what shall I plant by my front door?

[fernsandlilies]

I need to revamp a small area next to my front door, about 1.5 x 1.5m, and Im looking for suggestions.

It's west facing near the coast, so it can get quite hot, and other times it's rather windy, but the soil is quite retentive. Deeper there is clay. Neutral pH.

I did have a lovely perennial wallflower Bowles Mauve and also a convolvulus cneorum, but they both got a nasty virus and the replacements died as well.

Things I've tried;
lavender - decimated by lavender beetles within a week;
cistus - started ok but went very leggy;
rosemary - did very well but it's too big now
pinks - regularly covered in flower buds which all went brown before opening, year after year.

I'd like a mix of some evergreen structure and some seasonal fragrant things. Heightwise up to about 1m tall or 1.2m if I put it at the side.

What about a climber like star jasmine? It's evergreen or certain varieties are smells lovely. Flowers for a long time...

Woodbine is pretty indestructible, as long as you keep the roots cool.

Thank you

is there a little flowering shrub that people can recommend that will stay within size? I don’t think azaleas will be happy, but something else ?

Hydrangea? Fairly indestructible and many months of flowers over summer.

Sounds a bit 'copy-cat' tactics but what grows well in your neighbours garden? Always a good start.
Try going to RHS website and putting in requirements.
I think it might be a bit dry for hydrangea.
Potentilla....wide variety of colours ranging white/yellow/pink.
I love euphorbia, especially wulfenii. Very long season of interest, evergreen. Only maintenance really cutting out flowered stems. If you are mild area then euphorbia 'mellifera' is lovely, dome-shaped flowers smell of honey. Planted with a winter flowering honeysuckle (lonicera fragrantissima) has small not-particularly large flowers, but the scent in March (whist you find your door keys) is lovely.
You can prune rosemary quite hard...it can be planted as a hedge, so if that has done well in the past might be worth trying again, or a variety that doesn't get too big.

Ted Robin (Photinia) and then add bulbs for spring and some petunias for colour in the summer.

Some lovely ideas, thanks. I will definitely look at potentilla and winter honeysuckle, and yes, lots of spring bulbs.

camellia if they grown in your area.

sarcococca is traditional to grow by a door for the lovely scent.

Escallonia pink Elle will stay about 4 foot height and spread. It is evergreen and flowers in June and again in September. The flowers are really pretty, little but loads of them, pink.

Weigela?

My favourites are Daphne odora and Tree Peony

Salvias. My hot lips flower from April to first frost in December ish. They are so hardy and grow into lovely thick greenery bushes to fill any space. Cut them down in early spring to within a few inches of the ground and they spring back up all fresh.

The bees are crazy for them and as a member of the sage family they have a subtle herby smell in warm weather.

I was going to say salvias/flowering sages as well, they are great for masses of flowers but not sure how fussy they are on soil? (we have chalk)

If it isn't too damp, maybe a Daphne eg odora. They do take time to grow, though. My reason for liking them is that they produce flowers and a glorious fragrance in January or February www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/daphne-odora-aureomarginata-rogalski-fragrant-hardy-evergreen-shrub

Other suggestion, smells even nicer in inter, is Viburnum carlesii or Viburnum × carlcephalum

I've put a Mexican orange blossom in the front garden this year, have high hopes for it. Evergreen, white blossom, can get up to a couple of metres but doesn't mind being cut back.

It replaced a lovely standard Holly tree that was destroyed by some kind of bug in its first summer.

great ideas, thanks so much.

I'm currently thinking about an orange flowered potentilla with purple sage, plus the star jasmine mentioned above.