Help with shrubs(?) can I put them in pots?

[Oldmothershrubboard]

I have a very bare front garden (it's all just shale) which needs softening but I can't garden.

What I would like is some low (no?) maintenance shrubs (I don't actually know what a shrub is) like green planty bush things that don't grow too much, don't need constant watering or pruning BUT I want them in pots because the earth is impossible to dig. Is that possible? What would you recommend?

I went to the garden centre last week in the hopes some kindly garden centre person would show me what the best things are but there weren't any staff and just rows and rows of green plants which I have no idea about. I left empty handed.

The garden gets a fair amount of sun particularly at the begining of the day.

I have hydrangeas in tubs as does my mum. Acers. Azalea, bamboo, a fruit tree, clematis, passion flower, polonium, raspberries, salad leaves, tomatoes, all sorts! My garden is gravel so everything is in a pot.

I'll Google these! I want to steer well away from bamboo after a previous house where it was everywhere, even in a pot it scares me!

I have killed 3 fruit trees in the back garden. I'm a skilled gardener as you can tell.

Easy plants

euonymous
heather
rosemary
choisia
privet
weigelia
Acer
hibiscus
philade
philadelpus

The bigger the pot the more tolerant of lack of attention, although nothing will survive complete desiccation. In your position I’d go for 3 or 5 pots that match, some decent compost and would seriously consider getting matching plants. @Rictasmorticia list has some really bombproof options - euonymus and privet in particular.

Pots are more work than things planted in the ground. You will have to water them once a week in summer if it's dry. Stuff in the ground can be ignored once it is planted as long as you give it loads of water once a week for the first couple of months.

I assume the fruit trees died because you planted them and didn't water them? Or were they in pots too?

Plants in pots are trapped and can't water themselves. If you don't water them, they die.

If you want something that is 'no maintenance' then pots are not for you.

not all plants need lots of water, especially if the garden is shady. Shrubs aren’t like bedding. Choose thick leaved plants. I would add ivy to my list.

I don't think we can plant anything. The ground is so hard and is full of roots from old trees (cut down by previous owner).

The fruit trees in the garden were already here but died since. I didn't realise you had to water trees, isn't that what the rain is for? We are usually under hosepipe ban most of summer too.

I'm starting to think gnomes might be the answer 😁

@Oldmothershrubboardi think you sound like me ! I want a lovely garden but am clueless!

Big pots as a previous poster said. And I really mean big 60 x 60cms minimum each. Or bigger. You're still going to need to water buy they'll cope better. Try palms and/or cordyline.

Trees should be fine for watering once they have been in for a year. Must have been something else which killed them. Go for huge pots then or raised beds maybe? Either way, they will need watering in summer .

Hibiscus do really well in pots and don’t need lots of watering.

A rockery garden might work well - no digging involved. Also if you can't garden on an ongoing basis, this is likely to be the most low maintenance option once established, (though I expect you will need assistance to build it initially). If the garden is too large to make one single rockery, you could dot several smaller ones over the area. You would be aiming to recreate the mountainous environment that alpine plants thrive in - sunlight and very good drainage.

If there isn't a weed proof membrane base then this would be a good place to start. Then plan out a design on paper or use a digital planner.

Arrange the largest rocks where you would like them ensuring they look balanced and give some height. Try out a few different placements until you're happy with the effect. Fill in between with smaller rocks and stones that add some interesting colour and texture. Use a gritty planting mix such as loam, grit, and leaf mould, or a mixture of compost, sand, and grit between the rocks for the plants.

Choose dwarf alpine sun-loving plants to place in position whilst still in their pots to get an idea of how they look, then rearrange as needed before planting.

The advice is always to buy as big pots as you can afford for the space. I know this, but I’m always surprised at how expensive big pots are. When faced with high prices, it is understandable that people buy smaller ones as and when they can afford them. But bigger pots do have more of an impact and give you more choice in what you can plant. If you do decide to do pots, I’d recommend buying shrubs with different shapes that are evergreen and that will flower/produce berries or has some variegation to look more interesting. So a lollipop (maybe a ceanothus? Or a camellia?) something more traditionally bushy with berries (a holly?) and something with interesting leaves (maybe one of the pink vairiegated photinias?).

if you’re not bothered about a shrub being evergreen, then your aspect could take a hydrangea (little lime would be fine for a pot) or a dwarf lilac or a shrub rose.

You can also plant bulbs for spring or small bedding plants for summer/autumn around the shrub in one of the pots if you’d like more colour.

But you will need to water them!

I currently have in pots:

• all my hostas
• Lychnis
• Gaura
• Hebes
• a Philadelphus
• two ensete banana plants. These are taken inside for the winter

As PP, you need a large pot and I would also invest in some clay planting balls to assist with water retention.