Help! I have 50m of flower bed to fill - where to start?

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

We have just cut down a megalithic Lleylandii hedge that ran the length of our house and garden. Apart from not having any boundary between us and the fields beyond, we also have almost 60m of ground to replant!

We are putting up a field style fence (gate and post) so we can still see the countryside. We want mostly shrubs and perennials with year-round interest... Don't ask for much I know!

I really don't know where to start. At the front of the house I have a space about 4m deep by 8m long. Might be a good place to begin?

Any tips or ideas appreciated!

I'd go for some structure with some evergreen shrubs of various height.
Eleagnus- variagated- is nice, there's also a shrub called the Italian buckthorn- think the latin name is pittisporan- which is lovely , or choisya.
There are some evergreen honeysuckles that are shrubs that grow about 4 ft high and are very pretty - they have an arching habit. Then maybe mix in some deciduous like lilac, weigela ( excuse the spelling) roses, flowering currant.
Underplant with spring bulbs then decide on perennials depending on the aspect- which way does it face? You either need shade loving or sun loving plants of various heights.

I suggest you look at www.crocus.co.uk because they have sample gardens with the planting schemes on the site.

Thank you thank you!

I'll investigate all those, I went for a wander around a garden centre the other day but came away with a head full of names and not any idea of design etc.

Rumpy we took down a smaller number of cypresses, and it's taken me ages to get the earth healthy again - it was dry and totally lacking in any humus. I dug in loads of manure and home-made compost and there are now earthworms, and things grow well. It took a couple of years as I didn't dig in enough at first.

Check What your soil is like, and if it's like mine was I recommend digging in loads and loads of muck to give what you do plant a good start, before you plant anything!

Hooray for the demise of the leylandii!

I'm not a professional at all, but here's what I do when I'm trying to come up with ideas:

1. Look on pinterest for ideas around the general theme (contemporary garden, modern border, cottage garden etc etc etc) and pin like crazy! Decide on a general style and colour scheme that you like.

1. Get a pencil and paper and draw the rough shape you want - i.e. where you want high things for screening and where you want low things so you don't lose a view. Where you can put a climber, and where it needs to be bare. Sometimes minor bits of landscaping, such as making the border a bit more curvy rather than a dead straight line can make a massive difference to the final result.

1. Break it down into areas because otherwise that amount of ground is a bit overwhelming (though I am v jealous!!) Starting with the big things, have a good research on plants that will suit your soil and aspect with year-round interest on the internet. I can't emphasize how important this is - if you put a plant that loves sun and drainage in a northfacing garden that is like a bog, you will have a running battle on your hands to keep it alive. Sometimes this is worth it if you just adore a plant and cannot live without it, but most of the time it isn't! When you're thinking about big plants, consider what they will look like in the winter - make sure you get in some evergreens that will give you structure, and if you're choosing a tree, think about one with lovely bark and spring/autumn colour or blossom. You basically want as much bang for your buck as you can get. Keep an eye on the discounters (Aldi in particular), because amongst the rather gaudy primulas and petunias you can find very nice plants there for a fraction of the price of garden centres. If you start threads on here for suggestions, I am sure you'll get loads of responses!

1. Once you've nailed down your larger trees or shrubs, you can think about which smaller plants will look nice alongside them in terms of colour, texture and size. Think about buying several small plants of the same variety, rather than just one larger one. This will give you a drift that will add so much impact.

1. Dig in loads and loads of compost before you plant anything. And horticultural grit too if you have heavy clay. For that amount of ground, you may need several bulk bags! A bit of well-rotted horse manure (which can be picked up for free at a farm) probably won't hurt under an area that has been beneath conifers.

So helpful, thanks everyone.

It has made a huge difference taking the trees out, the soil doesn't look in TOO bad condition but will certainly add some nutrients in there.

Check out my before and after!

Oh my God, what a DIFFERENCE! And what a VIEW!

I'm not jealous. Not at all.

Are you going to put the gate right in the middle? I think I would be tempted to plant two beds either side of the 'gap', leaving the middle clear so that you don't lose that wonderful prospect. You could do two 'fan' shaped borders (sort of slightly more than quarter of a circle, if you see what I mean) that were a bit deeper and choose a couple of taller plants (not the same plant, different ones) to 'frame' the view. Sort of like a miniature and more domestic/planted version of the way that Capability Brown used to control vistas.

If this doesn't have views from the house, and if the rest of the garden permits, then I might think about putting something tall and thick right by the end of that wall, so that you walk around and then - BAM! - amazing surprise view.

Also have clematis montana at £4.99 this week. It's a vigorous climber that flowers in the spring. I've seen one plant spread around 10m if trained along a fence.

Aldi also have viburnum bodnantense "dawn" at £1.79 at the moment, which would also give a nice pink colour in the spring. The label says it can reach a height of 2m and spread 1.5m.

Also poundland have bare-root shrubs at the moment. I saw escallonia rubra (hedge plant with red flowers) and honeysuckle. They also had bare-root roses, raspberries, gooseberries etc. Maybe worth a visit if you can get to a branch.