Which colourful plants to go for?

[MoneyWhatMoney]

Hi.
I'm a complete amateur gardener and everything I grow is in pots. I started last year with some easy food (chillis, strawberries, potatoes) but had no success with flowers at all - I somehow ended up with stunted sunflowers and wildflowers that came to almost nothing

I have a big wooden planter (1m x 50cm) and would like to use it for something pretty.
My aim is minimum fuss / care needed from me, something that gives colour for the majority of the year, is good for the bees and that I don't need to replace all the time.

Could I plant lavender and winter jasmine in it? Some sort of clematis? Or is there something easier that I haven't thought of?
Google is having me go around in circles - please help!

Wallflower Bowles Mauve and many salvias flower for a long time (but not all year). You could plant spring bulbs there as well so you get those at the start of the year. Lavender is lovely but doesn’t flower for that long. I’ve not had much luck with wild flowers either.

Lavender is my favourite - coupled with lady's mantle, which flowers at the same time and is lime green. However, I will be first to admit that it looks horrible for about 8-9 months of the year. What kind of vibe are you looking for? It doesn't sound as if cottagecore willl work for your space. How much sun do you get?

If you want an abundance of flowers easily, you need Potash. This is the stuff:

If you are growing in pots the compost will be too rich for most wild flowers.

If you want to try seeds again (cheapest option) I would suggest marigolds. If you deadhead them regularly they can go through to January in a sheltered spot. Replace them with cheap pansy bedding plants once they start to look tired in winter. Deadheaded regularly, winter pansies will last till August. Put some spring bulbs in next autumn to cover the gap before marigolds flower.

If you really want to put things in and forget about them you can either buy an evergreen shrub like skimmia and accept it won't be in flower all the time but will always look respectable, or just go down the track of buying bedding plants whenever the pot looks tired.

How much sun are they in? Is it a balcony or a patio? Is it windy?

I try to buy as many evergreen plants as I can, especially for pots, and whilst lavender is evergreen, I think it can look quite scratty in winter, especially if you don’t cut it back at the right time. Bees like purple and blue coloured flowers or ones which are quite open.

I’d second Erysimum Bowles Mauve, also Hebe Caledonia; both have been really effective and in flower for months for me. Parahebe Snow Clouds has been in flower for months under the Hebe. Carex are an effective evergreen grass.

Assuming it will be in sun, if you have a couple of small evergreens, I would add some spring bulbs, some alliums, some verbena (Bampton is my favourite)/Penstemon/Japanese Anenome/Echinacea for height later in the summer, and then at the end of autumn cut the stems of the perennials back and you’ll still have some colour with the evergreens over winter.

For the rest of your garden, one of the key things I learned early on was to visit the garden centre all the way through the year so that you find things in flower all year round. So many gardens look like they were planted in May and are pretty boring by July. Also, use your phone when you get there and look up the plant on the RHS website for details of height and planting preferences so you don’t end up with something unsuited.

Thank you! I'm going to have to do some more googling as I haven't heard of some of your suggestions

I realise I also forgot to say, the planter is in a south facing garden and is places somewhere it has no shade so it gets full sun all day.

I have some lavender out the front (in a huge pot that was here when we moved in) and while it looks lovely in the summer, it's not so pretty for the winter.

I also didn't realise I could plant bulbs later in the year ready for next spring even if I already have something growing in there. I'm so clueless!

Oh and I'm going to garden centre today so I'll definitely be investigating options while I'm there!

Gazanias flowered for a long time for me last year and didn't get killed off by lack of rain. On duller days they close up but then come back when the sun does. They didn't need much effort and spread over time. Not sure whether they are OK in pots though.

nasturtiums, geraniums, petunias, stocks, begonias, osteospermum, dianthus.

Nerines (pink, bit like a lily) did well for years in a pot without me really doing anything. Eventually you are meant to divide them to keep them going. They flower in October/November when most other stuff is finishing.