New House Garden
BennetM
Posts: 11
Hi, we moved into our new house last summer and are looking for inspiration in the garden. Other than maintaining it and digging a border down the left hand side we thought it best to see what comes up in spring before any major planting is done. The garden is south facing.
As you can see the garden is kind of half populated, the back and the right hand side look ‘ok’ and have some good established plants already in, across the back fence is ivy and a honeysuckle which I think we will keep and stay on top of, there is a couple of hydrangeas, euonymus, a mahonia of sort, a red robin and a couple of box privets. Down the right hand side is a large ceanothus which is amazing when in flower, a cotoneaster and a pyracantha. We aim to keep all the plants in and add others that would enhance the look, maybe introduce some plants to make it more cottage garden / wildlife friendly. (lavender, poppies, lupins, foxgloves etc.)
The left hand side we were thinking of a Mediterranean (tropical) / beach theme. Well my wife is but I am unsure how this would work and what type of plants we would use.
Any recommendations for plants we could use on all sides or inspiration on what we can do with the garden itself?
Posts
Thanks Tetley, there are so many plants I want to get in the garden. I guess we will just go for a mixture of everything
Hi. Although south facing it looks quite shady in some of the pics, and some of your existing plants are shade tolerant suggesting the previous owners were aware of the shade spots. To help your new plants along, watch the garden for a few days when the sun shines and make a note of the sunnier spots-this is where the cottage style plants prefer to go, they won't be happy in a lot of shade (although I think foxglove will be ok). Also have a quick dig and check your soil type as lavenders won't like clay for example, they prefer free draining like a Mediterranean hillside. To add to your cottage style plants I'd suggest Rudbekia and Echinacea, the bees love them and maybe a dwarf buddleja like 'Jazz' for the butterflies. And a bird bath..!
If you want seaside, Tetley's suggestion about a boat seat is good, and grasses, agapanthus and lavender would be good plants. If you mulch with different sized gravel in different parts that would complete the look, maybe paint the fence in a pale blue or grey if its yours. I would also re-edge the lawn, as that small job will make it look better. You have a lot of nice plants already and they may benefit from a little pruning. Some of your plants in pots might be good to add to your seaside area.
cheers folks, some great ideas there... Verdun we are all about the scented plants, we have a Daphne ready to go in, the others you recommended ill look into. 8000Wildflowers, good suggestion, I feel down the right hand side border gets most of the sun but I'll keep an eye on it and thanks for the planting advice. Gardenmaiden, wife is already planning on painting the left side a coastal blue, looking forward to getting into it.
cheers folks, some great ideas there... Verdun we are all about the scented plants, we have a Daphne ready to go in, the others you recommended ill look into. 8000Wildflowers, good suggestion, I feel down the right hand side border gets most of the sun but I'll keep an eye on it and thanks for the planting advice. Gardenmaiden, wife is already planning on painting the left side a coastal blue, looking forward to getting into it.