Plant suggestions for my front garden

8 years ago

Hi. We need suggestions to improve the look of our front garden in our house. We need some plant suggestions.

Current Plants:
At the moment there are two straggly pink flowering hebes at the front, a blue hydgrangea tucked behind on the left, and another hydgrangea on the right (we thought it was blue also, but looks like a red flower is appearing). There is also ceanothus on the far right. I'm not sure what the wide leaf plant is second from the right (would love to know the name....?), but it comes out with pink flowers.

Location:
London, on the north side of a medium height wall, in a south facing front garden. It gets quite hot out here in summer, yet, the plants seem to do well.

What we want:
We were thinking of planting a snowball hydgrangea (hydrangea annabelle) in the centre. We realise this is yet another deciduous plant though, so we were thinking about putting 2 slim evergreens either side. We like the look of Sambucus Nigra Porphyrophylia Black Tower - but that is of course decidious too. We like repetition, bold, stylish plants. The side of our front garden has buxus balls, mondo grass and coneflowers repeated.

Can you please suggest any plants that would make our front garden look nicer? Any tips for making if look tidier than it currently is would be great also.

Featured Answer

Trisha Goodwin

8 years ago

I would say some of the previous suggestions have been good - we had a similar problem in Oxfordshire. Heucheras are great, especially in a mixture of colors, try at least one red in the mix. A couple of dwarf conifers give good evergreen year round structure, which is so important, you want some some strong lines in a front border or it can look very bitty and insignificant. If things grow a bit above the wall, so much the better, as it will also soften the lines and it looks as if you could do with some height. Add a few fail safe plants clumping plants that will bring some color into the mix at different times of year - Japanese anenomies are great, white ones look modern, or go for pink. Schizostylis are fantastic, would never plan a garden without them. They come from Siberia so will survive come what may! Come in pinks or red and flower from late autumn through to spring, when no other color around, even in snow, you can also put them in pots. Crocosmia are pretty fails safe too and come in lots of colors. Yes, tuck some bulbs inbetween things and see what happens, don't forget these can also go in pots for seasonal color, you can even buy ready planted.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

pannacotta
8 years ago
How much space do you have to fill? Its not that clear from your photo.

Evergreen shrubs are the obvious choice, comact shrubs like Skimmia, Daphne.

The Elder you mention grows very fast and is really more of a tree than a shrub.
Ann Brown
8 years ago
I would suggest some bulbs to add seasonal colour so that you get a changing picture, daffodils and tulips in Spring, them maybe a summer perennial that comes out after to take over as the tulips finish - say Astrantia which flowers for ages. If you use grasses between they give all year structure and are interesting when frosty in the winter - stipa tenuissima. If you want to cover low down Hellebores give green foliage interest all year round and early flowers from February to May. Some small solar white lights arranged in your hebes would make the garden look lovely when you are coming home at night, we have some threaded through a box that we have.
Related Discussions
Front garden planters, plants and hedging
Q
Comments (23)
I think Photinia would get too large and unruly for planters on top of the walls. They need managing otherwise they get very large and have a very loose form. Personally I'd opt for something that is more consistent in form and shape without too much upkeep and provides an attractive green backdrop to your beautiful house rather than competing with it for attention! Something like Buxus or Japanese box (Euonymus Green Rocket) as alternative to avoid issues with Box blight. Alternatively Privet is a good reliable evergreen hedger particular well suited to urban situations as they tolerate pollution. Either way its worth adding some water retaining granules and slow release fertiliser to the soils to give them a boost. At least you're planting at a good time to avoid stressing them in the dry summer months. Good luck!
...See More
Need help with what to plant in front garden
Q
Comments (3)
Hi Leeza - what well weeded borders you have! And welcome to the world of gardening - its great fun!! The shrubs you have will definitely bush out over time to cover the wall to a greater extent than they do know. I would be tempted to add some summer flowering perennials to fill up some of the space - something very easy to look after like a harder geranium orion or rozanne and maybe some penstemon like Raven - these would bring some colour interest into the area. Also think about some spring bulbs like iris reticulata, crocus or tulips. Good to plant know and they will cheer up the whole area. Other than that get a good mulch/top dressing to try and keep the weeds down!
...See More
garden design advice for my edible/wildlife friendly front yard
Q
Comments (14)
Rachel and Carolina, thank you both so much for taking some of your time to think and design those sketches, it has really helped me in a stage I was blocked in my project. I now can keep on moving forward, that's so great. Carolina, I like your designs and they are actually similar to the sketches I was doing before I imported the soil in the garden but I think at this stage, following the natural curves of the garden will be much easier for me. I really like a lot of ideas you emitted. I will indeed add a birdbath somewhere and possibly a mini pond :-D Rachel, you just put into words and sketch a vague idea that I had but that I didn't know how to formulate! you basically read my mind. yes, I noticed there was some natural lines, and I wanted something more in curves but I didn't know how. your design makes it all look possible and realistic. to answer your questions, the round things are wine bottles. I was thinking of adding more wine bottles for edging but they might be a bit too short for high enough raised beds. I'll have to think about it... yes, the silver planter is a dolly tub. I was thinking of planting a clematis in it and some colourful flowers at the base of the clematis. I thought it would look nice somewhere against the white wall... thank you both so much about your ideas. I'll send you an update when it's more advanced. (it might take a long time though, but I'll get there!)
...See More
Ideas to plant a steep front garden to create privacy
Q
Comments (5)
Lots of great suggestions there. I would just echo a few points that I feel are really important: Reinvigorate the soil. This is absolutely vital. Like Rachel says, the Leylandii will have sucked the soil dry of nutrient so add loads and loads of organic material like well rotted horse manure or garden compost. It is almost impossible to add too much and mostly people add far too little. You can also top dress the bed every year after, to help keep your new plants healthy. It is also a chance to add some horticultural grit to improve drainage if this is a problem. Think carefully about what effect you are after before being 'wowed' by plants at a nursery. One important decision is about how much evergreen you want for screening. You could just have an evergreen hedge that you clip to keep controlled and then plant in front of that the lovely Acers and other deciduous plants that folks have already mentioned. Remember 'right plant, right place'. If there are successful Rhododendrons just up the road then it is likely that your soil is acidic, so choose plants that prefer that type of soil. Finally - have fun!
...See More
Pam Pearman
8 years ago
For year round colour, with flowers in spring & summer take a look at heuchara's. Evergreen perennials. Plant a go go have a national collection. I would then add a couple of very slim, very slow growing dwarf conifers for structure. Something like Sky Rocket.
eileenmcnulty
8 years ago

You could try planting Box balls with grasses in between in a zigzag pattern and add clumps of tall alliums to any gaps.
vv0123
8 years ago
The plant with broad leaves is bergenia.

In such a small area I personally would stick to evergreens shrub + evegrenn grasses + some bulbs. Heuchera, as Pam suggested is a great choise for a colourfull ground cover. Evegreen sedum would work well in a sunny spot, too.
PRO
Abigail's Gardens
8 years ago
Hi, I think you need some height there, I think 3 reasonably sized Bay Standards underplanted with Lavenders or Perovskia, usually small plots are best to be kept to a minimal amount of plants.

Another idea would be low Buxus Balls with a mixture of either Miscanthus Sinesis or Stipa Gigantic and a selection of Allium Cristophii and Tulips.

Plant suggestions for my front garden

Trisha Goodwin

Comments (7)

pannacotta

Ann Brown

Related Discussions

Pam Pearman

eileenmcnulty

vv0123

Abigail's Gardens

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US