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Any ideas what to do with this patch?

HeftyHefty Posts: 370
in Garden design

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hi everyone, I'm working on a garden and they have asked me to do something with this patch at the back (Around 10 meters from the house)

I have various ideas myself for what could go there but I'm really interested to hear some ideas and opinions from some more experienced / knowledgable designers :) 

can more or less do anything there within reason - no landscaping ideas tho (decking, ponds) as I can't do anything like that - so im really looking for ideas on planting styles and themes that could work there and that will be strikingly visual from the house 

Budget would probably be £100 or so - many thanks!!!! 

Last edited: 28 July 2016 16:49:30

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  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,248

    Is it shady? If so I would get rid of the cordyline? triffid thingy and plant it up with hellebores, bulbs for spring and fox gloves, and a few hardy geraniums.

  • HeftyHefty Posts: 370

    hey thanks for the suggestion, its actually in quite an open aspect - a decent amount of sun etc

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,248

    cottage garden style. ?

    You should get at least 20 perennials for £100.

    Its a bit late now, but if it was Spring I would put an annual meadow mix on it, maybe attract the butterflies with a buddleja or two.

  • HeftyHefty Posts: 370

    yeah this is the thing really - its a matter of what to go for now (Cottage, Prarie, Alpine etc) or plan for next year etc - thanks for the suggestion

    also the owners did say it can get a bit water logged there in heavy rain - so i think its wet in winter and dry in summer

    but i was thinking big buddlejas and tall flower spikes like holly hocks, foxgloves, delphiniums and then some shrubs to fill the spaces, or go for more structural stuff like red cordylines and gravel etc

    or they could have some nice acers back there

    ideally id like to offer them various options, hence why im asking you guys :)

    many thanks for any help / advice

  • Lily PillyLily Pilly Posts: 3,845

    Shrubs?

    mock orange, black elder, hellebores ( they will seed themselves) geums, hebes, hostas

    Ask your client if they know their neighbours well enough to split some plants like the hostas

    oooh I envy you, the choice is endless, interspace with drifts of bulbs to flow one after the other

    dont  forget to post the end result! Good luck

    Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
    A A Milne
  • HeftyHefty Posts: 370

    i know! its almost like theres too many options!!

    and would your suggested plants and bulbs b ok with the winter wet conditions they say they have there?

  • Lily PillyLily Pilly Posts: 3,845

    I am in the middle of southern Scotland doesn't get much wetter than us!

    lots of drainage under the plants, worth buying a bag of grit and should be ok, are your clients willing to do some maintenance or is to "last" 

    Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
    A A Milne
  • HeftyHefty Posts: 370

    thanks for the info - i think its a long term plan they want really

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 22,608

    As you already have the cordyline could you make it look an exotic sort of area? Different leaf shapes? Day lilies, hostas, cannas (except they need winter protection), Fatsia Japonica, phormium, grasses, acanthus mollis?

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • NorwinNorwin Posts: 26

    Try some of the larger and smaller grasses. They would look lovely.

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