Ideas what flowers I can plant on either side please

[Rosemaryandlavender1]

Good evening all.
I should give a word of warning that I am a beginner gardener. I inherited this rather large rosemary bush/plant when I purchased the house. However I would like to add some colour, something that's easy to maintain and grows easily that will ideally bloom for most of the year. The left side doesn't get as much sunlight but the right side to the rosemary does. Any ideas and tips please?

I'm a rubbish gardener, but my go-to is always lavender!

Thank you for the suggestion, but I already have lavender growing on the other side of the garden so was looking for something different, otherwise Lavender would have been perfect.

Azalea on the left and camelia on the right, both have different colours you could choose from. both are evergreen

Erysimum bowles' mauve has a really long flowering season.

I also think salvias could work well.

Thank you for those suggestions. Off to Google them now

Do I need to make a proper flower bed to plant the seeds in?

Yes and buy plants. Good healthy ones from a nursery or garden centre.
Save the seeds for when you've been gardening a bit longer.

OK thank you. I have some peat free compost is that ok to use?

Thank you!

On the right Hebe and on the left hibiscus 🌺 👌

And I can plant all these flowers now?

These plants require acidic soil so unless you know what sort of soil you have, try something else.
I personally love salvia's (in the sage family) or nepeta (in the mint family but without the desire for world domination).
If the rosemary is happy, they would be too.

Thank you
Is there anyway to find out what type of soil I have?

I personally love salvia's (in the sage family) or nepeta (in the mint family Salvia, Nepeta and mint are all in the same family (the dead nettle family, Lamiaceae). As is rosemary and lavender.

Is there anyway to find out what type of soil I have? Best way is to see what your neighbours are growing. If they are growing rhododendrons you are likely on an acid soil. You can buy soil test kits.

Thank you

Salvias flower for a longish period, you need to look for a hardy variety and I'd put that on the end. The colour range is large and probably would all contrast with the purple from a rosemary very well. They don't spread either.

I'd also consider something like a Choisya which is ridiculously easy to maintain, grows to a decent size relatively quickly and can flower multiple times a year in a good year. The scent of a Choisya in the spring is utterly glorious. I always put one in as soon as I get a fresh garden space to play with. You get colour with the leaves as much as the flowers.

You might want to make the whole area into a herb garden though - and add in some thyme, sage, chives as where a rosemary grows, so do lots of other fabulous herbs.

I wouldn't try anything with seeds, as a beginner it will be much easier to just buy plants. Just remove the turf, dig a decent sized hole and pop some of the peat free compost into the bottom of the hole mixed with a little of the soil, plant the plant and use the soil you took out to fill it back in. Add the turf to your compost bin. If you are going to have grass in between, make sure you leave enough space between the plants to get your mower down the middle.

@AlisonDonut thank you. As rosemary and lavender seem to thrive in my garden without any input from myself, I think salvia would be a safe option to start off with. I will try and get in a few colours as I have alot of greenery and would like something colourful.

I will look into choisya

@MereDintofPandiculation I asked my neighbour who said all of her plants are potted in raised soil beds so she's not sure however she had a good harvest of potatoes which were in the ground and her petunias thrived.
Not sure if that us any indication of the type of soil

No, not really. Potatoes and petunias aren't particularly fussy, You get some idea from where you are, for example White Peak District, N and S Downs are unlikely to be acid, but Weald may be acid. Most people are probably neutral, so avoid plants which have a marked preference either way.

I visited a local garden centre today which was quite big. They had salvias but only purple ones and I was after blue so il keep looking.

I did purchase the anemone flower plant as it will still flower into next month so will hopefully give me some confidence if it does. I shall plant that next to the rosemary today in the ground. Is peat free compost ok?

I also purchased some dancing dolls tulip bulbs. Am I OK to plant them in planters, rather than the ground?

Thank you all so much

I also purchased a mini pot of Cyclamen persicum because it looked so pretty, do I plant that into the ground too? Its quite small

Bumping for anyone who is around 😊
@MereDintofPandiculation @AlisonDonut @hideawayforever @APurpleSquirrel

Yes cyclamen can go straight into the ground.
For long flowering look at crocosmia. They just look after themselves year after year.

Thank you

I have seen that the anemone can be quite invasive so I think il plant that in a pot.
I have planted the mini cyclamen which looks a little forlorn by itself but it's a start
My first ever flower I have planted 😂
Hopefully many more to come