Suggestions on what to replace lavender with

[Maryofscots]

Hi all. I have a bed of lavenders that is 5 years old and starting to look woody and unsightly. I'm thinking about replacing them this autumn with an equally low maintenance perennial. Any suggestions please? The soil I s clay and the spot enjoys full sun. Thanks in advance

Rosemary

Nepeta/catmint.

Just as attractive to bees but way less faffy.

Another vote for rosemary. Plant catmint by all means but don't be surprised when the kitties come calling...

Hebe! Although they are evergreen, not perennials

I can't grow either lavender or rosemary, always goes woody and thin.

Nepeta and geraniums go absolutely mad though!

Potentilla.

I bought nepeta for the first time this year and I love it. In fact I'm going to replace the lavender I do have with nepeta. The lavender is quite old and needs to come out anyway.

Lavender is an evergreen shrub.

How much space do you have to fill?
How tall do you want it to get?
Do you want another shrub?
Do you want evergreen?
Do you want flowers, do you have a colour preference?

I have various nice easy things in my garden - hebe, cotoneaster, pyracanthus, buddleia, rosemary, roses. Also salvia, geraniums, veronicastrum.

Nepeta, definitely.

Perovskia "Blue Spire".

Does this mean I will end up with a lot of cat poo? I've had issues with neighbours cats before and can say I did not enjoy it at all!

Cats don't pop near my nepeta!

@Coastalcreeksider yes, me too, I have nepeta in a border at the back and its fab. My front garden has lavender bordering the path and once it's past its best I'll replace with nepeta.

^poo not pop ffs.

I've got a garden full of nepeta and none of the visiting cats are at all interested. No increase in cat poo either. The bees absolutely love it.

Six Hills Giant is lovely. There are shorter versions if you prefer though.

Evergreens would be nice. The space is on the side of the house where there is just brick, no windows or anything so it looks a bit depressing. Although I don't have measurements of the length I would say roughly long enough to fit 2 average size cars in front of each other (sorry I know that's a bit of a rubbish measure).

Thank you for the suggestions, I will look those up.

Oh perfect! Thank you 😊. It looks like nepeta is getting lots of mentions.

I did have issues with cats with nepeta when I lived in a very cat-heavy area and few gardens around. Here where there is a much lower cat/garden ratio it is fine.

I suggest a range of shrubs and perennials if you have space to get a range of flowers over a long period. Lavender is gorgeous but limited flowering period.

Thanks for this. I've had a quick google and it look's really pretty when it flowers. I can't say I've ever seen it before though so wonder if it would thrive around here

It's pretty bomb-proof I think, and garden centres will have it.

Oh perfect. Thanks @massiveclamps

And thank you to everyone who responded. I really appreciate it. X