What to plant for balance?

[Caran07]

We have a small hedge in the front of our house on one side, and I was hoping to plant something to balance it out on the other side. There's not much space, otherwise I would have loved to plant a tree. I had my heart set on an amelanchier, but I just don't think there is room for it.

Should we plant something similar to what is on the other side? This is facing south and is the sunniest part of our house. I don't want to block the window at all since we rely on it for light.

We don't have the entire strip of land on the side either, I've drawn a line so you can see approximately where the boundary is.

I'd also love to grow some herbs or small vegetables in front since that is where we get sun, but is that frowned upon socially?

Forgot to post the link!

m.imgur.com/a/NTHIs

Could you plant scented rose shrubs?

That sounds lovely, Jill! Is there a particular type you'd recommend? I did a quick google search (knowing little about roses or gardening) and saw that iceberg roses are sometimes used to form a type of hedge. I like pink colors a lot, but wonder if white would look better with the house.

I would go for a hedging roses as there are so many to choose from. I love the flowers of iceberg but I do t like their habit. Lots of flowers on quite wispy branches. If you were going to have the Iceberg then I would plant it alternating with the hedging roses.

Posted too soon. So that the hedging roses give it support. Maybe you could put an Arch on the corner to give a bit of height. Banksaei Lutea is a rapid growing thornless rose with a lovely perfume. It flowers in April so you will get a long season if you plant other roses.

Forsythia and pyracantha also makes a good hedge

I have a thing for David Austin roses - their website is quite helpful with working through varieties that may suit. But. They're not v cheap. But for their blooms and delicious scents, I feel they are worth the investment.

I agree an arch would be nice, and you could under-plant roses with lavender for extra scent, colour and bee-friendly points!

Ooh, an arch sounds beautiful! I'd never have considered that on my own. I've looked at the David Austin site and they all look gorgeous.

I am thinking about buying one rose and trying to grow it in a container or something modest this year. No sense in splashing out on lots of beautiful roses if it turns out I can't actually keep anything alive. We haven't lived in the house a full year so will probably do more next year, but I'd still like to get some ideas this year.

I'd love to do lavender but I have terrible allergies and I've read on a few websites that I should avoid it. We inherited one in the back garden so I might see how I do with it this year, as I'd hate to get rid of it.

Thanks for all the advice so far! It's probably silly to be planning so far ahead, but I'm eager to try a little bit of gardening.

I would not grow the rose in a container for several reasons. Bare root roses are cheaper and the adapt much quicker to the situation you describe. Paying for an expensive pot grown rose which will have its roots contained will be a bit of a waste.The bare root roses can be planted from late November up until early March.

Roses are hungry plants so I would dig out the trench for the hedge now and feed it with well rotted manure or good quality compost. If you start to dig down it is quite likely that you will hit a load of builders rubble, heavy clay and very little soil. It is well worth investigating what the earth is like before you spend any money on plants. If you find the soil is too poor, there are still lots of things that can go in there. Eunymous springs to mind. Quite reasonably priced, easy to maintain and have many varieties. Are you allowed to dig into the front lawn. I think the Amelanchier woukd look stunning in the centre.

Thanks Astrantia, that makes sense. I don't know of any restrictions for digging in the front lawn, would it be a covenant? I'm not native to the UK so still learning things! I don't think there's space for an Amelanchier though. It's about 2.2m from the front of the house to the pavement, and the side is even less, about 1.7m. On top of that there is also some sort of grate in the corner area, it's probably not hugely visible in the photo.

So we'd have to do some investigating anyway to see what's there, and what you've said about the soil makes sense.