Shrub/statement plant, good for wildlife for south facing site?

As per the picture, I have a 2x1m space in the garden that I'd like to fill with a statement plant. It is south facing and gets sun most of the day. At the moment I've got a diddy viburnum keeping the spot warm.

What would people recommend? I'd like something that brings in the bees and the birds. I'm not too worried about it being evergreen - we have plenty elsewhere that will keep interest through the winter - and I'd like it to be striking in summer time. It's in a raised and very prominent part of the garden.

Many thanks for any ideas shared.

 

A nice big lavatera?

Lavatera maritima

 

Any of the Nandina family, Arbitus uneda, Rose.

 

Dahlias will give a great display from midsummer until the frosts arrive.
Any of the Bishops series of dahlias would fit your bill - they're not doubles, so plenty of pollen for bees and their hot tropical colours contrasts well with the bronze foliage, and endless flowers.

Or for something a bit different, you could edge the wall with Hakonechloa macra which will cascade over the wall and plant verbena Bampton behind. That will flower throughout summer and well into autumn and is a bee-magnet.

 

It would help to know your approximate location @Astraeus, how deep the raised bed is and whether it is open to the earth below.

 

Thank you for the suggestions so far.

@Plantminded, I'm in Yorkshire. The bed is open to the earth below and it's about 1.5m deep.

 

Choisya.

 

That’s helpful @Astraeus. Plants that attract wildlife in my garden that would suit your bed and location include Buddleia globosa, an unusual variety with round orange flowers, an open flowered rose like Eye of the Tiger or Warm Welcome (a miniature climber which you could grow up an obelisk) or try three clumps of Helenium Sahin’s Early Flowerer which will stand out with a variety of orange, red and yellow flowers which continually buzz with bees. You could also try growing a small tree. The size of the raised bed will restrict its growth but give you some height. A narrow columnar tree like Amelanchier Obelisk would suit, it has flowers followed by berries and attractive autumn colour. Whatever you choose, I would empty your bed of the existing soil and replace it with a soil based compost like John Innes no 3, with some added manure or organic matter.

 

If you're not concerned about winter interest, how about a hardy salvia? The small-leaved varieties in particular (like Hot Lips) are always an absolute magnet for bees and butterflies here.

 

Hi @Astraeus

I live in County Durham, so the conditions shouldn't be too dissimilar to yours.

Birds generally like big woody shrubs that they can hide in and feel protected, and of course appreciate things like berries - but most plants that produce berries don't have really showy flowers. I also think that the growth habit wouldn't look amazing in that spot, and you do want strong impact. I would therefore focus more on bee-friendly plants rather than bird-friendly.

Instead of a single plant, I would consider a combination. Here is what I would personally gravitate towards:

• Lavender. Having lost 2 Spanish lavenders in the past ("stoechas"), about 1.5 year ago I got 9 really tough hybrid lavenders. The variety is called "sensational" and it is a more compact version of a more well known one, called "phenomenal" (you can probably tell from the..humble names that they were bred in the US). But English lavender is also hardy. The flowers are beautiful and are loved by bees, and the plants don't need much care at all, save for an annual prune so that they don't get woody. I think that it would also look lovely against the stone. And a bonus is that the foliage is evergreen.
• Rose: There are much more interesting roses than the "classic" ones that you see in supermarkets and some of them are bee friendly (though the majority isn't, so you need to choose carefully). The continuous reflowering makes them hard to beat for impact. I am generally a sucker for David Austin roses, but actually my first suggestion is a non David Austin rose. It's called For Your Eyes only. You can see some photos here, though you can buy cheaper elsewhere: Rosa 'For Your Eyes Only ('Cheweyesup') (PBR)' - Rose of the Year 2015 - rose For Your Eyes Only (floribunda) And if you fancy David Austin roses, here is their list of bee friendly ones: Attracting Bees Out of them, I have Bring Me Sunshine, Scepter'd Isle, Lady of Shalott and The Lady of the Lake, so I could offer advice on them if you are interested (Lady of the Lake is a rambling rose though, so wouldn't really work in that spot).

Please check the size as well as the colour. If you like the idea of lavender for instance, I think it would pair really nicely with a pink rose (roses and lavenders are a classic combination) as long as the rose doesn't get too big. If you really like a rose that gets very big, you would probably need to give it the whole planting area rather than pairing it with something else.

What is on the other side of that area? Is there another similar planting area to the right of those steps? If so, you might want to consider how they both look together.

 

Thank you all.

@pete, I have a choisya in the bed nearer to the camera. Lovely plants.

@Plantminded, I have an amelanchier in that same bed as the choisya. Again, lovely tree that provides wonderful year round interest. I had considered a multi stemmed amelanchier for this site. The soil in the site is largely compost and Westland top soil so hopefully already fairly good!

@CostasK, I have a lavendula Grosso on the other side of the steps. I do actually think it could work nicely to have lavender on either side with a statement plant behind, rising above, it. I do keep looking at roses but I just can't fall in love with them unfortunately.

 

That sounds like a lovely idea, having the two lavenders @Astraeus ! If it was me, I would probably get another Lavandula Grosso, to make sure they match.

If roses don't resonate with you, then I'm sure you'll find something else that does A rose is quite a commitment, they are very giving plants but also quite high maintenance (I love them, so I'm happy to do it nevertheless). And it's not because they are bad plants but because we humans are greedy and have bred them to be constantly reblooming, which is an exhausting process for them, so they need help along the way.

 

One option would be a woody salvia for growing up with something to grow over the wall. Prostrate rosemary would be a nice choice.

South facing and raised bed makes it a perfect area for herbs, lavender, thyme and rosemary are easy to grow together but there are many more.


@Plantminded can I ask how much your buddleia globosa grows in a season? Ours is on poor sandy soil and now it is 5-6 years old it will grow 5 meters plus in a year after being cut to just above the ground after flowering. It's by far the best buddleia for insects but I just wish it could be treated like the normal ones which flower on new wood.

 

I had a Buddleia globosa when I first moved here @Thevictorian. I treated it differently to other Buddleias by not cutting it to ground level, just pruning it to a shape suited to the location. The usual advice is to prune it after flowering, to encourage strong new flowering shoots for the following year. I have sandy soil too but it never grew 5m in a year! I removed it when I was replanting the border but have recently planted a new young one in a more suitable place. They are quite impressive when in flower and I've since discovered other plants that attract bees in similar volumes - Lythrum and Nepeta.

 

Thanks
I pruned for shape to begin with but one year it went from 5-6ft, to the bottom of our upstairs windows and since then its been rampant. We have several, because they are easy from cuttings, and one in a lot of shade (the other is south facing) will also put on 3-4m. It means if I don't heavy prune I lose a good chunk of the garden but am loath to get rid of it because the bees love it so much. Someone suggested we might have a male and that they are more vigorous, it does flower exceptionally well which is apparently another male trend. I will have to look into that when it's flowering but all buddleja seem to do well here, our neighbour has a davidii that reaches over her gutters. Perhaps getting another from a nursery might be worth a try to see if it stays smaller.
I grow lots of lythrum but we can't grow nepeta (I have lots of it down our allotment) because we have so many cats as neighbours and even the supposedly less attractive, to them, variaties are quickly crushed.