Creating a brand new border

[AgedTawnyPort]

Front garden which is currently paved, has a 70cm high brick wall with iron railings above which finish at 120cm high.

Small town garden full sun overlooking a big green park. I think I am going to fill it full of perennials and put a bench in it.

I have salvaged a few things from my old garden, Agapanthus, Johnsons blue geranium, Crocosmia, Alchemilla, Heuchera, Campanula, Penstemon and Aquilegia from memory. Delphiniums as well! Obvs some of them might do better at the side or back of the house.

Border will probably be 18 or 24" wide and I want height as well as colour.

Am thinking of growing a climber on the railings, possibly wisteria. All of my neighbours have privet hedges which is not me at all.

It will be quite sheltered behind the wall for low growing things but full sun.

Can anyone suggest any plants I might like for my border ??

For height you could have Verbena Bonarensis. Delphiniums are tall! You could have a look at Phlox, oriental poppies, low grasses, scabious and rudbeckia. Companies like Crocus do border packs where they have ready made borders.

What sort of soil?

Good loamy free draining soil, been a garden for 100+ years before the slabs I have inherited. Haven't PH tested it.

Thanks Bubbles - I like Verbena, hadn't thought of that. I have got a few delphiniums. I will have a look at Crocus, I didn't know they did that as I don't buy much online plant wise. I am near a RHS garden and will have another look there as well.

Knautia Macedonia are lovely perennials that have very tall pom-poms flowers that wave about at the back of the border. Very long flowering season too.

I’d think about longevity and seasonality as well as height.

I’d definitely have some roses, and some salvia for later on. Planted together the salvia reduces rose diseases like black spot. I’d also include some dahlia for later colour, and perhaps some peonies for early summer.

Mulleins.

I like those JT05 (just looked them up).

I am not a rose fan Taffeta. I only have one rose and it is my least favourite plant. I love salvia though, I have recently bought Wendy's wish and purple rain for my back garden.

I love peonies too. Is mulleins verbascum Concrete?

I think that is my problem Taffeta, I want to fill this small space with flowers that peak at different times .. allium, I forgot, I planted a few of those in pots and my dad has grown me some day lilies.

I just need to plan I guess but after a 12 hour day at work I won't be planning tonight.

Oops - yes - mulleins => verbascum

I have lots of rambler roses which have much smaller flowers and cover a wall or fence very quickly. But a June show only.

I’m a sucker for June flowering plants so have really tried to focus on later summer colour. I’ve had success with dahlia, Japanese anemone (but spread like mad!), various verbena, dianthus carthusianorum salvia, nicotiana (supposedly annual but mine by warm wall of house are in their fourth year), sedum, cosmos (annual but cheap as chips) and echinops.

We garden on very dry chalky soil (garden awash with lavender etc) so I’ve only experience of plants that work in these conditions. Others I plant in pots - my current favourite is Veronica gentianodes. That’s flowering now, one of the few that is, with the allium.

Plant bulbs for all year flowers before you plant perennials. And definitely make a planner so you remember where things are planted. Tree lilies are lovely and tall and flower before the verbena at the back of the border. Buddhelia and echinacea are lovely and wildlife love them. Oriental poppies finish as the agapanthus gets going so can be planted together. Coreopsis is long flowering and the yellow flowers look lovely with both verbena and delphiniums