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Help! What would you do with this area?

14 replies

Cindy1802 · 02/03/2026 21:13

Moved into this house in the autumn, and really want to make a colourful feature of this porch area but don't even know where to start, I'm pretty new to gardening - I love my house plants but still a newbie when it comes to outside. I think I want a handful of pots with lots of colour, but if anyone has any ideas who knows what they are doing, hit me with them! What's the best AI for gardening ideas? I tried chatGPT and it's visual suggestion was ridiculous 🤣

Help! What would you do with this area?
OP posts:
EdithStourton · 02/03/2026 21:42

Which way does it face? If north, then your choices are limited (unless you ship pots in and out). If south, a lot of things will bake....

Cindy1802 · 02/03/2026 21:52

East-ish facing

OP posts:
BalletSki · 02/03/2026 22:05

I would plant climbers on each side of the porch and another into the corner on the right to hide the drain pipes. Go for something evergreen and scented. I'd suggest a star jasmin - the leaves turn as reddish colour in winter. Smells gorgeous when it flowers. It'll need a support/wire/ trellis go grow up. I'd see what the existing shrubs looked like in spring/summer and if any perennials pop up.
It would be good to plant some spring bulbs for next year. And then flowering perennials for the summer. If you want flowers in pots, maybe patio roses, and bedding plants

senua · 02/03/2026 22:34

That is a fabulous entrance! I don't think that you should do too much planting to compete with it.

I think something formal would suit e.g. box balls.
For that colour brick you want soft, muted colours. They have chosen the paint colour well. Choose flowers in smoky-blue (think of "blue remembered hills"), lavender, pink, white. Have silvered leaves or variegation. A hydrangea Annabelle might be nice: it has the old-fashioned look that goes with the architecture and the white will go with the render and the door.
Have roses round the door (but not so many that you obscure it) in a soft cream or washed-out pink. Choose a rose with a nice smell - it's always lovely to have a scent near a high-traffic area like a doorway.

QuiteUnbelievable · 07/03/2026 08:08

Beautiful.entranxe id have some lighter clematis there rather than huge heavy climbers hiding that lovkey woodrok.
Viteccla.i think are good ones and puts with hollyhocks erx

QuiteUnbelievable · 07/03/2026 08:09

However you could have a rose to the right going up to the right....Pierre Ronsard

Lordofthewing · 07/03/2026 08:11

I have porch envy! What a fabulous space!

theministerscat · 07/03/2026 09:04

That is a stunning porch and I have massive stained glass window envy.

I’d keep it simple in terms of the porch itself - maybe a climbing rose growing up from the right hand corner to cover the pipes, something like Gertrude Jekyll as it’s got a wonderful fragrance and it’s repeat flowering so you don’t just get flowers for a few weeks. Sometimes called ‘the nation’s favourite rose’ for good reason!

theministerscat · 07/03/2026 09:05

Here’s what I meant.

Help! What would you do with this area?
brambleberries · 08/03/2026 17:20

Tudor-style frontage really suits a structured, restrained, and slightly formal style to complement the architectural features, the timber framing, strong roof lines and traditional elements.
Evergreen planting maintains a presence through the winter - if it looks good in January it likely looks good all year. Form, foliage colour, and texture rather than flowers, gives lasting visual interest and helps create the 'bones' of the garden and give it a timeless, settled feel.

I would focus on keeping the planting simple and cohesive so the house and its fabulous entrance remains the main visual feature. Use a limited palette of plants* *and repeat them to create rhythm and calmness. And keep mature size in mind, choosing plants that are naturally compact or slow growing so they don't overwhelm the space, and don't require lots of maintenance.

I will try and upload some planting designs to give an idea of what I mean…So, I've generated a couple of AI images - a warm scheme and a cool one. They're not an accurate reflection of the size of your planting area (and the plants are too crowded) but it gives a feel for what I had in mind.

Dwarf conifers (could be replaced with Euonymus green spire and Euonymus Elegant Aureus if insufficient light for conifers to thrive), variety of Heucheras and Erica Carnea and Erica × Darleyensis ‘Kramer's Rote’ both are winter flowering.
In the cool planting scheme there are also white flowers of candytuft Iberis sempervirens - also winterflowering. I can give specific varieties of dwarf conifer and heucheras if you're interested, plus other plants in this design.

Help! What would you do with this area?
Help! What would you do with this area?
Bryonyberries · 09/03/2026 09:54

Beautiful porch as it is! I’d wait and see what comes up in the beds this year as there are probably some lovely surprises hiding. Just keep it well swept and tidy for now.

QuiteUnbelievable · 11/03/2026 16:14

@theministerscat I've got a Gertrude in a pot I didn't realise it was a climber !!

viques · 11/03/2026 16:31

First of all I would have a good clear up. Get rid of all those drifted leaves, any pots, that pile of twigs/ logs, lanterns etc until you have got back to bare bones. now you can see what you have to work with.

Try and identify the plants that are in the rh bed. Decide if you want to keep them, if not pull them out and either plant in the back, offer to someone or bin, if you want to keep them check on how to look after them, one looks like a climber , possibly a clematis, without anywhere to climb, if this is the case work out how you could support it to grow upwards. do the plants need tidying up after the winter. How does the soil look, could it do with improving?

Think about how much effort you want to devote to this patch. You might want to have pots with seasonal or permanent planting, but pots take work, they need to be watered, changed seasonally, maintained, plants fed etc. if you aren’t prepared to put in the work,( and don’t have an outside tap handy) then stick to growing things in the beds.

Have a look around your neighbourhood, if you see plants you like and which are growing well use a plant identifier on your phone, chances are if they like the conditions in your neighbours gardens they will like conditions in yours.

This all sounds as though it will take time, it will, but time spent planning isn’t wasted, it will in the long run probably save you time and money money as plants you don’t like, or which die because they are in the wrong place, or which grow too large for the space have eventually to be discarded. It is very tempting to go to a garden centre and fill up a trolley for instant impact , but it is often hit and miss!

ps if you can fit a small water butt discreetly next to those drain pipes it will save you carrying water cans ( unless we have a drought) if you do decide to go for pots!

Cindy1802 · 20/03/2026 20:28

Sorry all I havemt been on Mumsnet in a while..thanks for your comments and ideas, lots of food for thought!

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