Boring patch

The patch of garden on my front between the house and drive really gets me down, such a boring piece to look at.

Any tips on how to liven this small plot up for the whole year?

 

With the lavender, I guess it gets quite a bit of sunshine?

I would put some spring bulbs in there (miniature iris, snowdrops, miniature daffs etc - all have fairly thin, short leaves after flowering), and maybe a selection of geranium sanguinium (white, pink and purple forms), or some more colourful creeping thymes (golden, varigated etc). All easy maintenance, will take the odd stray foot from the drive (we've all been unloading and accidentally stepped back onto the flower border!) and will look good against the stone mulch you are using...

 

...hardy cyclamen would also give you extra Autumn interest...

But I'm sure you'll get lots of other ideas too!

 

cheers all so far, its an east facing plot. I would like to remove the slate and lavender and the dreadful bush. Just want to start it again but would like a more interesting plot to look at, i like tropical Japanese kind of gardens but due to the size and the close proximity to the house would struggle with that kind of planing

 

Japanese gardens aren't what I would call "tropical" looking but if it is a slightly exotic look then Asian aroids would probably fit the bill and will deal with the shady'ish spot quite well. Good drainage is essential. It doesn't say where in the country you live so hardiness is a bit of a punt but here goes;
At the front Asarum proboscideum..............


Then Arisaema - A.costatum..............


A.tortuosum..............


Dracunculus vulgaris for fragrance (google it!)...................


Add Hosta and some Tricyrtis as well..................






Add some carefully chosen spring bulbs/tubers as well. Erythronium................




Scilla..............


Anenome blanda...........


A few ideas anyway.

 

great stuff thanks for that, will i have to wait for spring to get hold of most of them and will normal garden centers supply them or is it an online order? My area is leicestershire next to east midlands airport

 

more information on the area , size is 4ft x 10ft and is good drainage, where the manhole cover is i'm going to source a Japanese pot and put a red acer in there. I need to research the above plants on height and spread and then come up with a plant plan on where i want them, hopefully you will be able to advice when i do.

The manhole will be covered with a big slab of slate i have









Many thanks

Jamie

 

Easily available online. They should be hardy enough there I would have thought.

If you do houseplants you might consider Impatiens niamniamensis...................


It's tender but easily propagated and over-wintered. Planted out in a fairly shady spot it makes a superb exotic feature plant..............

 

thanks again for the great help and suggestions, how does my planting plan look below, would this work?

 

If the Tricyrtis is at the back it needs to be T.formosana (which is the most common species anyway). The last of the Tricyrtis photos that I posted is "Taiwan Adbane" (also fairly common) which is only 30/40cm tall.
Be careful with the Hosta positioning as the different species/cultivars vary greatly in size.
Don't get too carried away with the Impatiens - it is primarily a houseplant but it truly does excel planted outdoors in these conditions. I think that it is worth the effort for the "Wow factor" but remember that it is an annual that will need propagating and overwintering.

I personally think that the trick to an "exotic" planting scheme is simply use less common plants that have interesting shape (be it foliage or flowers) so a few more ideas for spring.
Two more spring bulbs to consider;
Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes Head Frit)................


And Fritillaria uva-vulpis................


Both are easy to source as bulbs.

Uvularia grandiflora gives a lot of "exoticness" for no effort as it is totally hardy. Late spring blooming..............


Dicentra spectabilis is a fairly common late spring bloomer but still worth thinking about.............