Your staple no fuss plants

[Laurasanford111]

Hi all
First year creating our garden, it's quite long so we have a lot of growing & planting to do, so far we have Nepeta, geranium a pink one, Gaura, a few roses and Hydrangea that were already here. I have fallen in love with Nepeta, how quick it grows, the smell, it's drought tolerant it requires very little, what plants do you like preferably perennials that you really don't have to try hard with but with amazing pay off?

Thanks :)

I have several types of geranium

Alchemilla mollis.
Verbena bonariensis.

A few evergreen shrubs will give you structure in your garden year round - Viburnum tinus, holly, Pittosporum Tom Thumb are all good.

Erigeron
Rock rose
Convulvulus cneorum
Hydrangea paniculata
Hebe topiaria

Tulips, daffodils and aliums are great perennial bulbs.
I also love crocosmia, oriental poppies, day lillies and verbena, all of which require hardly any kind of real care.

• Verbena
• Salvia
• Dahlia though may not be low maintenance, mine are as I just cut back and mulch in early winter but we are SW so milder winters
• Hemp agrimony - very insect friendly
• Buddleia - butterflies love
• Lavender
• Knapweed - very pollinator friendly
• Echinops / globe thistle - bees love them

I also have lots of free range mint but I know that's not to everyone's taste - apple mint, mountain mint, supermarket mint plant (spearmint?), chocolate mint, strawberry mint. we do get mint moths though 😀🤭

It does depend on your conditions, type of soil, how sunny, etc. I couldn’t grow Convulvulus cneorum, for example

Yes that’s true - my listed plants are for sunny dry conditions. I did have a cneorum die in a wetter patch of garden.