Hi from a Newbie and general help please :-)

Hello,
I wanted to introduce myself as I'm new to the forums. I'm Lisa and I live in Hertfordshire. I have a fairly compact garden with a lawn for the kids and some nice largish borders for me to potter in! I'd describe myself as a novice gardener with big aspirations - lol! I'm looking forward to getting to know you all a bit better and taking complete advantage of your expertise! Of course, I will try and reciprocate where I can, but I know very little or value although I am always happy to chat... ho-hum!

I've been busy reading the threads while watching the Royal Wedding today (sorry!) and I wondered if I could ask a few general questions. I know you guys seem to like photo's so I've posted some below.

First, I have planted a Boston Ivy (parthenocissus tricuspidata Lowii) which I managed to get at a knock down price. The label tells me is will grow to 10m in 10 years, which is ok as I've planted it to cover a fence and it has the room to grow. However, I'm a bit nervous. Does anyone have any experience of growing this who could tell me whether its likely to take over the world, beginning with my garden?!

Second, I have a Kilmarnock Willow shrub (again, bought for a knock down price... I like a bargain, can you tell?!) I've planted it and it looks great, but it was in a pot (obviously!) and it's branches almost touched the ground. Now its planted the branches actually do touch the ground. Should I cut them back a bit so they're not in contact with the soil? There's a picture here...



Third, This is my Clematis Allanah:


The label tells me I should 'Prune hard in early Spring' but please would someone explain what this actually means? Should I be cutting it back to ground level or just giving it a general haircut? And what months are 'early spring'? It's probably obvious but I'm worried about killing it off!

Fourth, Would you please suggest some tall plants I can put at the back of this gap:


The plant to the left of the picture is a large laurel and so the area I would like to fill gets very little sun and the surrounding soil is fairly dry. In fact, weeds don't even grow too well down there so I will improve the soil before anything goes in. Its a shame as this is the area of the garden that is the most visible from the kitchen window so it would be good to have some colour there if possible.

I think that really is quite enough from me now! Thank you very much in advance for your replies :-)

 

For some reason I can't actually read this post in full, each time I click on it I get only this reply box. If someone can 'sort it out', we can perhaps answer the question.

 

T'was not a criticism, merely an observation - everyone's entitled to a bit of a lay-in (besides, I suspect you were at the Palace until the early hours!).