Could a complete beginner make/plant a border?

[DonnyAndVladSittingInATree]

I don’t grow anything My back garden is all paved and the front is just a small lawn. There is a very low (about 6-8 inches high) boundary fence between my house and next door. I would like to plant a border along it. I would love roses but I have no idea if that is very ambitious of me or even if the area is ok for roses. It is south facing and gets sun all day long. Could I have roses? What could I have with them? If anyone could point me in the direction of a good (step by step) guide that would be very helpful. Is it very hard to dig a border in the first place? TIA.

[MikeUniformMike]

You're welcome. How about some lavender and rosemary? Sage and mint are good too but they can spread. Do your bit for the bees.
I would have a look in the library for books, but you can also look at magazines. There's one for about £2 that comes out every fortnight with a couple of packets of seeds on the front that's not bad.

[retirednow]

Also think about if you want to attract the birds, bees and butterflies into your garden and they love some plants and shrubs.

[MikeUniformMike]

Birds, bees and butterflies in the garden are wonderful.
Another plant - alpine strawberries. It should be a good time to sow them. I'd definitely recommend cottage garden type flowers for attracting bees and butterflies. The birds seem to like the honeysuckle - another cheap and cheerful plant with scented flowers.

[MikeUniformMike]

There's no shutting me up today is there. It might be an old wives tale, but alliums near roses seem to work.

[DonnyAndVladSittingInATree]

Oh no, this is all good mike, much appreciated. I definitely would love to see some birds and butterflies in the garden. We get little chaffinches and robins in the back garden. I’m actually terrified of them but they’re nice to look at.

I’m getting very excited thinking of all these lovely plants.

[DonnyAndVladSittingInATree]

BTW is now the right time to dig the bed? And then cover it with black polythene for a while?

[MikeUniformMike]

As long as the ground isn't frozen. You can add well-rotted farm or horse manure if you have any. The bin-liner type cover will warm the soil a bit for when you want to sow, but you could cover it with weighted down cardboard or newspaper, which you could then dig in if it's quite rotted, or use old carpet or something. If you leave soil exposed, it will be kittykrap korner.

[Doctordonowt]

Definitely the right time for bare root roses

[MrsBertBibby]

Aliums are wonderful, and great for bees. Get some chives too, easy as anything and lovely snipped into salads or, well anything really. All pretty indestructible. You could add some other herbs: marjoram is very easy and tastes great. Sage is a bit of a thug, and mint will invade everything.

For shrubs if you want height, potentilla are great long flowerers and love sun. Also really easy care.

Annuals tend to be slug fodder, but snapdragons don't seem to appeal to the slimy bastards at all, so I always have those: I grow them from seed, there are some lovely varieties, but they are easy to get in strips from shops,

Poppies are great too, I have a lovely yellow Welsh poppy next to my chives, they are stunning together.

Have fun with it!

[MrsBertBibby]

Chive/poppy combo from last spring.

[Ffsnothingworks]

I always wait to be able to smell the scent of the roses before I buy, but that is just personal taste! My parents had an amazing climbing rose in one of their gardens. It is a pale pink called Albertine. I can't describe the scent, but just amazing. A clematis climbing up through a rose either before or after flowering looks fab.