Plant Advice - Large South Facing Border - Clay Soil

[ElasticFirecracker]

I have a garden border, which I've just cleared of brambles, ivy, nettles, etc and want to start planting it soon.

• Half oval shaped, raised to a mound at the back
• Hawthorn hedge behind it.
• Clay soil
• Dimensions: approx 15 x 4 metres at widest points

I have a lot of garden to deal with, so I am looking for plants that are quite straightforward to deal with and won't require much special treatment.

It's on one side of a large lawn, and the nearest it will be seen from is about 5 metres, and I would like it to look good from the driveway which is about 25 meters away

I would like:

Not too many different types of plant
Look good from a distance of 25 metres
Large architectural plants
All year round interest
Riot of colour in spring and summer
Low ground cover and easy maintenance

I would be grateful for any advice at all.

Thank you

For the background Philadelphus mock orange which has white perfumed flowers. In front of that lot of different Cornus. Great plant in red, green and yellow. It has all round interest and when you prune it, just stick the pruning in the ground, water them and you get loads of free plants. My favourite is mid winter fire. In front of that Japanese Anenome. All these plants are low priced, take any position and don’t mind shade or poor soil and neglect. Just water them well the first summer Ornamental grasses especially the evergreen like pheasant grass make an impact from a distance.

Two years ago I had a garden makeover and bought lots of high priced plants from big nurseries. I went to Wilko to but ‘filling’ plants while the garden established, but found they were brilliant. It is really worth checking them out. For example, I bought 5 silver Birch trees and paid £70 and £40 for two of them. I bought another 3 for £4 each from Wilko. They have grown so quickly and in another year it will be impossible to tell which is which,

Cornus Midwinter fire

Thank you @florentina1 This is really helpful, I love philadelphus and so will definitely try that. I had not thought about Conus and am not very familiar with these, so will investigate them, the picture you have posted looks good.

I really like Japanese anemones and so will definitely put some of these in.

I've never bought plants from Wilko but definitely will do now, I've previously bought fabulous plants very cheaply from Morrisons which have done really well.

Thanks so much.

Hi roses love clay and flower for months and months. My advice would be to buy 3! At least and space them equally. If you need more they are easy to propagate, buy David Austen and look for disease resistance. They will cost about £20.00 each but worth every penny. For the rest, I would buy cornflower and marigold seeds, and chuck them down. The Cornus and philadelphus are great ideas, as are forsythia and Kerria , oldfashioned but reliable. Ask anyone you know who gardens if they have spare plants. Fill the space before the weeds do.

And miscanthus. Very beautiful , tall, airy grass with flowers from summer until March. Easy to care for.