Help please! The time has come to re-vamp my lovely, sheltered bed near the pool. A few erstwhile residents have given up the ghost and others need splitting and re-planting, so I'm relying on you experts to suggest some replacements and additions The Amaryllis belladonna are on their way out to the main border....too messy for such a short flowering period! The permanent fixtures are a standard olive tree, Trachelospermum, Podranea, Ipomea indica, Ensete maurelii, Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' and a pink-flowered purple-leaved Canna. It looks as though a big, scented-leaf Pelargonium is happy there all year round too, so I'm looking for suggestions for smallish, possibly evergreen, shrubs and perennials to plant along the front. Scent would be good So would interesting foliage. What do you think?
Hi @noisette47 , how about some of my favourites..... Dianthus . You can get them from one inch high mats to three ft high Carnations. Most are deliciously scented as well.
When you mention what you have growing there I really cant believe the winter temperatures you tell me you get down there.
Hi @noisette47 - is the front of the bed raised at all? I saw that @Victoria had russelia equisetiformis growing, and I remember seeing that cascading over a wall in Corfu. Evergreen I think and a bit different.
As Pete said, the ensete stays out all year? If so, it opens up a whole sub tropical world of possibilities. More info needed on minimum temps before we all chip in
I do grow pinks and carnations on a sunny bank, @KFF. They're beautiful, aren't they? Bit of a short flowering period here, though, and the ever-present threat of soggy winters
Had, @pete, had some humdingers, but the last two or three winters have been wet and mild. As the bed is enclosed by a wall on two sides it's pretty sheltered and I can wrap the banananana up if necessary You just never know, though, what's in store!
Well temps used to dip briefly to -8C in November, then anything between -12C to -17C in January or February. But rarely long cold spells. Lately, though, just a handful of ground frosts on the exposed bits. It really is the most sheltered part of the garden which is why I'm willing to gamble It's also easy to protect plants there. The fleece, felt and foil insulation are never far away. The 'soil' is appalling, though. Despite years of adding compost, FYM, sand, grit, you name it! So a lot of the gunge will be replaced by decent topsoil during the replanting. I'm thinking smallish, well-shaped, possibly silvery foliage (because there's already a lot of purple/black) in fact, we're back to pinks again, aren't we?
Just a quick update, as the suggestions fizzled out I got a couple of hardy Gardenias, Kleim's Hardy and Summer Snow, and a Convolvulus cneorum. I suspect that I'll probably have to provide shade for the Gardenias through the hottest part of summer, but a 'G. Crown Jewel' is doing well further along the wall, and the fragrance will carry on nicely from the freesias which flower earlier in the year. Not aiming for a 'white garden' à la Sissinghurst, though. The Ipomea indica, Caesalpinia, Erythrina, Podranea and Cannas all add plenty of zing
what about another Eucomis? Zambesiaca is white flowered and coconut scented apparently. I thought I had it, but it turned out to be a purple leaf form, and the other white one I have is not coconutty. Gardenias are a good call.
