Recommendations for front garden - full sun/shade

medomage

Hello! I would love some recommendations for plants for my front garden.

1. In full sun I have two pots - one with a lavender, the other with an aster (recommended by the local garden centre). The aster needs swapping out for something else. Any recommendations for a hardy perennial that likes full sun most of the day? (Bee/pollinator-friendly would be a plus.) Otherwise I may just plant another lavender.

2. Behind my low wall is very shady. The wall is about knee height with railings up to hip height. I would love to plant a low maintenance perennial that could grow here; it would get some sun once it's higher than the railings. Again, bee/pollinator-friendly would be a plus. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

mikeymustard

How about a rosemary for the pot? Upside: because of the mild winter, ours hasn't stopped flowering all year; useful for cooking (and making cocktails)
Downside: slow growing the 1st year or so

GardenerSuze

@medomage Rosemary is a good idea if you can grow lavender well. Plenty of grit in the pot for drainage. Think your aster would have struggled for enough water in a pot with the same aspect as lavender.
Do you know what type of soil you have?

medomage

Two votes for rosemary  

@GardenerSuze I planted both the lavender and asters 50:50 compost (John Innes) and grit.

Cambridgerose12

A plant that would have an aster-like feel but tolerate the conditions lavender thrives in is Anthemis—it flowers for ages. But you do need a generously sized pot.

Fairygirl

In your shady site, you could have bulbs [plant in autumn] like daffs, crocus and snowdrops which will all be fine and will be good for early pollinators. To follow them, hardy geraniums, Polemonium and/or Dicentra [that has a new name now] for a bit of height in early summer, and Crocosmia for later, depending on how much room you have

Pianoplayer

Heucheras are good for shade, and the bees absolutely love the flowers.

didyw

Depending on the size of the pot, how about a gaura such as Gaura lindheimeri Whirling Butterflies (now called Oenothera lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies'). Flowers all summer, loved by pollinators and the thin leaves would contrast nicely with an underplanting of something like pelargonium or petunia.
I second bulbs and a hardy geranium for the shady bit by the wall.