Desperately in of need help choosing plants for garden border

Hi fellow gardeners!

I am new to all that is gardening and for the last 2 weeks i have been researching over and over what to put in my new garden border that i am creating and it is driving me insane! I can't seem to find what plants would be best, everything is so over whelming and i don't know where to begin. I really hope someone here can help me

Let me start with what my border will look like (i will attach a photo i have if i can as well) It will be running along my side fence at a length of 6meters and a depth of 60cm (i cant go much deeper than this as the Mrs wants to keep as much grass as possible) it will be in 75% of the days sunshine and the soil is pretty normal in the sense its not rock hard and breaks up easily when dug. I would like to make it so there is interest all year round, even during the winter months and have some nice colour for the summer months.

I have attached two pictures, the string line indicates where the border is going to be, i have recently installed the decking and i did want to put all the slate chippings you see near the decking in the border as well but i'm unsure if it will blend in with the flowers and maybe bark will look better.

As i have said i am just so confused as what to put in the border and any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

Your profile box doesn't say where in the country you are?

 

sorry, i am in the south east, essex.

 

I know your Missus won't agree but 60cm is just too narrow in my opinion. You'd get a row of plants at best which would look like they were being lined up to be shot!
What about a curved border that starts narrower but goes around to fill the corner on the other side of where your slate chips are? Hopefully that makes sense! It could start at 60cm and get wider as it goes back.
People will be happy to recommend plants but need to know which way it faces, have you any clay and are you after low maintenance or something more intensive?

 

Thanks for the reply CharlieBot, yeah that's a good point I didn't think about them looking like that haha, how wide would it ideally need to go? I have no clay, and I don't mind a bit of maintenance just nothing to major that's going to need loads of attention, I have been looking again tonight and was thinking maybe a Mediterranean theme, that way I maybe able to keep the slate chippings going intocthe border.

 

Personally, I would go with one or the other but not mix the two. So, if you are determined to keep the slate chip near the decking, then you can top your border with it too. It's purpose on the border is to reduce moisture loss and reduce weeds (or, at the very least make it easier to weed if they should pop up).

Does she have a particular reason for wanting to keep as much grass as possible? For children to play on, perhaps? For sunbathing? Garden parties? She loves mowing?

Love the decked area, well done, good job! I think, for privacy from the overlooking neighbours + the restrictions on planting space, I would be tempted to put up some trellis to screen off the decking. Along where your cat is sat. That way, you could add some climbing plants too.

You don't have a huge garden, but you do have a good space there to work with. One mistake with a smaller garden is to limit plants/planting space in the hope that it will make the garden look bigger; it doesn't. So that is something to consider when working out what you want and where.

 

Yeah my intention was to go with one or the other, I have 15 sacks of the slate chippings in my garden hence why I would like to use that if I can.

She didn't want to make the garden look smaller by having a big flower bed and also whe are looking to start a family next year so would like a decent size grass for the children.

Thank you was well worth the hard work over a weekend I am chuffed to bits with it! So in regards to the trellis where would that sit? Just in front of the decking? So would attach to the outside of the decking?

 

This is with the border marked out at just under 1meter off the fence whicn gives me more room, and I could curve it where it meets the decking to give me a large corner patch

 

Ah, ok. Well, the left hand side is a decent enough size of lawn for young children (and once they are school age they'll want to go to a park/swimming pool/footie clubs/ballet etc ).
I had a similar size garden, which my two sons grew up in and I still managed to have a good few plants in it, so don't give up hope!
Another plus (in your favour) is that flowers bring wildlife (butterflies, bees, bugs) and young children are not only fascinated by such humble things, but can learn a lot from them and about them too

The decking wouldn't be strong enough to hold the trellis. I would put in posts to attach the trellis to and would run it from the fence, along the front of the decking, to the path.
But then, to be honest, I would then add an arch over the path and continue the trellis to the far left (in front of the shed) so that whole stretch of garden became a separate area. Now, I know it *sounds* as if it would make the garden look smaller, but actually, it wouldn't because the archway in the middle would trick the eye into seeing space beyond (and yet more opportunity for adding climbing plants ).

Yes, extending that side border to 1 meter would make a difference when it comes to planting.
But let me play with your imagination just a little bit more. Why are you going along the fence with your border?
Just suppose you put a trellis "fence" (with arch) running across the width; you would then have a border running with it so you could put in your climbing plants to weave up the trellis. So, you could then run another border to mirror it, along the width but near to the house (keeping the fence line free). Then, you would see two squares of lawn (easy on the eye) instead of thin rectangles of grass. Does that read well/make sense?

 

Ok, so you should have a good climate and the soil sounds good.

Got to agree.

That's hit the nail on the head. With @"M" idea of a trellis it could work well.

Plants then;
Using a combination of trellis and a metal arch (we used 15mm mild steel rod) you could start a Jasmine arch...............


Once established it will be self supporting and the scent in the evening is lovely.


Up against the fence you could try pushing the limits a bit. Maybe something like a Sophora macrophylla..............


Or a Clianthus puniceus..............


Other kind of (loosely) Mediterranean themed ideas;
Digitalis ferruginea..................




Digitalis Illumination Pink...............




Salvia microphylla and Salvia greggii and the various hybrids and cultivars offer plenty of choice..............






I can offer loads more!

 

Now that sounds a fantastic idea, it may interfere with my washing line but I maybe able to get around that, also the reason for my decking in that corner is it's a sun trap all day, the trellis "fencing" and arch wouldn't block too much of the sun would it?

This is also a great idea that I love, would this work on a smallish arch? Say just over a meter width? How long would the jasmine take to establish?

Great selection of plants there longk, that has helped me a lot thank you.

 

Beautiful suggestions @longk

 

On this one, I might be tempted to keep it simple, and at the same time, use some of the other suggestions already made.

On the chamfered corner of the deck, put a rose arch, and along the sides, railings. ie, a low "open" fence about 90 to 100cm high. Along the fence and over the arch have pink climbing roses, say about a metre or so apart. In between them, alternate with Ladys Mantle and something like sage, lavender or perhaps catmint. These can be used under the railings as well.

 

That sounds really nice actually, what do you mean by the "open" low fence? I can't seem to picture it.

 

"Open Fence" is the term I use for a fence that a person can easily see through. Something like you might have on your stairs, or a widely spaced lattice work.