Evergreen shrub behind the pond- suggestions?

I think I want a medium size, evergreen shrub behind the pond. Arching stems like those of Spiraea would look good, but Spiraeas are pretty only in summer and otherwise just a bunch of sticks.

I like Escallonia very much, but haven't seen anything with a bit of a relaxed habit if not actually weeping.

The intent is to have a higher point also for winter interest, and to cast some shade on the side of the pond where the ferns will go.

The aspect is bang in the centre of a South facing garden, heavy clay soil, North East.

Thanks!

 

What about a evergreen fern like Polystichum munitum ? Or a phormium of some kind yellow wave / others with improved soil conditions another type of grass. Having something arching and evergreen is a bit tricky, some of the conifers like chamaecyaparis have arching foliage and the junipers . Leauchthoe maybe another choice . Acer garnet /others are interesting even when the leaves drop how structural branches are. Abelia could work also they do arch when flowering not as much as spirea but are semi evergreen . Fatsia ?

 

Not every green but what about a dogwood. Lovely stem colour in the winter. Our ferns grow throughout our garden in full sun as well as semi shade. We haven't planted many of them the pores just move and we then have new ferns. I really do mean that many of our ferns are in total full sunshine so maybe you don't need an every green to shade them out. Just a thought.

 

I have a chinese abelia and it seems to be evergreen. colourful for a long time and bees like it

 

The early white Spirea [S. arguta] has a naturally arching habit. Not evergreen though.
If you improve the soil to get decent drainage, Phormiums would certainly give you evergreen [mainly] and the arching habit you want. Avoid the bog standard ones though, as they get pretty large....
There are self coloured, dark ones which are nice. P. Blackadder is one I've had in the past [for my daughter!] but it depends how bad the winters are. I lost it during the bad one, but that was due to the swings of temp. There are lots of choices of them. The Fatsia would work, but they get very bleached if in a sunny site.
I think you may find it tricky to get something which suits what you want @Selleri , and your climate. Many plants won't manage the NE of England, even if happy in the south. A grass might be the best option, but tricky to get an evergreen one. I grow Spartina, which copes with anything and everything, drought/wet , but it doesn't start into growth until May here. It can spread, so I keep it in a bottomless pot beside the pond. You get a long season with it though. This was from July '23, and it had only been there a year or two, although I'd moved it from another site where it had been for many years. Gets to about 4 feet or so for me, and then bigger flowering stems by around August or so.

 

Abelia wont do well in the north. Maybe sea buckthorne? That seems tolerant of clay and wet conditions and is evergreen and extremely hardy. You can get it for cheap as hedging.

if its really wet youll need special bog plants
Gardening on wet soils / RHS

 

Another good shrub would be one of the brooms - Cytisus. Mainly yellow flowering, but there are several. I used to have the white one [ in 2 different gardens ]which I love, but it got pulled out the ground in a period of rough weather. Not replaced it ...yet. Again, the soil would need a bit of attention to ensure decent drainage, but clay itself is fine. That's what we have here.

 

You'd need two sea buckthorns as they are male and female so, to get the berries you have to have a female and a cross pollinator male.

Agree about abelia being too nesh for Northumberland.

Cystisus has a good form for what you're after but they do tend to be short-lived and the common yellow form is quite a harsh colour so go for two tone, creamy or purpley if you can.

 

Thanks all, lots to think about!

The main reason I'm after an evergreen is to avoid spending my autumn collecting the leaves from the pond.

Pink Cytisus looks quite like good to me.

 

The grass Calamagrostis brachytricha has a gently arching habit with very impressive foxtail like flowers which also look good when faded over winter. It’s not invasive and just needs to be reduced to the ground in late February. It will tolerate heavy clay soil, hardiness rating H6. You could combine it with some tough perennials if you’d also like summer colour.

 

Evergreens still drop their leaves, just gradually throughout the year. Might be easier to have a deciduous shrub and net the pond in autumn.

 

How a bout a Choisa ternata ? They can grow quite big but I find mine easy to prune back and the base hugs the ground. Pretty white flowers in the Spring and evergreen.

 

Choisya is a good shout. There are several different types, and the gold one might get too bleached in the site you have, but the bog standard one is fairly easy. There's one with a different habit, but I can't remember it's name.
They [the ordinary C. ternata] can get big though, so you may have to keep on top of it to prevent it creating too much shade, and plant it far enough away from the edges so that it's accessible enough.
Some of the evergreen Cotoneasters have a 'weeping' habit and can be trained in a free standing way.

It also depends what else you already have, or intend having, in the general area you're wanting to site it.