Creating winter interest.

The point is.....hebes like dry well drained soil; honeysickles the opposite. Thus you are not selecting compatible plants.
The PH....easily determined by the amateur....warm or cold soil; free draining or moisture retentive; sun or shade; exposed or sheltered. Once you have determined your conditions then choose plants that tick all the boxes!!

 

Back to the Skimmia idea....there used to be a good, reliable, hermaphrodite cultivar called reevesiana. Flowers and berries, easy to grow on slightly acidic soil. If you're going to plant honeysuckle against a shed, you'll quite probably need to water it from time to time, as @Verdun says, they don't do well in dry conditions. So....any other plants nearby will also get watered, yes? So that widens the choice.....

 

Always wise to grow things that suit your conditions right from the start.
Always options.....trachelospermum or summer jasmine will fare better than a honeysuckle in slightly dryer spots. Classier too
Just back from a walk to the beach.....light, bright, sunny and feeling warm. Hmmm! The weatherguy says showers though

 

I saw today one of my local garden centres is stocking up on hellebores. As I am not going to be in a position to plant anything there until next spring can I:

Buy the plant I like now, divide into pots now while it's still growing, green house it till next autumn, divide it again and have 4 healthy plants.

If I can't do that are they likely to be reduced in price when they start to go over next spring.

I also had a look at Bergenia Autumn Magic. It's a nice compact size and evergreen. It could keep the interest going between hellebore flowerings. If not, I'm sure it could do a job somewhere in my garden.

G.

 

Won't attempt to answer the first part of your query, but, I do know that our local GC's reduce the price in Spring (plus, you get to see the colour/size of the flower). It's a gamble and only you can decide if its one you are willing to take. It is my plan to buy discounted ones in Spring 2018

 

Gary, no don't divide those hellebores now. I assume your have seen Niger, the so-called christmas rose with white flowers? Not the same as the later flowering Orientalis varieties that come in all sorts of colours.
Hellebore will be evergreen, is hardy (will not enjoy being in a gh) and prob will not be cheaper next spring but why would you buy this variety then when it will not flower again until next winter?
I would plant it out, pot and all, and enjoy if now. If your plants are small I would put it into larger pots and do so using john innes number 3 compost.
Hellebores do not like being divided and like to get established. They will form large plants.
I do divide large hellebores however but they can sulk.
Bergenias? Some, not all, have red foliage over winter so useful and evergreen. Autumn Magic will contrast beautifully with white hellebores so nice idea Gary

 

Hi @Verdun These are not Niger. These are the real thing in lots of colours. Of course they are not yet in bloom. I literally have nowhere to put them yet so I will have to wait for next year's crop. It's not a problem. I was just trying to get ahead of the game.



G.

 

I have been reading that Autumn Magic can live happily in pots. Can it be split? I can easily buy some big pots for not a lot of money. The plants then could sit on my patio or on the steps of my summer house until such time I needed them. Failing that, I could just wait until I need them.



G.

 

@"M" Thankfully I am in no rush. I will wait to see what happens in the spring. If I can't get what I'm looking for I will just have to wait for them to come back into season.

Somewhere recently I mentioned sedum acre as a gap filler. Is that a plant anybody has experience of? It would be used in a completely different part of the garden in constant sun.

G.

 

Ok Gary. Always best to buy them when in flower; despite labels, etc. quality and colours vary enormously in reality so I would wait until spring. However, you never know, you may get something unusual if you get them now.......one of my favourite hellebores is a seedling and totally unlike anything else I have. For me, I choose exact named varieties . My most recent being a double black. For an idea of colours and type check out Ashwoods nurseries online .
Bergenias can be split and you can do it now.
Sedum acre is a completely different plant......this wants dry, impoverished soil, full sun; invasive though. Many use it as a roof garden. Not really a garden plant
Not long back from teaching people with learning difficulties.......today, how to make more of your plants so a lot of plants divided and propagated using my own plants ....hugely rewarding

 

Two shrubs I love for winter interest is the Calicarpia, and the red twigged dogwood.
there is also the black berry lily.

 

Is Saponaria ocymoides any good as a ground cover in place of the sedum acre?

G

 

Gary, what sort of soil do you want to plant in?
saponaria ocymoides, we call it soapwort here, grows wild on the Towans. Pretty thing. Again, not really a garden plant as it will spread fast
All depends what you personally fancy.

 

Good link here with detailed info Plant Profile for Saponaria ocymoides - Rock Soapwort Perennial
I use the above on dry stone walls very pretty and will cope with a good hard cutting back after flowering in the spring - its evergreen so will be a nice carpet weed suppresser ..but not suitable to walk on

 

I am looking for a pretty ground cover that will sit in front of my barrel and between my geums (or whatever ends up going there). The soil is clay and it would be in full sun most of the year. Something evergreen would be nice but not essential. I don't want anything too invasive. A nice colourful carpet would be nice. In front of that will hopefully be a border dedicated to spring bulbs. At least that's the theory.



G.