Plants for front of house - complete novice

[mammmamia]

As someone who can’t keep any plants alive I would love some advice.
I have a path leading up to my front door that looks very bare and I would love to get some plants / flowers to brighten it up. No flower beds so would have to be in containers.
It gets full sun all afternoon and evening.
What would you recommend? Thank you

If you get fuchsia or geraniums and can keep them out of the frost they might come back next year too
Fuchsia comes in two types.
Hardy and bedding, hardy can usually survive a UK winter just fine.
It looks dead over winter but puts on new growth early April

Geraniums too, hardy geraniums should survive a UK winter too.
Pelargoniums, which used to be known as Geraniums will not.

You can out those water gel things in the pot that hold water and slowly release it to help.

Ah but billy summer bedding isn’t drought tolerant!
no but my thinking was 2 pots are easy to look after whereas multiple pots everywhere will be overwhelming for a first time gardener. Op needs to get her hands dirty and just have a go and summer bedding, which yes will require daily watering but will look spectacular and give her confidence to be more adventurous next year (it’s addictive)

if it were me I’d be putting in borders but it can be very overwhelming if you haven’t grown up gardening.

no but my thinking was 2 pots are easy to look after whereas multiple pots everywhere will be overwhelming for a first time gardener. Op needs to get her hands dirty and just have a go and summer bedding, which yes will require daily watering but will look spectacular and give her confidence to be more adventurous next year
We are all different I suppose.
I really struggle to remember to water and living in the south where we have hot summers and mild winters and being unfortunate enough to have a largely clay soil that bakes solid in summer hardy, drought tolerant plants I can just forget about are a necessity for me.
Summer bedding always dies on me because I forget to water it

Really useful thank you.
My mum is an excellent gardener but I’ve never been that interested - I just want something simple to make the outside of the house look nice.
I like the idea of starting with 2 pots to build up confidence. Going to take some notes from this thread!

Two large pots of bedding plants soundscape like an excellent start. Big, big pots. Google how to add drainage and plant up, it’s dead easy.

Do you have a tap at the front of the house? If not it’d be good to get two watering cans. Easier on the back and less back and forth too.

Tip: Never water plants when the sun is on them, the droplets act like magnifying glasses and burn the leaves.

I’d recommend a Salvia - look at the hot lips variety. It’s a perennial so comes back each year and mine flowers from late spring through to November. I’m in the South and it has survived the cold weather. They can grow quite big so will have a nice impact for not much work or cost (you can pick them up really cheap - farm shops often have them in)

I have the same aspect as you. I have tried many of the suggestions above and they have all died. It's just too hot.

So I now choose indestructible, drought resistant plants - box balls, buddleiah, palms and put them right by the house in partial shade (also helps vs frost in the winter).

Don't waste your money at a garden centre for the plants. Go cheap. Morrisons. The Range.

So I now choose indestructible, drought resistant plants - box balls, buddleiah, palms and put them right by the house in partial shade (also helps vs frost in the winter)

I’m with you there. Box balls, I’m not, I seem very able to kill them, but I love palms, they are indestructible and ever green. My husband loves acers, which are great when in leaf, but the winter months they are just skeletons.

Another good one op is olive trees,I have two by my front door and they are evergreen and very easy to deal with and can survive quite a bit of drought,

Brilliant love these ideas thank you

My ex did spectacular pots and hanging baskets but his top tip was water, water, water, deadhead and feed once a week . Set a time each day or twice a day if hot and just water the pots then you can buy cheap colourful bedding plants .

I'd look at alpine plants and woody Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and thyme. Both prefer to be too dry rather than too wet. My rosemary was at its best when I neglected it during the heatwave last summer. My cats trample all over it too and they've done no damage.
Gardeners world have some pretty examples for alpines www.gardenersworld.com/plants/10-alpines-to-grow/

Buddleja mentioned upthread are fantastic.
The ‘buzz’ or ‘chip’ ones only grow to maximum of 100cm tall but 60cm is more usual.
I have loads of buddleja, including buzz in all the colours.