Starting to think about the development of the top border...

I was wondering if I could pick your brains on ideas for our top border, which I hope to develop next....

It is about 40-50 foot long, and about 12-15 foot deep. (Gulp - seems a lot more of a challenge when I describe it like that!!). The backdrop is an overgrown laurel hedge, that takes up about 3-5 foot of the border.
A relatively warm part of the garden, as highest point, and next to the road. So minimum temperature normally -5 degrees, lowest so far has probably been -10 degrees. Have had high of +38 degrees this year. Does get full blast of South-westerly wind, funnelled up the rest of the garden.

So far, left to right, we have a early ornamental cherry, some wild broom, an ornamental quince, with some deutzia and forsythia hiding behind them. Also some gorse, hazel, and choke berry.


Then a gold-tint conifer (about 15 foot tall), with various spirea in front, a wigelia/deutzia/philadelphus (hasn't flowered yet!!), and an unknown apple.




Lots of rosea rugosa, more spirea, another deutzia and then a purple-leaved cherry.

More hazel stools, currently cut down to about 6" high - each one is about 2 foot across. Any way to remove these, other than digging them out?
More spirea, a forsythia, some small campanula persicifola, and a white Veronica.

Then another golden conifer, a ?? Bridal crown (can't remember the name, sorry, @Silver surfer!), a young oak green that we would like to keep - we live on "oak wood street".
(Would be nice to have something to "block" out the only window that overlooks our garden!)

Finally, more hazel stools, various scrubby shrubs, and a mountain ash tree.

(Sorry the photos are a little out of date - the storm system the UK got yesterday is currently blasting through Belgium, so I'm not going out to take photos right now!!)

Our aims for this border...
Year round colour - already provided to some degree by the conifers, and the laurel hedge.
Some summer interest, preferably with scent.
We seem to be leaning towards white or pale flowers, as we tend to use the garden a lot in the evening.
As ever, we have a strong desire to encourage wildlife, so berries would be a bonus.
Herbaceous perennials would be good - relatively easy to maintain.
Wacky thought - I have a strange notion of creating a "spectabilis/spectabile" theme - a long story!

Happy to remove some/all of the shrubs, if necessary.

finally...
...remember...
...we do not have any soil, as most would know it! Very sandy, although this border did have a mulch of woodchip last year (aka the shredded branches of our fallen conifer).

Ok - is anyone bursting with planting ideas?!

 

Oh, I should have said what plants I have in "holding pots" waiting for a home to go to....

Four hydrangeas 3 lace cap, white, red and dusky pink with dark foliage; one pale pink mop head.
One climbing Iceberg rose.
Two young camellias (no more than a foot tall).

Plants that are going through my mind are:
Sambucus Nigeria black lace (to go next to one of the gold conifers)
Maybe a white buddleja? Could anyone recommend a good variety?
Roses - there should always be space for roses!!

 

How about a simple arbour against the hedge to blot out the house and grow the 'Iceberg' over it? It would also give something different to the area.

By what you've described that is already growing in the area and looking at the pictures I think you need some summer colour/flowers. The white Hydrangeas perhaps. How about Cistus, Lavender and the shrub form of Potentilla, none of which mind sandy soil. Lupins may cope with the sand too but they are late spring flowering and the flowers are short lived.

 

Now that's an idea?!! But would it look a little strange being that high? The hedge (which I have cut too low) is at least 6 foot tall, so the arbour would be 7-8 foot high? But then it would almost be a sort of folly?!

I love cistus, but hubby gets a little frustrated with them - I think because unlike day lilies, which hang onto their spent flowers, they drop them, at around 6pm or so, about an hour before he gets home! Maybe it will be a "plant for the lay-dee"?!
Lavender, yes, I love it, maybe some of the bigger forms... We have lots of dwarf types in the other beds.

And finally potentilla, yes again, I grew up with these, as dad was very fond of them.

Thank you, as ever, @Sheal , lots of food for thought!

 

I've just found this @Sian in Belgium, a bit ambitious may be but I love it's rustic look and a simpler version would look pretty good I think.



Or a basic trellis for the rose

 

Wow, something to do with all the choke trees we we chopping down!

Seriously thinking about putting a path to the back of the border, and then a bench seat with arbour now. Could be about to challenge my carpentry skills to the limit! But we do like to dot seating options around the garden, at the moment they are individual seats (with a broken recliner seat, cut down, to act as a table - the slight slope on the seat counters the slope perfectly!). But this seat would be square to the fence, and a bench seat .... Yessss!

Probably going to get some white mop head hydrangeas next year. The Belgians are dotty on hydrangeas, so the discount stores try to outcompete each other... The others will be slotted in as well somewhere. I've been taking down more bird-planted trees, so the bed is opening up by the day!

 

Sorry, it's seems I've caused you more work, but I'd love to see what you put together.

Everyone's different, I can't stand them! I don't like big blousey flower heads and dislike Rhododendrons for the same reason.

 

Well, they may have not been my first choice, which is why I have managed to resist them for 10 years....
...but I think a splash of white at the top, as offered by mop heads, might be the right statement at the top of the garden.

 

Another pile of hazel, totally neglected philadelphus, and chokeberry, removed. Some of the hazel pieces are about 12 foot long - even dragging them out of the back of the border was hard work, not made any easier by having to make sure that I didn't damage my veggies!
Apologies for my delinquent tomatoes, which grow any way but up! Will develop a much stronger support framework for next year's plants!! Hey ho, we live and learn!!

Job for today - to cut up all the small stems and leaves for the compost heap, make a pile of thicker branches to be put to dry for firewood, and long thick branches assessed for making a rustic climbing rose support!

 

Do you know the saying "Can't see the wood for the trees"......well we can now! You'll soon have your garden tamed Sian.

 

Oops! I didn't realise how out of date this thread was...

So here is where we were at, by the end of the 2015 season.
An overview - as you can see, it is a little more open now


Some of the stems/wood/trees that had to be removed (lots of Hazel "tumps")


The size of one of the Hazel tumps - it took us days to get this out!


...and the hole that was left!

This proved useful. I did well at the end-of-season sale in Wyevale (sorry, will always be that in my eyes - it is the "mother store" in Hereford, after all!), so the hole was filled with spare soil, and the bargains were popped out of their pots, and overwintered in this impromptu holding bed.

I will get out with the camera this afternoon, to show you how it all looks now. No sign of the arbour, Sheal, but the idea is still ticking away in my mind

 

You have worked so hard and it shows well done on a job well dun! Its looking fab now @Sian in Belgium
Lol I would kill for that Hazel ..I'm having to carry mine miles to do the same build an hazel arbour/arch....well it feels like MILES

 

You've obviously been busy again Sian. How many Hazels are left and will they be staying? Seeing the soil around the hole it's almost entirely sand, I'm surprised anything will grow in it, ever thought about a palm tree or two?

Sorry, joking aside you've done well, your garden has certainly been a challenge. Have you any new plants in mind for the cleared area?

 

Yup, just hand tools, and a fair bit of cussing!!