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Front Garden/Driveway - From scratch

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  • ChilliBobChilliBob Posts: 80
    Okay I'll take some more tomorrow. It seems quite common around here, most parks seem to have it. 

    My wife, who loves to get cracking, reckons we will get a load of stones our this weekend, so I shall report back on that. We're intending to go to Hyde Hall tomorrow though!

    Do you think any of the, rather small, list of things I posted could be suitable?


  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,149
    Some of that gravel can be mixed in, but the important thing is to improve the conditions of the soil in the borders.
    I'd need to look at the list to see what you'd written. I'm sure some will be fine.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ChilliBobChilliBob Posts: 80
    Yeah, my wife would have the gravel down the dump 10 mins after it's out. I'd probably keep it in buckets in the shed for 10 years just in case it's useful! 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,149
    Salvias, lavender and rosemary all need sun and really well drained soil, so improving that soil's a priority if you want those. V. bonariensis is the same. Bear in mind the varying heights of them all too - V. bon is tall and airy, but there are shorter versions as well. 
    Most heathers also need well drained soil and sun, and many prefer neutral to acidic so you should be ok with most of those, as long as the soil is reasonably decent. They also need trimmed after flowering, because - like lavender, they get woody and untidy. 
    Buddleias are generally quite accommodating, but they get big, so possibly not the best choice. It would be fine in that corner, but it isn't really the best specimen tree/shrub, as they're a bit untidy. 
    Cherry blossom trees [Prunus] come in varying types and sizes. Again, in that corner, some might be fine, but avoid those with low crowns and very spreading canopies, or you may have problems with passers by, as they would reach well over onto the pavement. There's a very good upright, narrow one - Amanagowa, which might do a better job. 
    All of them have blossom, but it's short lived, so it's not very exciting for most of the year. 
    Another small tree we often suggest on the forum is Amelanchier. There's several types, but they're pretty similar. All have spring flowers and berries later, with good autumn colour. Euonymous alatus is another good choice for a small space, with beautiful autumn colour. 
    I'm not sure what you mean by snakeshead lily. Do you mean snakeshead fritillaries? Those are flowering at this sort of time of year, and would suit the shady side, as long as it isn't too dry. 
    I think the wax flower was on another thread.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 8,082
    Maybe Viburnum tinus or one of its hybrids for the second plant, with the white flowers.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,036
    I think the white one looks like Viburnum x juddii.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,149
    Ah- I was thinking of something more perennial rather than shrubby, for some reason.
    A viburnum fits the bill.  :)

    Most of them would be too big for the space though, apart from that bit at the corner . 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ChilliBobChilliBob Posts: 80
    edited April 2022
    Loxley said:
    I think the white one looks like Viburnum x juddii.
    I think it mightcbe this, yes. When we had the v warm weather a short while ago it began to flower. I'll try to take a further out shot tomorrow. Thanks.

    With the appearance and fragrance it'd be a lovely one to have in the smller border closer to the door me thinks, if it works 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 9,964
    If the viburnum isn't suitable - how about sarcococca?
    Amazing winter fragrance, flowers and berries. They come in all sizes too. Happy in deep shade and tolerant of most soils.

    I do like the viburnums, but many around here seem to have viburnum beetle and their stink masks the plants lovely fragrance and makes then look tatty
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • ChilliBobChilliBob Posts: 80
    Fairygirl said:
    Salvias, lavender and rosemary all need sun and really well drained soil, so improving that soil's a priority if you want those. V. bonariensis is the same. Bear in mind the varying heights of them all too - V. bon is tall and airy, but there are shorter versions as well. 
    Most heathers also need well drained soil and sun, and many prefer neutral to acidic so you should be ok with most of those, as long as the soil is reasonably decent. They also need trimmed after flowering, because - like lavender, they get woody and untidy. 
    Buddleias are generally quite accommodating, but they get big, so possibly not the best choice. It would be fine in that corner, but it isn't really the best specimen tree/shrub, as they're a bit untidy. 
    Cherry blossom trees [Prunus] come in varying types and sizes. Again, in that corner, some might be fine, but avoid those with low crowns and very spreading canopies, or you may have problems with passers by, as they would reach well over onto the pavement. There's a very good upright, narrow one - Amanagowa, which might do a better job. 
    All of them have blossom, but it's short lived, so it's not very exciting for most of the year. 
    Another small tree we often suggest on the forum is Amelanchier. There's several types, but they're pretty similar. All have spring flowers and berries later, with good autumn colour. Euonymous alatus is another good choice for a small space, with beautiful autumn colour. 
    I'm not sure what you mean by snakeshead lily. Do you mean snakeshead fritillaries? Those are flowering at this sort of time of year, and would suit the shady side, as long as it isn't too dry. 
    I think the wax flower was on another thread.  :)
    Amelanchier looks nice. 

    Yes I guess with my list I was trying to give the style abs vibe I go for as opposed saying 100% those flowers. I think it's more smaller flowers, more rustic, as opposed to big showy flowers. I do like unusual ones, which lead me to snakeshead fritillaries. They hold a special place in my heart, when I was a boy I used to live next door to ab old Cornish man (yep, in Essex!) who showed me and gave me one of those plants. He was a gardener. Alas, he passed when I was about 12 (I'm 40 this year).

    Its also the reason I like the bottle brush tree, I have fond memories of his coming into our garden, and at the time the sort of ' wooden berries' if you like looked like something alien and very cool! - Specimen tree?! 
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