What can I do with this border?

[tentontruck]

It is about 1.5 metres deep and is full of shrubs which have got quite big. It feels like it's taking up a lot of space in the garden which could possibly be used better. Also I'd like more colour and flowers. I don't really want to remove everything as it would then seem really bare, but could I cut everything back to make the shrubs smaller? Or would that kill them? Or maybe keep some shrubs and plant bedding plants in the spaces? But then it might look quite empty the rest of the year, and the shrubs might overtake the bedding plants anyway.

Any ideas? I'm still quite a novice gardener!

Look at it objectively, as if you were in a garden centre. Which plants would you buy and which ones do you dislike. Dig up and dispose of anything you don’t like. Then prune back and thin out the rest. The border will take up less space if you move some of the shrubs to the back. You can then either, sow grass seed or turf to extend your lawn or plant something your like.

That's a good idea. About half of them I wouldn't choose to buy, so I can get rid of those but that will leave a lot of gaps so will have to move some of the others. Is this a good time of year for pruning and moving shrubs?

What sunlight does it get? Which way does it face? I don’t really like bedding plants but some nice herbaceous perennials would mix well with shrubs. I could advise on some if I know what sunlight you get? Also what is the soil like?

It faces south but is often in shade as there is a magnolia tree in the border as well which you can't see in the photo. It would get loads more sunlight if the tree wasn't there but I love the tree. The soil is quite heavy and clayey. Advice on perennials would be great as that would be much easier than bedding plants and would probably mix in with the shrubs better. I've tried unsuccessfully to grow foxgloves and delphiniums.

The shrub on the left is an evergreen with large waxy shiny leaves ( looks possibly a laurel ) I'd keep that. Likewise the 2 of the far right. The one in the middle looks a bit scraggly and woody. Take that one up and plant a shrub you like. Then in the foreground I'd plant a mix of bulbs to give you interest in the spring / autumn and plant summer bedding plants for the coming ( long not - here's hoping !) summer.

With clay you need to dig in loads of compost to open it up.
I grow peonies, roses, windflower anaemones, irises, day lilies, salvias, loads of perennials that don't mind heavier soil.
I would take out the shrubs that you're meh about, if moving some then cut them back and move as soon as possible or leave until February or March next year.
Sometimes it's easier to scrap the majority and start again from scratch with the plants you really want!

Ok so the lack of foxgloves is interesting as they usually grow well in partial shade. Out of interest what happens to the foxgloves when you try and grow them? If it’s heavy, Clay soil you need to build it up a lot with compost. Take out any woody shrubs that lack structure. Open up the spoil with compost. Japanese anemone should do well. But they are late flowing- July onwards. Delphiniums are delicate so if they struggle try something tougher. Aquilegia are quite prolific and easy and will mix well. Hollyhock for height. Wood anemone are good for the base of the tree- they are early flowers.

A dicentra might be nice, they like partial shade (they're a perennial, and die right down in winter.) Lovely arching stems with a washing line of hearts hanging below. I am after one for my back door border if we ever get the retaining wall fixed.

The dark green shrub right in front of the tree looks a bit messy, but have you seen it flower? Do you know what it is? It might be saveable.

You might also have joy with a hardy fuchsia (I have one called Prosperity which is rather splendid, and has survived about 5 years of pretty chilly winters, in a hill-induced microclimate).

Fuchsia don't like full sun, and just need cutting back when the start sprouting in spring.

Sweet box (sarcocca confusa) is an evergreen winter flowerer that prefers partial shade, and gives the loveliest scent when it flowers in December/January. Nice glossy leaves, and black berries in summer.

Thanks so much for all the ideas, I'll look up the plants you've all mentioned to find out about them. The dark green plant in front of the tree is I think called something like broom? It has yellow flowers. I quite like it but it has got big very quickly. Just behind it, the plant that looks woody is a weigelia? Not sure how it's spelt. It looks nice when the red flowers come out but the majority of the time it looks a bit dead so I might get rid of this one.

I have a couple of other perennials further down the garden which do well but I'm not sure what they are to be able to buy more. They're just coming up now so I'll take a picture to see if anyone knows.

The foxgloves seemed to get attacked by slugs a lot and then one year just didn't come back.

These are the perennials that seem to do well, they are several tall stems with yellow flowers. They're just coming through the ground now so only about a couple of inches tall. Can anyone identity them?

I do have a Japanese anemone in that bed too, that a friend gave me from a cutting, and that does well.

Is a dicentra what is also called a bleeding heart? I have one of those on the other side of the garden in shade and that seems quite happy. I like it so might get more.

Yes dicentra is bleeding heart. You can get pinky ones or ones that are just white

I've grown peonies, tree peonies, foxgloves, malva Mystic Merlin, hardy geraniums (so many different and lovely varieties and they thrive almost anywhere), giant scabious, salvia, verbena boniarensis, and penstemons in this type of border in my garden. Foxgloves, salvia, giant scabious and verbena all seed prolifically. You can increase penstemons from cuttings. For greenery and height, rather than shrubs you could use fennel and bronze fennel, which also self seed. Angelica is another good plant for height, like foxgloves it is a biennial. Another green plant with statuesque structure are the various euphorbia family. I particularly love euphorbia mellifera, a lime green plant with apricot coloured bracts. They also self seed too!!! Enjoy your gardening, it's lovely to have the challenge of a new border.

Is it yellow loosetrife?

www.google.co.uk/search?client=tablet-android-samsung&sa=X&q=Lysimachia+punctata&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLSz9U3MDEuKjY1VAKzk5LKS0rKtOT8i9IT8zKLc51zEouLM9MykxNLMvPzgjNTUssTK4sBdhqtLjoAAAA&ved=0ahUKEwiloa2Sm6vaAhVHNMAKHfgQAe0QxA0IwAEwEQ&biw=800&bih=1280#imgrc=jTKkMRVwyGv1GM:

It does look like that yes MrsBertBibby I think the leaves are slightly different but the flowers are definitely like that. Thanks, I've never heard of that name so I never would have guessed!

My last garden was a bit like your description of yours and the soil type was similar. Hydrangeas did well, as did perennial geraniums.
The Laurel, on the left could get quite large, if not kept in check.

Oh yes I do have a hydrangea too but it seems to get a bit lost amongst everything else.

Weigela need to be pruned when their flowers finished. I had a rather unimpressive one which I finally pruned hard, it bounced back with lush foliage all summer, and was smothered in pink blooms (and frantic bees) the next spring. Might be worth a go?

Weigela.

Ooh I might try that. So I need to wait until it's flowered before I prune it?

Yep. From memory, the advice for a mature plant was to take around a third of the stems down to ground level, and the rest less hard, but tbh I just savaged it. Ours is terribly placed, it blocks the view from the kitchen window, so it is going to have to be moved or killed soon. After last spring's performance, I shall be more keen to try to save it.

The RHS site has pruning tips for shrubs, although that relies on you knowing what the plant is.