Plant suggestions for sunny border please!

Anna33 · March 2019

I'm helping a friend redo their neglected garden, and I need some ideas for plants. It's quite a small garden, in the suburbs of a city, and will be mostly lawn with borders up the side of and along the back of the lawn. The borders will butt up against a wall. I'm digging these out and improving the existing soil.

So... They have a blue hibiscus which is staying, and they want lavender, which is great. But what else will go with those two? The criteria is:

Sunny border, bakes in summer

Borders will be about 1m wide and about 5m long

Nothing that needs too much work (they're not huge gardeners & have a very young baby)

Nothing too cottage gardeny (not cottage garden overload, anyway!)

Nothing spiky or poisonous (young baby & lots of friends with kids)

I've got a few ideas, but my frame of knowledge is very much a cottage garden. Other than that, I'm a bit stumped!

I want to put in geraniums for ground cover, maybe some stachys (lamb's ears) and lychnis coronaria.

What else fits the above and the hibiscus & lavender?

Lizzie27 · March 2019

Grasses? Potentilla (the shrubby ones). Perhaps another hibiscus even. I'd also put the lavender in groups of 3 in triangles and repeat along the bed, rather than a row. Catmint might also do well.

Anna33 · March 2019

Thank you - had thought of potentilla as well, but not grasses - will go look some up!

josusa47 · March 2019

Most aromatic plants appreciate dry sunshine - think Mediterranean. Cistus, oleander, marjoram, thyme, lemon balm, rosemary, all these are low maintenance and good for pollinators. Maybe a fig tree or olive? There's an olive variety, I think it's called something like fastigiata, that doesn't take up much space because the branches grow up rather than spreading. Eucalyptus would also do well. As would any succulent, some of them have dazzling bright flowers. Nasturtiums .sow them once and they will self seed for ever.