Planting this time of year

[junerat]

We have a small patch of soil at the front of our house (3 feet wide by about 15 meters long, with a doorstep splitting it in half). At the minute we have tulips planted for the spring, and a few lavender bushes. Last weekend we pulled up a ton of rosemary (planted by the builders), and now have quite a big space of bare earth.

I would like to plant something that doesn't need a huge amount of maintenance and will give some colour in autumn - and ideally that can be planted this time of year. Any thoughts?

Following with interest.

How about wildflowers? (I have no gardening experience to back this up but I figure they must be pretty hardy and good for much of the year?)

Acers will give you lots of autumn and spring colour. My favourites are Sango Kaku, Osakazuki, Katsura and Shirasawanum. They look amazing planted with Cornus Midwinter fire and a Black grass who name escapes me.

The cornus Midwinter fire and the red stemmed Sango Kaku will set off your bulbs perfectly on the spring.

Unfortunately the situation is probably not suitable for wild flowers, which seen to grow happily along the hedgerows, but seem to dislike domestic situations.
Acres are a good idea and would grow happily alongside heathers. There are types of heathers that flowers at different times of the year, so with careful planting you can get flowers all through the year. Acres and heather like the same soil type.

Thank you - the tulips that will be coming up in spring are purple and white (planted one row of purple, one of white) and they looked very nice last year. I'm not bothered about colours clashing, but something that won't go mad and take over the space is appreciated (the rosemary could have kept Jamie Oliver's restaurants in business for a few years).

The Acers look like a good choice. Our soil is quite clay-y but things seem to grow OK.

Does it get much sun?

Nerine bulbs give a dramatic autumn display. I don't know whether it's too late for them to flower this year however the RHS says they can be planted in summer so you may be in luck.

You could have a few evergreen shrubs (euonymous, pieris, choisya, hebe, fatsia) with some perennial things in between like acers and hardy fuchsia and your bulbs.

Is the length 15m or 15ft?

I grow lots of Acers on clay. The trick is to dig out a hole a bit larger than you need and fill in with Ericaceous compost and horticultural,grit. Then they just need a top dressing of the compost once a year. I agree that heathers would also be good low maintenance. Just need a haircut when they finish flowering.

Thank you, sorry, mixed my feet and meters! The length of the whole patch is about 15 feet, with each "half" (split by the doorstep) being about 7.5 feet, maybe slightly more. We have some lavender coming to the end of its season, but have a spare 4 feet x 3 feet or so to plant something. I'm also not against pulling up some of the lavender, though would like to keep some, as the bees seem to love it.

It's north-facing, as our rear garden is south-facing.