Green fingers....I am not!

[Artsy]

I live in NW London and having spent a load on renovating the house, have a very small budget to do the garden. Need planters (already in place) to be filled with evergreen plants. Can buy the plants but need someone to plant them properly, do the soil,etc....Appreciate some suggestions and names pls :)

Whats your budget?

Are you saying that there are already planters in place? If yes, how many have you got and what dimensions are they?

What size is the space that they will be in?

First work out what direction your garden is facing and how much light your plantes are going to get. South-facing, for example, means plants get sunshine nearly all day so plants that don't mind dry sunny conditions will be OK. If the garden faces North you'll be looking more for shade-tolerant plants.

To prepare your planters all you need do is a) make sure your planters have drainage holes, b) place some stones or broken pots in the bottom, also for drainage and c) get hold of enough all -purpose compost from your nearest DIY shop or garden centre to fill them about 2/3 to the top

Assuming your planters get an average amount of light and you don't want anything too tall or bushy, consider plants such as

• Lavender
• Rosemary
• Potentilla
• Hebe
• Sedum
• Stachys
• Hosta

Alpine plants such as Saxifrage, Campanula, Aubretia and Fritillaria are great for filling in gaps between bigger, shrubbier plants and don't mind dryish conditions if you're likely to forget to water them.