Suggestions for plants to buy for our new garden

[Ponymum]

I need some advice from experienced green thumb types please. We have just put in a lovely new lawn where we used to have a big bare courtyard, and I now need some plants to make it all come to life. Suggestions please!

My wish list/requirements are:

1. A fast growing wall climber which keeps its leaves all year round. I have heard of one (has white flowers?) but I can't remember what it is called.
2. A tree / large bush which will give us green all year round. At the moment we are all bare branches in the winter. But I really hate conifers. Is there another option? I wondered about holly or bay. Are there some others?
3. A miniature climbing rose which will grow quickly over a trellis. ( Is there on without thorns?)
4. Is it OK to put a magnolia in a big pot? i.e. a half barrel.

Please feel free to make any other suggestions. We have a blank canvas and a mix of sunny spots, walls and shady parts. Also feel free to mention anything we should avoid in order to keep the garden safe for DD (11 mths).

Passionflower is a fast growing climber, blue/white flowers and I think keeps it's leaves here

jasmine is a climber with white flowers that will keep its leaves year round if you are in london! flowers too, probably. i love passionflower and they have very bizarre fruits that smell really strongly and sweet, always wondered if you can make jam out of them or something... honeysuckle is another good climber.
i think laurels are evergreen? i have a big bush in a dark corner OMG HAVE JUST READ THAT SENTENCE AGAIN.... sorry, anyway, i have this PLANT and it's quite large and evergreen and i think it's laurel. i also love hydrangeas - gorgeous flowerheads, not quite evergreen but you can keep the dried flowerheads on over winter so it still has structure and goes a lovely bronze.
no idea about magnolias. avoid foxgloves as they're poisonous and would suggest nothing too prickly (so maybe not holly?)

There are so many beautiful evergreen shrubs. I'd avoid holly if you have to garden around it, too spikey.

I like:
Euonymus, ever green with gold and green variegated leaves
Choisya (mexican orange)
Escallonia - pink flowers in late spring and all round dark green leaves

Oh and viburnum tinus has glossy dark green leaves and it flowers in winter

You could also consider dogwoods which lose their leaves but have colourful stalks (red or bright yellow) in the winter

Nasturtiams are easy to grow, and you can eat the flowers in salads.

Sunflowers for next summer, I have 8.5 foot monsters in my garden. They tower above all of us.

Re; prickly things. I have a couple of rose bushes, two holly bushes inherited from my dearly departed grandad and a couple of cacti in pots, although they are all at the edges of the garden, not where we wander about. When DS was about 18 months he slowly went to touch a cactus, I told him no, he did it anyway - and he has never touched one since. He was fine, a bit shocked, but no harm done at all. He learnt his lesson very fast.

clematis amandii is evergreen and scented climber. Do NOT be tempted by Russian Vine - it will take over the garden and attracts flies.

Endless series of evergreen shrubs including all the lovely camellias; garrya elliptia; magnolias + all the above;
Thornless rose is Zepherine Drouhin. not sure what you mean by minature + climbing? Alistair Stella Grey is my fave climber for scent.

Magnolia in a pot - depends. don't go for one of the fast growing big ones, and any will need good care and attention in a pot ie regular watering and feeding if you want it to flower.

Bay will grow very quickly - you would need to trim it.

'Constance Elliot' is a lovely white passion flower here.

Yew - evergreen but not a conifer and red berries in winter. [[http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/daphne-odora-aureomarginata/classid.3751/ Daphne odora Grows to 1.5m and wonderfully scented flowers in the middle of winter.

Ooo.. this is all great stuff! Busy googling all the plants you have mentioned!

omaoma LOL at your big dark bush! But I think I already have one of those.

Op, with your dd in mind, I wouldn't plant yew - poisonous. I think daphne might be a skin irritant too?

Yes, I knew that yew was poisonous for ponies so would avoid on principle!

A smaller than average Clematis armandii (evergreen climber) is Little White Charm, listed on this page:
www.clematisplants.co.uk/clematis-spring-flowering.htm
the usual ones are quite vigourous.
Clematis Early Sensation and cirrhosa are also evergreen, you will find them on on the above website.
Another lovely evergreen climber is Trachelpsermum which flowers over the summer and has the most amazing scent. I find Jammine a bit messy as a climber, ok if you have loads of room but often looks a bit of a tangled mess if its on show.

Re evergreen shrubs, I think Portuguese Laurel is one of the best evergreens, smart glossy leaves, not fussy re soil type, wind and drought tolerant, fairly fast growing and flowers in summer. There is a thornless Holly which I have in my garden and it looks great, Ilex JC van Tol. Choisya is another good evergreen choice, Aztec Pearl is the prettiest with lovely white scented flowers.

This is a climbing (rambling in fact) rose which is thornless but its not miniature, is more or less evergreen but needs a sunny spot
www.classicroses.co.uk/roses/r/rosa_banksiae_alba_plena.html

The best Magnlolia for a pot would be a Magnolia stellata, the others are too large
www.burncoose.co.uk/site/plants.cfm?pl_id=2808

I'd probably put in some decent small trees/shrubs and climbers first and then add perennaials later on.

My favourite small tree is Forest Pansy
www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/plantcard/CercisForestPansy/1065.aspx which needs a sunny spot.

For shrubs, there are lots of good Viburnums, some evergreen and some scented, V burkwoodii is both, Choisya,Deutzia and Hydrangea are easy shrubs for summer/autumn flowers.

Good climbers are clematis (as above), Akebia, fast and easy to grow and semi evergreen, Solanum jasminoides which flowers from spring to autumn and grows quickly.

HTH

pannacotta Thank you so much! This is great.

Question: Can you help me with basic terminology? What is a perennial? Is it the opposite of deciduous? (Sorry if I sound really stupid!)

Perennial is a plant which comes back year after year.
Deciduous means loses leaves in winter, unlike evergreen.

Why not borrow some gardening books from you local library?
There are some good ones around now with good explanations and decent photos which will help with this kind of thing.
They are also good for inspiration and seeing what you like and dont like.

This is a lovely site with great photos
www.turning-earth.co.uk/