Help choosing plant to use as barrier....

Hello all...this is my first posting on this forum so I hope I am following proper etiquette or is it netiquette

I'm a novice gardener who has started a project to re-design my garden, as you can see from the photo that I have attached.

As you can see I have a problem with my drainage but this is in hand as I have a friend sorting this for me on Monday. The problem I have is deciding which plants to put in the long planter, indicated by the arrows. I want this planter to act as a barrier between the house and the grass area so I need a plant which fits the space (about a feet wide) and grows a meter or more tall but doesn't spread out too much. The soil is Clay.

I have been doing some research but finding it hard to find what I am looking for (although I put this down to me being a complete novice)

Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

Id think more along the lines of a climber along a low trellis, perhaps a rose Your going to struggle to find a shrub to fit the bil

 

I take it you are wanting a shrub barrier? You will not be able to get a shrub that grows to that height that does not spread. You can prune but it will encourage the growth. Do you want evergreen or deciduous?

 

A Box hedge would do well there.:thumb: And welcome to the site, by the way.:D

 

MM, Dave do you rekon box will get up to a metre, Id of said more lonicera.

 

I was thinking a low box hedge as well, David! Or lavender? I have a row of French lavender that gets no bigger than 75cm tall, and about 40-50cm wide. They obviously have the fragrance bonus too! :D

 

He only wants a width of 1ft or 35 cm so lavenders out!!!

 

It depends on the look you want. You could have it all the same, or a mixed barrier. A hard look or a softer look, then there is maintance level of the plants. Find a good shrub book, usually there is an index where they will give you the height, width, sun/shade, flowering, non flowering. If you go the shrub route keep in mind three season shrubs. Also check out oriental grasses, some get very tall, and will give you a softer effect. Have fun. Make sure your soil is prepared well for each planting that is so important. Consider adding some compost first to the hole before the ball is placed, this will give the plant a good start.

 

Paul, Box can do 4 ft plus no problem.

 

Thanks all for the advice so far, this is great.

I've loosely copied a design from a book, this is a very bad picture of the design but you can make out purple headed flowers in the planter.

Although I love the idea of a plant with fragrance , my wife would love that.

 

As a thought, if I am needing to plant something near or close to where I will have a siting arrangement for humans, I will consider planting a fragrant plant so the wind will carry the fragrance to where we will sit.

 

I would suggest a tiny dwarf bamboo, but that's not fragrant. I thing ProGard is right, put a trellis, or some structure of sorts and plant a climber, lonicera or Rhincospermum.

Or get rid of the planter and dig a fair sized border

 

What about clematis. Different varieties for season long colour. The montanas have a wonderful vanilla fragrance Freckles is evergreen too.:thumb:

 

Hello,

My softhedging of choice is always bridal wreath, it peaks in Spring with gorgeous white flowers and sways back and forth with the wind. No fragrance that I have noticed. For a fragrant plant I would choose a honeysuckle as suggested above.

 

I love honeysuckle but find it very untidy for trellis etc. Is there a way to prune it and keep the flowers