Ever green plants that do well in full sun?

tuffnelljohn

Hi all,

Ive recently got new sleepers beds. I want to fill them with evergreen plants that do well in full sun. Ive got quite a lot of beds to fill so Im conscious about budget too.

I basically want the beds overflowing with green and different heights to add interest.

Ive been looks at different grasses such as pampas grass and Carex morrowii . 

If I plant these I assume they'll seed and fill the border more? Are there any other shrubs that would work well?

Thanks

Loxley

Pampas grass is enormous and may be out of scale with your beds. Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' would be a better bet for a tall grass with year round interest. Hebes would be good evergreen shrubs, I like Hebe rakaiensis; plain green, neatly mounding and small leaved. 

Elfer

I 2nd Hebe rakaiensis, gorgeous fast growing shrub with a round habit, they do grow large so make sure you leave enough room for them to grow, apparently they are easy to propagate by cutting too. Hebe emerald green globe is nice too alas a bit smaller.

My Euphorbia amygdaloides Purpurea has done rather well and looks gorgeous, add other varieties of Euphorbia for a bit of colour contrast and added size.

Viburnum Davidii although mine is in partial shade but I think they are pretty versatile.

Photonia little red robin

Small conifers & Ilex crenata, my local nursery had these priced sensibly eventhough the Ilex were rather small but I shall enjoy watching them grow into nice topiary balls (need to polish up my topiary skills though).

Huecheras but stay away from green, yellow & silver ones and go for the darker coloured ones such as red & maroon.

Obelixx

Given that you are planting in raised beds which may make for well-drained soils I would suggest hebes, parahebes, ceanothus of it's sheltered, escallonia and sarcococca - all evergreen shrubs that will give you a range of forms, sizes, leaf colour and flowering times.  You can use the RHS website to check sizes, colours, growing habit and needs.

amancalledgeorge

I'd say also great to add maybe a soft round conifer in the mix like one of the many Thuja Occidentalis cultivars if you would like some more formal structure without the need to clip. They look great in small groups and stay very tidy in my experience. 

rachelQrtJHBjb

Hebe 'Green Globe' with Cistus purpureus 'Alan Frad', any purple-leaved heuchera (to match the purple blotches on the white cistus flowers), Euphorbia characias 'Wulfenii' and Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote', with evergreen grasses such as Stipa gigantea (better behaved and smaller than pampass) or long-season semi-evergreen ones such as Stipa tenuissima or Stipa pseudo ichu. A trailing rosemary to spill over the edge of the bed. 

Augment the display with bulbs e.g. Gladiolus byzantinus for a pop of colour between the shrubs and/or intermingled with the grasses. 

tuffnelljohn

Thanks all - lots of great ideas here!

KeenOnGreen

Pittosporums are great, lots of different varieties, and can be pruned to shape.  If you want a Pampas, there is a lovely smaller one called Cortaderia Splendid Star, we grow it in pots.  Anemanthele lessoniana is a graceful evergreen grass.

Abelia's are a great shrub, there are some very colourful hybrids, you should also consider Choisya's, although they do better in a bit of shade.  Any of the Euonymus too will do well (Bravo and Green Spire are my favourites).

As an extensive sleeper bed garden owner, my advice is to never let any of your plants grow over the top of the sleepers, or to shade them from the sun.  Keep them exposed to air and sun, otherwise they will rot more quickly than you would imagine.

tuffnelljohn

Hi all,

I managed to buy some of the plant recommendations today.

Ive only temporarily put them in these wooden planters until I get a chance to plant them in the sleeper bed. 


Sleeper bed where they are to go is below

- Do you think I should plant the hebes alternate colours? (I presume so).

- I dont want them so spaced-out. Should I plant them 30cm and let them fill out the space between them?

- Ive had these wooden planters for a few years, but never done anything with them. I actually quite like the look of evergreen shrubs in there. Do you think I should fill them full of hebes, or perhaps some plants? As you can see - theyre quite shallow. 

Lizzie27

I think the shallowness would preclude hebes but the planters would look good with a gritty compost and perhaps some smaller evergreen alpine plants, surrounded by a gravel topping. They'd love the sun.

tuffnelljohn

Just reigniting this thread.

Here what the sleeper beds look like now thanks to peoples recommendations here:



Im still stuck on what to put along this bed:



I want low maintenance, tall, evergreen. 

Perhaps a climber - like a wisteria? Would I just put up a few lengths of wire horizontally? (not sure if I have the confidence to do this!)

Other than bamboo, not sure what else could be plonked in there that is evergreen and tall. (the bed isnt big either - 50cm deep and 30 wide)