've researched and realised I could use D earth to get rid. (I had this already as I use natural methods to worm my spaniel, so that was quite handy) I believe the ants are atracted to something the aphids secrete - this gardening is pretty complicated! Much kudos to all of you with lovely looking gardens.

[PoorOldEeyore]

Apparently my husband used regular compost stuff but also bone meal