Complete novice - what plants?

Hi, I'm a complete non gardener and am after some advice.

I'm in my first house and am redoing the small front garden.

Its basically 2 small patches eitherside of some steps leading down to the front door, one side slopped with ordementle rocks, the other flat with a wall at the side and back. There were some big boring overgrown bushes there, but I've dug them up.

So, I need some new plants. I'm after a mix of scrubs that are colourful and will be colourful for a large proportion of the year, again, flowers that will be in bloom for as long as poss and maybe some small colourful bushes.

I dont mind a bit of trimming here or there, but dont want major maintenance.

Any suggestions of what to go for? Pictures, or links to sites where I can see them would be excellent!

 

Hello Miles and welcome.
Is the garden sunny or shady for most part of the day?

 

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

The garden is in the shade all day.

 

Best bet is to go to http://www.rhs.org.uk and click on the Plant Selector. Put in the type of soil, aspect etc and it will come up with plants for your situation.
Good luck

 

A suggestion for you - why not try a mixture of roses, mixed with lavender and pinks - or lavender and fuchsias. That should give you colour most of the year.

 

Azaleas, ceanothus and hygrangeas do really well in Cornwall. The first 2 flower earlier in the year and the hydrangeas flower a little later. I agree with Fran's idea about a fuchsia we have a variagated one which has been flowering for months now and it doesn't mind being pruned to keep it contained.

 

Firstly, it might be a good idea to test the pH of your soil. I'd assume from your location that it would be neutral to acidic, but mortar from the walls could make the soil in the immediate vicinity much more alkaline.

I don't think lavender will do well in a shady location, and if it's really shady, roses won't give you a whole lot of flower either.

Hydrangeas would be happy in the shade, Ceanothus is a sun-lover. Fuchsias will do very well in light shade. Both Hydrangea and Fuchsia are quite late flowering, so you'd need something giving colour early in the season too. Perhaps some woodland plants and bulbs for spring colour? (See RHS plant selector.)

Also consider Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) for spring-to-autumn colour. There are also varieties with colourful bark (such as Sango-kaku with coral-red winter stems) to give interest in winter.

I'd also use evergreen shrubs for year-round structure. Variegated hollies are happy in shade and look beautiful all year round. Euonymus are good too. Ones such as 'Silver Queen' and 'Emerald'n'Gold' will spread slowly, and climb if they reach a wall or other vertical. Camellias for shiny, evergreen leaves and beautiful flowers in spring (but make sure they're not in contact with alkaline soil). Low-growing Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' will provide colourful flowerbuds for months on end in autumn to winter, and the female skimmia will also give you berries. Pernettya have berries in day-glo pink and purple and need an acidic soil.

And, of course, just take a walk in your local area to see what's doing well in other people's gardens (in the same aspect). It's a really good indicator of what's likely to do well in yours.