12m border ... plant ideas please!

our back garden of our north facing house is lawned over - up to the west side is a 6 ft fence that we are fed up of looking at so thought we would dig up a 2 ft deep border.
the garden, including the fence side gets sun most of the day, so we are wanting to plant shrubs etc that can cope with fairly day long sun in summer, and that wont die over winter.
so far we have a couple of Acers - firecracker - and a couple of heathers and a couple of lavenders. our recent trips around the garden centres have told us we don't have much money to spend! but we would like to get lupins, grasses, bamboo, and wonder if anyone had any other suggestions to fill the long border?
We would like to either plant them all in planters and put bark down to fill in the voids, or Put the larger plants in planters and use ground covering plants - but don't know which to pick? what would give us cheapish ground coverage?
thanks for any suggestions
sue

 

Where in the country are you?

 

Hi @sue young, the garden centres certainly know how to charge for plants, do you have a local market which has a plant stall? Or a farm shop near by? Sometimes they can be cheaper, we have a marvellous farm shop near us which is very reasonable.
As @longk has already asked, where abouts are you in the country?

 

If your garden is north facing, which way does the border face?

 

One of the cheapest ways to buy shrubs is to buy them bare rooted in winter. Most are a fraction of the cost of buying potted plants. There are some good on-line sellers that I've used in the past few years. You will of course have to wait until next year to see them growing though as they won't be sold bare rooted until about November.

 

thanks for your replies, im in south Yorkshire
sue

 

If money is an issue (and, let's face it, when isn't it?) then I would not be going for planters at all. With planters the costs are: pot, compost, plant + mulch. The weekly cost would be watering-can/hose + water. The annual cost would be top dressing + slow release feed and then, of course, you also run the risk of a vine weevil attack which could kill the plant.

So, maybe rethink the planters?

Second issue with cost would be: buy/acquire native plants
Bamboos are not native and some varieties can be very invasive (read demoralising too). Also, it is easier to get hold of native plants and they are more likely to thrive. Join your local Freecycle and visit local Boot Fairs - you may be surprised just what turns up and when.

Do not discount easy grow seeds (although now is not the best time for many of them): love in a mist, nasturtiums, cornflowers - even a packet of "wild flower" mix could fill a section of border in one season and seed freely for the next

Shrubs can be a blessing or a devil depending on what you choose. But, in the main, they do take some time to grow to their mature height. Anything too fast growing can be a devil in disguise because they will take time in maintenance. Lupins are lovely, but they do die back in winter and they can be a bit fickle when it comes to growing back the following year. Grasses are lovely ... but ... while I like the odd one or two, not something I would be rushing to fill a border with.

From August, Spring bulbs will be around and it might be an idea to begin thinking about Spring and how you would like that boarder to look then. Maybe go halves with a friend on a large bag of daffodils, for example? Do bear in mind though that the amount of sun that West facing fence gets *now* is not the same amount of sun it will get in the Winter. That may have an impact on what you decide to plant.

Aldi's, Lidl's, Poundstretcher, Wilkinsons, B&M's, all sell plants cheaply. The larger supermarkets also sell plants/bulbs, although, from experience, I would say Morrisons sell the best quality plants of the lot at very good prices!

In your shoes, I would be preparing the ground *now* (remove all grass, weeds, stones) and digging in either some well rotted manure, or enriching with compost and covering with a mulch (bark perhaps?). That's the most important thing - preparation!

Then, I would be thinking about what style I would like that boarder to be: cottage? Contemporary? Exotic? Water features? Maybe fruit? Maybe veg? Seasonal in appearance? Evergreen? Low maintenance?

Then, I would be tempted to get some books from the library and scan any photos which really appeal and that you would like as a part of your "look".

I get the impression from the Acers and with a desire for bamboos/grasses that you lean towards a Japanese feel to the border?

 

If cost is an issue you could do worse than a couple of hardy Fuchsia in there somewhere;

Fuchsia "David".................




Fuchsia "Hawkshead".................


Now is the time of year that nurseries panic a bit with small Fuchsia and often sell them off cheap to save potting them up.

You may want to consider underplanting deciduous shrubs with spring bulbs as well.

 

thank you so much for your replies, all taken on board and certainly given us food for thought

our, or perhaps, my reason for keeping in pots/planters is that we rent our house ... we would like to be able to take the plants with us when we move! hopefully by then we will have some lovely mature plants

thanks again,

sue

ps loving the pics of the fuscias!!

 

Aha! Totally understand that. Ok, well, there are a couple of ways of looking at that.

On the one hand, having them in pots will restrict their growth somewhat, so "maturity" could be debatable? However, if you are thinking of moving on in the next year, or at most two, then yes, I can see why that could be the better option for you.

On the other hand, if you are going to be in that house for more than two years, I would definitely go the ground route. Why? Well, if you go the ground route, and, depending on the plants you opt for, you will get to see how well they fare under your care, knowledge and time restrictions and how they meld together overall. If you don't like how they turn out, or don't quite meet your expectations, you can put it all down to experience and ... well, move on
Equally, those that you *do* like and thrived, you can take cuttings of. *Then* they take on a more personal appeal: they have a "history" Plus, you may derive personal satisfaction from your increased gardening knowledge and cutting experience.

I moved last year and I brought plants with me that I had grown in my previous house (in the ground for 4 years) and also in the house I was in before that (for 15 years). Fair enough to say that a couple of them have a house history they share with my sons life history

Obviously you have no idea where you will be when you move on, or what sort of garden it will have either. Very much a judgement call then?

 

hebes are always good shrubs that need little maintenance and come in all leaf colours, sizes and produce nice flowers

cheap ground cover I would go for Ajuga reptans they are my fav cause the leaves are glossy and you get spikes of purple flowers

 

Shiney your border is very much like ours, except we have only dug out by about 18inches.

 

hi "M", thanks, yes there is history in plants that are a time stamp of now that id like to be able to look on in future to remind me of now. we hope to move in the next year to two years at the latest. I hate that we are spending so much money on a house that isn't ours ... but it is our home and we want it to not look so bland and rubbish as it does now.
we are off to the garden centre later with 5 sheets of print outs from your replies ... ive looked up the images of some of the suggestions and got them just in case we cant find the plants by name!

thanks again, you have all been really helpful

 

Good luck at the garden centre @sue young and I hope you can find what you are looking for at a price which won't break the bank.

Maybe focus on bedding plants for not (which should be slashed in price) to give your home some colour?

Oh and don't forget to update us with your purchases