assume I am stupid, I want a big bush

[ditavonteesed]

that is hardy and pretty and lives for ever. I am fed up of trying to fill my flower bed every year so I want something that will never die. Garden is south facing so full sun. I like purples, pinks and blues.
Any ideas? I dont even know how to start looking.

[Bolshybookworm]

Can't beat lilac in my book- smells divine!

[ThatBloodyWoman]

With buddliea,just chop a bit off and whack a few bits in the ground.
They're really really easy to grow from cuttings.
I've done whole buddliea hedges with cuttings,here and where I used to live.
Same with lavatera.

[prepperpig]

Thanks Twitch

[Twitchcoco]

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=307 Link. sorry, forgot!!

[Twitchcoco]

Cut them back hard in March Peppa to avoid the straggly look. Click here for RHS advice on softwood cuttings. You want the floppy new growth.

[prepperpig]

How do you take cuttings from a buddleia Twitch? Is it easy? We have three that have been left to their own devices and are now very gangly and messy looking. They might have to go but I'd like to take cuttings if poss.

[Twitchcoco]

You can take cuttings too! You'll look like a railway siding in no time

Well done! You did great!

[itsnothingoriginal]

Haha - with buddleia you might do! Sounds like you did a good days work out there - very satisfying

[ditavonteesed]

so from everything I have read I put a small about 1ft high shrub in this morning, I can expect it to be 6ft tall by tommorow morning?

[Twitchcoco]

Twill be fine.

[ditavonteesed]

is the buddleia ok near neighbours fence? she looked a bit alarmed when I was putting it in

[Enb76]

What about a hebe? They're not very fashionable but they are lovely. Hebe Macrocarpia latisepala is nice and flowers late and often through winter.

I'm currently looking at tree peonies myself.

[Lemondrizzletwunt]

haha! Have just seen your last post

[Lemondrizzletwunt]

Hydrangea?

[ditavonteesed]

right not been to the garden centre yet, I popped to the shops and they had really little azalea and hydrangea so I got one of each as they were really cheap. Have put them in so will see how they do. Going to get eaither a buddleia or a ceanthus for the big gap. Will try to get a bigger shrub to start so it has more chance of survival. Also randomly sprinkled some wild flower seeds in the gaps.

[ditavonteesed]

Not hurt, in fact it cheered me up as I had been grumpy all day, its hard to be grumpy when your laid on the floor with the doog looking at you like your a nutter.

Right I have made a list, off to the garden centre I go. thanks

[HappySpills]

(you weren't hurt, were you?)

[ditavonteesed]

since you are all being so lovely and helpful I will entertain you with my amusing gardening stroy from yesterday.
so I had the fork in the ground and instead of using my foot I lent all my wiehgt on the handle, the handle snapped off and I sonersaulter across the lawn in slow motion landing sprawled in the middle of the grass. I was quite gutted that noone witnessed this as it would have really made someone laugh, and if they had caught it on camera I woulld be £250 better off courtesy of youve been framed.

[ditavonteesed]

Just realised it must be slightly acid as it is down from the chicken run so I imagine they fertiliise it with acid bluergh face.

[Twitchcoco]

Not really, acid lovers are pieris, Rhodos, azaleas, to be fair they are lime haters as much as acid lovers. Most other things are lime tolerant.

[ToffeePenny]

Camellia - you'll need to protect it if it's very small when you get it but it is one of the most chicken resistant shrubs I know and does not grow so fast that it is hard to maintain.

We've had one for 20 years now and it flowers for about 4-5 months non-stop. Ours is white with a blush tint but there are some beautiful double pink ones out there.

For blue we have hydrangeas - bury used Brillo pads in with them when you plant them out to get a really intensive blue colour. They're slightly less chicken resistant (hens will occasionally nest in them so you need to keep them trimmed not lanky so they are sturdy enough). Again, we get about 4-5 months flowering each year (and plenty of blooms for cut stems inside).

[ditavonteesed]

if I tell you I have a beautiful peony that is always perfect and I have never done anything to wiill that tell you what my soil is?

[Twitchcoco]

It's hard to kill buddleia they grow on railways and out of the side of abandoned houses!! Cut back hard every March.

[Twitchcoco]

You have to do a soil test or look and see what your neighbours grow well

[ditavonteesed]

oh that buddleia is lovely, looks like fireworks.