WWYD? Choices for front garden

[CharlotteStreetW1]

Our house is like this and we're about to replace the hideous concrete with similar tiles and railings (proper gardening goes on in the back garden).

I want to put a large pot or pots in and I can't decide whether to have:

a) One extra large round pot in the middle
b) One large oblong planter at the front
C) Three large pots at the front

And then what would I put in it/them? It needs to be something zero low maintenance.

How much care would an olive tree need? Pruning is not our forté!

How happy are hydrangeas in a pot long term?

The ideal would be putting a hydrangea into the ground in the centre as I love them and they do brilliantly here but we're mid-terrace and there's the issue of bloody wheelie bins which we'd need to get past 😠

We do have a bit more space between the house and the railings.

Any other ideas would be appreciated, thank you.

Ooo a hydrangea would be fab - I've seen ones absolutely thrive in pots. You could do a long planter and have them along the front fence, that would look lovely, but I find ours are a bit dramatic when ignored. Or you could go for lavender - I neglect ours all year apart from a prune once they've finished flowering and they just come do so well. Lavender mixed with some herbs might be nice, it'll smell amazing too! Won't look incredible in winter but it depends how much you'd want to mess about with looking after things.

Olive trees are a bit of a pain - you'd probably need to protect it in winter from the cold.

Here in Scotland we wrap our olive tree in the coldest bit of winter, but it does ok. It is, however, not very exciting.

Hydrangea would be fine in a pot, the more you deadhead it the more flowers you may get into autumn.

Maybe three pots - a cordyline, you can get green or a dramatic red, could be an idea; Charlie Boy and Pink Passion are both strong red/pink. Rhododendron or Camellia or a Lilac Tree if you want actual flowers all do well in pots.

Any shrub in a pot would benefit from watering and feeding.

Nothing in a pot will be zero maintenance. They will certainly need regular (sometimes daily) watering in the warmer months.

A long trough full of lavender and/or rosemary would look amazing in that situation. The lavender would start flowering just as the rosemary finished. Both are hardy and manage ok if you don't water them every day. You just need to prune lavender once a year after flowering and cut the rosemary to size (and cook with it) if it gets out of hand.

Of course. Especially hydrangeas.

It's more pruning and in particularl shaping I'd like to avoid.

I was looking at cordyline for the back garden but they're a little bit brutal for me.

What aspect is it? How much sun does it get? For me hydrangeas imply shade, olives full sun, so if you are thinking about both I'm not sure what else to recommend.

If you don't get full sun, you could try a japanese maple. No pruning required (or advised) and they are happy in pots in the very long term.

I have a pot in my front garden. This year I did Marigolds. I deadheaded occasionally and when it was hot I watered periodically. Otherwise low maintenance. I’ll pull them out when they finish but will consider them again next year. I grew from seed. Under them are daffodil bulbs which I hope make an appearance in spring to buy me time on what’s going in!

Hmmmmm. I do have a long zinc trough (like a narrow tin bath). Which has had lavender funnily enough. It looks great in the cottage garden style back garden but I wonder if it might be a bit "rustic" for the front.

Maybe I can find something a bit smarter. Although I'm not great with lavender which grieves me as I love it.

Hydrangea would be lovely