Now, what lovely shrub shall I buy?

[takeabrolly]

I would like to plant a beautiful shrub in a sunny spot beside a new patio to give some dappled shade. It needs to be about 1m-1.5m tall (its on a slope so that height would be fine if I was sitting there with my G&T). I'd like something with some colour, maybe flowering. Any suggestions for what to look at?

A cherry? You can get some pretty ones with interesting form, bark, blossom and nice autumn colour. look for dwarfing or miniature varieties and/or slow growing. Blossom can be pink or white and some might have autumn fruit. They can also grow in pots.

One of the larger varieties of cistus. They have lovely flowers and do well in a sunny spot.

Philadelphus or lilac if you like scent?

A beautiful weigela. Lots of varieties, variegated or not, glorious colours and grow pretty much anywhere.

I would plant a thornless repeat flowering rose

How about an Amelanchier? They have lovely leaves and blossom in the Spring/summer, turning bronze in Autumn with berries.
Something all year round.

Do you want it deciduous, or evergreen?

How patient are you? A daphne such as Daphne × transatlantica would be lovely- fragrant, flowers and evergreen but slow growing.

Oh my goodness thanks for all the ideas! I haven't heard of most of these so I'm away to google. In answer to questions, I think I'd prefer deciduous, and I'm very patient (well in this anyway)

How about a beautiful acer?

Acer, amelanchier, jasmine on a wigwam with a winter flowering of early clematis for winter sunny days.

Ooo I love an acer. Are they difficult to keep?

There are some beautiful ones out there. Not difficult but don't like windy places. I find the feathery they are the more tricky they are - but my garden isn't ideal for them.

Another lovely tree is the silk tree - you can get chocolate ones too. Albizia. If your garden is sheltered it would be quite special.

Acer need an acid soil, they may not do well if you're alkaline.

I would get philadelphus - mock orange blossom - the smell is amazing.

@bilbodog I have a mock orange blossom quite near the spot, they are gorgeous aren't they? I think my garden might not be sheltered enough for an acer. Just googled Albizia, they look amazing (but maybe too windy for one). Thank you for all your ideas, its helped a lot!

My neighbour has a lovely callicarpa that gets covered in bright purple berries in autumn. I've been eyeing it up enviously for the last 3 years and finally remembered to ask what it is just the other day. Hers is about 6ft tall.

We had a mountain ash in a windy garden. It didn’t get particularly tall. It was sorbus Joseph rock. I loved it, gorgeous leaf colour in autumn and lovely when just coming out in the spring. The birds loves the berries which glowed in autumn and winter. I miss that tree. It was the first tree I’d planted.

I have a beautiful tamarix tetrandra and a variegated weigela next to my patio. They are both perfect for dappled light and long lasting colour.

@ShowOfHands just looked up tamarisk. It’s lovely. Is it well behaved in a small garden? I’ve got to start planning the planting in our new small garden.

It absolutely is. I've stolen a pic from Google to show it in a smaller garden. You can prune it back once it's finished blooming and it is easy to keep in hand. It can grow pretty quickly, definitely 30cm in a year so it will establish well and is pretty hardy too.

Oh my word, that tamarisk is stunning isn't it?

Here's ours last Spring.

Depending on where you live, this might be an option in terms of absorbing air pollution:

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/18/experts-identify-super-plant-that-absorbs-roadside-air-pollution?fbclid=IwAR1AV3TQz0msPEbGqv0L3bfa4waWpjGjEQOYHdHeUVwSEziPRKHMUATwaTE

I would recommend one of these (if anyone knows what it’s called - I didn’t plant it). It flowers for months.