More ideas for plantings needed!

[GrendelsMum]

Can you help me with some ideas for an improved planting? (Sorry, rather a long one!)

I've got an L-shaped bed which is north-west facing, is about 2m deep and 2m on the inner parts of the 'L' shape. There's a large laurel tree at the back. Picture here:

lh6.ggpht.com/_V4xmNP68jmU/S7XdBuryOpI/AAAAAAAAAps/w-wCX9pNysc/s720/IMG_2535.JPG (Spring)

lh3.ggpht.com/_V4xmNP68jmU/S7XaF-lu45I/AAAAAAAAApk/P9R4IYLHBfU/s720/IMG_2854.JPG (Late summer)

Last year I had dahlias and verbena b in the sunny bit, plus calamagrostis Karl Foerster, as you see in the picture. This year, I'm planning to propagate from various things I already have, plus some one or two new purchases, and put together the following:

dahlia Glory of Nordwijk (orange)
dahlia David Howarth (orange)
achillea Inca Gold (yellow)
achillea Paprika (pink)
verbascum 'Clementine' (peach)

heuchera Obsidian (dark purple)
heuchera Peach Flambe (peach)

stipa tenuissima
calamagrostis 'Karl Forester'
bronze fennel

So basically, there's grasses / the fennel, heucheras to contrast, and then various fun flowers.

But I think it's lacking in something solid - probably round, low and solid - to contrast with all the tall and fluffy things. Any thoughts about what this should be? I think it needs to be something with leaves that are warm toned rather than silvery, because in the background there's a nice euonymus taking up room in the shade.

Any ideas?

I can't open your links GM and being nosy I'd like to see the border . Are you looking for a shrub or a perennial?

You could add clipped Box or Yew shapes or something like Pittosporum Tom Thumb but this is plummy coloured so perhaps not what you had in mind.

Can you put your links on again yours dont work?

Drat - I'm rubbish with this link business. Here's another go:

in early Summer

in late Summer

How old are your children? I ask because I was thinking of something like Euphorbia Chameleon, Fireglow or Dixter, but they're probably not suitable if you have small children who might be trampling on the bed to retrieve footballs.

Lovely garden, by the way!

Yes lovely garden!
GOod point about euphorbias, lots of garden designers use them as "punctuation points" in a border, ie repeated at intervals.
You could use Eup characia wulfenii which is evergreen mound shaped and vary the cutlivars of if (there are loads).

And yes I agree that Eup griffithii would look very good.

Other options for larger Euphorbias are mellifera or the new Pasteurii which is supposed to be a bit hardier
www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/other-perennials/euphorbia-x-pasteurii-/classid.2000011204/

Think any of these would work well with your planting style.

Oh, what a good idea! You're absolutely right on the euphorbias and I can't think why I didn't think of that before. Euphorbias are actually some of my favourite plants. Must have been having a dodgy day yesterday, brain-wise.

I thought of box / yew in my original planting plan, but then I think they'd have to go all round the garden in a Arts and Crafts style (which I love), but I suspect it would end up looking rather twee with the house.

Balls are no problem - members of the family are professional gardeners, so all children are very well trained with poisonous plants and keeping off beds!

Any other suggestions? Porridge?

Lovely garden GM.
Spooky Panancotta I was going to suggest Tom Thumb - it is sooo slow growing though.

I think that acid green would be nice - one of the smaller wulfenii cultivars. My chameleon get mildewed quite easily and my fireglow is a runner not a clump former. Another euphorbia suggestion - palustris - likes clay and about the right height?

Possibly a glaucous blue - melianthus major? If you cut it back it forms short clumps.

Phlomis russeliana - clump forming - makes a neat edge on the front of a border, indestructable, yellow flowers.

Pittosporum Tom Thumb grows in a natural ball shape but not sure it is what you want colour-wise.
It is slow but is quite easy to find larger specimens. Other Pittosporums might work, Tobira or Tobira nanum, lovely glossy leaves and scented flowers.

Both Eup mellifera and pasteurii have a rounded habit, perhaps a bit bigger than what you were thinking?
Did you want evergreen? Do you need some winter structure?

Osmanthus are good for clipping with nice scented flowers in Apri/May but again they get quite large (but easily controlled by pruning).

Wow, this is fabulous. Thank you so much. I'm going to walk out into the garden and mentally 'plant' each of those in turn, and see what happens. It does need to be everygreen for winter structure. There's a pittosporum Tom Thumb in one of the college gardens, so I might go and look at that again and see how it feels.

I might use an osmanthus to replace the mysterious shrub that is doing absolutely nothing (I have more than one of those). They got a chance last year, as I admitted I might have pruned them at the wrong time, but if they don't do anything by early summer, they are for the chop!