Border plant ideas

[samwi123]

Hi all. Looking for ideas of what to plant and how best to arrange plants as I had seen picking three or four plants and repeating tends to look best but I’m not the most creative person!

narrow borders around 40cm deep, can be climbers as both neighbours have climbers on their sides so not an issue.

garden is north facing, sun on left side in the morning, right side in the afternoon with the spot nearest the house in total shade at all times. We are also on sand here so fairly quick draining. Currently only have two little hebes and a three salvia cardonnas.

no real plant preferences, partner prefers low maintenance evergreen and I like something for the bees and insects.

the only idea I’ve had so far was a mix of salvia, Libertia, euonymus green spire and hebe could look a nice combination.

The crocus website has pre made border plans where they show you where to plant things and you just click a button and add the whole lot to your shopping cart.

Hi, no not a new build. The left hand side is east facing, right west as the back of the house faces north. We are on sand here.

That was a quick reply! Sorry I am half asleep today. I realised you had already said about soil and aspect as soon as I posted!

Haha that’s ok. I had a look on crocus website but all the borders are 1.5metres plus, unfortunately that would be nearly my whole garden gone!

Japanese anemones are easy perennials for shade and can look great in clumps. Daphne also likes shade and is evergreen but winter flowering with lovely fragrance. Both are good for pollinators

I'm guessing you've only recently moved in?

Ideally you need to create deeper borders; 40cm is very narrow. All but the smallest plants have a wider spread than 40cm. Though of course things can and will overhang the border edge, you won't be able to introduce much in the way of a pleasing mix of heights.

The salvia caradonna (great for bees) which you've planted already will get very big this year. It's also a plant that is 'over' by mid-July, and then has to be cut back and you're left with an unattractive stump, which can't be hidden with other plants in a border this narrow.

If, for whatever reason, you can't deepen the borders, then I'd plant it with lavenders (Munstead), plus verbena bonariensis (loved by bees/butterflies). I'd also look at geranium Rozanne, another magnet for bees.

Both the verbena and geranium are long flowering through the summer, and don't get 'ugly' midsummer like the salvia caradonna. The lavender won't flower for long, but the foliage still looks good after flowering.

As for climbers, I've found that one of the best easy, super-pollinator-friendly, ones is passiflora. There's also a more white flowered variety, Constance Elliot, which would provide a bit of contrast with the other blue flowers. You'd need to put in some wires on the fence for it to grow along.

Edited to add: all the above are easy maintenance in terms of not being susceptible to pests or disease, and all loved by bees. A bit of pruning is all, and obviously no use of pesticides or weed killers.

Thanks some really good ideas there! Is there anything evergreen I could add such as hebe or euonymus and keep a little narrower?

LOVE that climber, would i best planting it at the end on each side and training it along the fence or would you plant in the middle and train it to go both ways?

If you mean the passiflora, gardening is so hit and miss that I'd get four and see how it goes. But when they're happy where they are they grow vigorously, and flower into October.

I'd also recommend https://www.stocksandgreen.com/products/nigella-hispanica-white-seeds

It's an annual, but easily grown as you can sow direct in the soil, - don't overdo it, just scatter a few seeds around. V. pollinator-friendly. Pretty, and easy.

I am not a big fan of evergreens, my focus is always on bee-friendly perennials and annuals. I know you need shrubs to be the backbone of a balanced garden, but can't muster much enthusiasm for them. I have lavenders, and a few hydrangeas of no interest to bees - but the latter only because I have to for 'structural' purposes, i.e. need a biggish plant in that spot.

I also have a bay leaf bush, an evergreen also useful for cooking. And a rosemary bush.

Not especially pretty but at least functional.

Thanks so much. Obviously with how narrow the border is I will have to arrange in a single line rather than staggered, how would you arrange a mix of lavender, geraniums and probably one other? or I may go for a grass to add a bit of height.

The verbena bonariensis will add height, it's well over 1m tall (doesn't flop, though). Nigella is tallish as well.

I'd do a random mix of lavenders and geranium Rozannes, with the nigella dotted around, - the nigella won't take up much space.

Do take note of the lavenders' and geraniums' eventual spread, and don't plant too close together, a mistake I often make. It matters less with the verbena as the spread is high off the ground.

Can you point me to the right place on the Crocus website please? I have a very similar dilemma.

https://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.Border/sort.0/