Help me choose border plants

[Laurasanford111]

Hi all

I have a new garden with a border, I have already planted plug plants in there which are now very established, gaura, verbena Bonariensis & catmint I have a lot of gaps to fill, I am going with a green purple and white theme, I love that colour combo, cottage garden style.

I need height to the border, I don't like anything to formal looking so with lupins for example they're to structured, I love delphinium & hollyhocks but apparently they only live like 2 yrs? I looked at agapanthus, those are pretty. I basically want a tall perennial that will come back yr after yr, in white pink or purple and that is a kind of no fuss plant if that makes sense!
Tthank you x

Acanthus, foxgloves (technically a biennial but will self-seed), Jacobs Ladder, echinops and sea holly, campanula (giant bellflower), alliums, peonies,

Geums are super easy and kind of floppy. Also easy to divide so you can create more and more over the years. Aquilegia and foxgloves too available in lots of different colours. You could also think about bulbs for early spring interest. I have white irises, purple alliums and green tulips - I just leave them in the ground and they come back every year so far.

Alliums and foxgloves reliably add height in my borders. Also thalictrum, but I think this year might have killed it. I also have some grasses that hold their seed heads over winter….

Phlox?

London pride looks lovely in borders

I was going to suggest phlox as well. They come back every year and are reliable. You will need to divide them every few years.

My geums do really well each year. In fact one plant never stops blooming, even through the winter. I also like Salvia.

Choisya would be good to plant at the back of the borders.

Giant scabious

I love geums and mine are very reliable but they are in the orange/red spectrum.
Erysimum? My Bowles mauve is purple, indestructible and tall. Bushy tho.
I love echinops, might fit the bill? They look lovely with verbena b.

I have thalictrum black stockings, which is lovely and tall and has purple/lilac flowers. Good for a shadier bed if you have one.

Also I have loads of purple toadflax, which I love, great filler plant.

Michaelmas daisies come in purple or white - very tall

I was also going to suggest campanula and erysimum Bowles mauve.

Astrantia is a lovely cottage garden plant, as is scabious. My giant scabious is yellow and the foliage is very dense, so I’d avoid that. Hebes come in a variety of sizes and the flowers are in your colour palette. Knautia also in shades of pink/ purple are good for height. The very popular Crainsbill geraniums are worth a look at, loads of varieties.

I redug our main border in the autumn and need to fill a few gaps so I'm going to look into some of these suggestions.

Thank you for starting this thread @Laurasanford111

Geranium is a good suggestion for a quick filler, spreads very quickly while you’re waiting for other things to bulk out.
And easy to pull up if you decide you want something else.

I love roses, cottage garden staple. If you live anywhere near Shropshire I really recommend a trip to David Austin (or buy online).
Maybe a climbing rose too if you have a nice sunny wall/fence?

Erysimum Bowles Mauve is beautiful but gets very leggy and looks awful after a few years despite trimming - unless anyone knows of any tips?!

Oh dear I only planted mine last year so it’s not too bad yet 🙈 will await tips too!

I think the Bowles Mauve is relatively short lived - 3 or 4 years - I usually take cuttings, which are quite easy, and grown on to replace it.

Thanks @BarrelOfOtters

Noting and googling like mad here ... great thread @Laurasanford111

Penstemon would look good

Penstemon... Flower all summer and are self supporting.

(Beware some of the taller plants if you don't want to mess about with canes/supports).

Campanula Loddon Anna. Star of the show in my garden and flowers repeatedly for weeks.

All excellent recommendations. Anyone who's near to David Austin who hasnt visited yet, go in June when everything's in flower, it's stunning.

Allium