Planting advice

Hi

Looking for some recommendations please. I'd like to plant 1 or 2 plants/shrubs in the space shown.

The soil is quite clay heavy although happy to enhance it with new compost.

I'm not an expert with varieties of plants & gardening in general so looking for something, possibly evergreen, that is easy to maintain, looks good and is suitable for all year.

The area shown is apprx 2m wide x 1.2m deep and gets partial sun.

Any help greatly received.

Regards

 

Hello Michael12345, whereabouts are you in UK? That will have a bearing on recommendations!

 

Sorry forgot to mention - I'm in the sunny south (or not so as the case generally tends to be!) in Kent.

Thanks very much

 

Over to our panel of experts..... I noticed that you've already got a Euonymous growing by the wall....evergreen, will make a shrub and also gently climb the wall. Does flower but not spectacularly. Perhaps it needs some fertiliser and water to give of it's best?

 

You could try a Phormium in that area to add interest. There are many colour variations, I'd choose one of the white and green variegated ones like Cream Delight. It's evergreen and a small sized one so it won't obstruct your window. If you prefer one with more colour, try Phormium Jester or Joker.

 

Ok thank you for the suggestion!
Would a Cordyline also be an option & would it be suitable all year round?

Many thanks

 

The more highly coloured they are the more tender. If it was happy, it would get too tall for that situation, leaving you with a bare trunk and a tuft of leaves at the top...so not really....Have you already considered Lavender, Rosemary, Cistus, Hebe, dwarf forms of Photinia, Pittosporum or Escallonia?

 

Thanks for your suggestions. To be honest I'm really lost with all the plant names and even though I'm trying to do as much research/reading about different options as I can, it's proving to be a bit of a minefield!

I'm just after something simple that fills the space and pretty much takes care of itself. Would a simple rose bush or two be suitable?

 

Hebes would probably be a good choice as would the other evergreens mentioned by @noisette47 . Just bear in mind that most plants will require some maintenance at some point tho to keep them in shape/looking good/flowering.
If you can, have a look at some of your neighbouring gardens and see what does well in a site similar to yours. Good luck with finding something you like and which will thrive

 

Shrubby salvias do well for me in partial shade (for example near the west-facing front of the house, so no sun until the afternoon), and they won't mind the dryness that you get near paving and wall foundations.

 

I wouldn’t plant a Cordyline there, they need more space, have deep taproots and can grow quite tall, up to around 5 metres in ideal conditions. If your soil is heavy clay, Lavender, Cistus and Rosemary won’t be happy but you could try an evergreen shrub like Mahonia Winter Sun which will attract bees in winter with its yellow flowers. They are slow growing and can be kept at a reasonable height by pruning. Like Phormiums, they are very undemanding for a new gardener. A rose would also be suitable. Try one of the open flowered varieties like The Bees Knees or For Your Eyes Only which repeat flower and are favoured by bees.

 

Beg to differ about the 'Mediterranean' type shrubs not doing well in clay, @Plantminded That's a bit of a myth. IME they're actually longer lived and 'fatter' looking than the same plants grown on light soil!
@Michael12345...if you like roses then plant roses Just be aware that they are NOT low maintenance and look like a bundle of sticks for half of the year...

 

That’s interesting @noisette47, I’ve always grown them in well drained, impoverished soil. This is the general advice given by specialist growers in the UK. Maybe your climate suits them better than ours. Poor drainage over winter combined with cold doesn’t suit Lavender in my experience. I don’t grow them any more because I don’t like how they look over winter, more miserable than roses .

 

I know...it's received wisdom . But even in Northants it was remarkable how the lavenders on poor soil had to be replaced more frequently and even with regular trimming looked sad. Different levels of rainfall play a part too? I wonder if it's more about ease of establishment? They certainly get going better in light, loose soil, but then all us gardeners on clay prepare a suitable planting hole, don't we?

 

I definitely think it's the winter rainfall. Lavender in my clay garden here in south Wales looks much worse than in Nottinghamshire clay. It gets very depressed over the winter!