Would you like to help me plan my new border?

[MerylSqueak]

I have widened the border at the front of our house. It has a few quite neglected shrubs which are very established. We've not done anything with them yet as we're fairly recently moved and I'm not sure what to do about their leggyness. The ones you can see are sweet box (identified for me on here!), Witch hazel, buddleia, a forsythia ( People on the same thread thought) azalea and a mahonia. In the back which you can only just see in the picture are quince, pink roses and witch hazel. It's quite densely planted up in that bit though so wouldn't be able to much there.

It's South facing, slightly acidic clay soil. I've dug some manure through it. I've got lots of ideas flitting about but keep getting stuck because I would like it to be year round. It's up a slope. I prefer a cool colour palette.

I've got an Acer in a pot I could use but I don't think it'll look great

What would you do with it? I'm not really a gardener, so please be gentle!

And don't worry about the horrible grass. It's set to be dug over and reseeded ( because I have thought and thought and can't decide on something I Iike more).

If you want some easy care shrubs for the front of the border, dwarf azaleas or dwarf rhododendrons love acidic clay soil and come in a wide choice of colours. Some are scented. Different ones flower at different times - you can choose ones that will bloom in Feb, or as late as June/July, but the majority are April/May. They are trouble free, good for preventing weed growth underneath them, slow growing and rarely need pruning.

My local Aldi has ornamental rhododendrons in at the moment, I've bought a few to fill my border.

South facing and clay should mean anything thrives!

I'd be tempted to get some nice climbers at the back up those railings - honeysuckle?

Then Verbena bonariensis, giant aliums, lavender, salvias, dahlias nepreta for mid-front.

Bulbs for spring (plant in autumn), sedum, rudbeckia for autumn colour.

Start with that then add as you see space/plants in flower that you like.

Thank you for those ideas.

Azaleas and rhodedendrons look fabulous here when in flower (Wales). I know I should like them more but I'm not a great fan the rest of the time. I have several in the back, including enormous one that was previously clipped into a ball shape (which I hate). I forgive them for their beautiful flowers but I'm not sure I'm going to put lots of new ones in.

I was thinking along those lines for perennials so thank you for boosting my confidence there and for the autumn colour ideas. I might put in a couple of roses too.

I was thinking of some kind of evergreen grass. Is this a good idea or not?

I like grass, low maintenance and adds colour.

I would keep the shrubs and add a climber such as honeysuckle or cematis as a pp said. I would also put in lots of bulbs. Bulbs are reliable and come up every year. I have a full border of bulbs and love that a different type flowers each month so the border is constantly changing. I am also on clay soil, but just added some sand for drainage when planting. If you pick the right variety of each bulb they will naturalise and the display will be better year on year.

That border sounds wonderful! I'm very curious ar to what you have in it!

My shopping basket a J Parker's is heaving! I'm putting lots of ideas in there meaning to weed through and make decisions but I keep adding more!

The bulb border has been a bit of trial and error, however the following has worked for me:

Jan - snowdrops (plant in the green), spring iris, crocus
Feb - spring iris, crocus, early daffodils
March - grape hyacinths, daffodils, crocus still out
April - tulips, summer iris, bluebells (english), freesias
May - allium (different types), camassia, ranculus
June- allium, lillies (although some probs with the lily beetle last year)
July/Aug - drumstick allium, lilies, tiger cyclamen. Liatris (have only planted these this year so not sure if they will ok)

Most of my bulbs came from Parkers too.
Haven't found any bulbs that flower in the autumn - if anyone knows of some please let me know!

A wee pic

Oh thank you very much. It looks really pretty!

@Bumblebeefriend have you tried any of the bulbs on this list? I don’t have any experience myself with autumn bulbs but they might be worth a try?

www.thompson-morgan.com/top-10-autumn-winter-flowering-bulbs

@RenardeRenarde Thank you so much, funnily enough I had been wondering about nerines, so that is definitely a possibility. I'll definitely check out the rest on the list too.

Bulbs can be a bit tricky on ckay soil as most of them don't like being wet. Make sure you stick some gravel in the bottom of the holes before you plant the bulbs. Camellias like acidic soil but need a bit of shade so you could stick one at one end of the border maybe. Roses also love clay and there are so many different types you are bound to find something you like.

Well I didn't order the whole wishlist by any means but I bought some roses, nepeta, pink salvia, agapanthus (because they were free) and honeysuckle and am planning to get some Campanula and snow in summer for this summer. I'll plant some honesty too. I'll probably get or transplant some verbena bonarensis too.

Also penstemon, nerines and Gladiolus murielae for late summer autumn. I'll transplant some pelargoniums from the back garden and see how I get on.

I'll do spring bulbs and alliums too when the time comes.

I'm not sure if I have done the right thing, and am rather regretting not getting more, but I didn't want to but tonnes as I know I do like picking things up when I see them and didn't want to spend so much that I couldn't.

Thank you all for your help.

Thank you for the tip about the grit by the way. Will do that.