Ideas for a small display shrubby area

[cambourne7]

Hi All,

I am looking at putting in a triangle of planting into the garden this is an area that will be visible from the dinning room and i want to make it a focus outside the garden all year around.

I was thinking Potentilla Abbots wood, tree peony, lonicera maygreen?

The area i am looking at filling is basically a corner 4ft across one way 4ft the other and then cut along like a triangle if you see what i mean?

Any thoughts?

Cam

[cambourne7]

[saddad]

Germander... Teucretium(?) gets to about 3 foot... pink flowers... can be stooled.. ideal with small children as it regrows quickly if they fall in and break bits!  :)

[small]

I love my tree paeonies, for a very short while every year....I wouldn't want to look at them all winter. Is Photinia too naff and car-parky? It's tremendously robust and always looks good - or how about Choisya, lovely scent too, or my very favourite Cornus Alba 'Elegantissima'?

[cambourne7]

Germander... Teucretium(?) gets to about 3 foot... pink flowers... can be stooled.. ideal with small children as it regrows quickly if they fall in and break bits!  :)

Will have a look out for one of those look perfect !!

I love my tree paeonies, for a very short while every year....I wouldn't want to look at them all winter. Is Photinia too naff and car-parky? It's tremendously robust and always looks good - or how about Choisya, lovely scent too, or my very favourite Cornus Alba 'Elegantissima'?

Thought i might leave a couple of holes for the peonys which are in pots to be slotted in and when there finished pop them somewhere else to rest and then replace with something seasonal like maybe a little potted christmas tree? Or Spring flowering bulbs? Yes i know what you means about the photinia but the plant cost me 30pence and will help get the border going i can replace it in a few years with something else when i am more sure what might survive.

Love the Choisya and Cornus will have to look at trying to find these :) Until i have the patio relayed and the grass down i am not allowed to buy any more plants so there on my shopping list for when i can go :)

[daitheplant]

You must have a Christmas Box, Sarcococca humilis. ;D

[cambourne7]

You must have a Christmas Box, Sarcococca humilis. ;D

Perfect i had this in my last garden and it smells wonderful :)

[Obelixx]

Christmas box would be much better than the lonicera which is dull enough to be used as hedging.  The potentilla is lovely but would probably flower at the same time as the tree peony so i would consider extending the season of interest by planting a self fertile winter holly and/or a variegated cornus alba sibirica.   

The holly would give you red berries and the cornus would give you lovely foliage to pick up the white flowers of the potentilla followed by bright red stems in winter.  As it gets pruned back hard in spring to maintain the stem colour it would never get too big for its place.

As the bed is outside your dining room I would underplant with white flowers that are more visible at night - snowdrops, crocuses, pheasant's eye daffs, white hyacinths for perfume and maybe some white Japanese anemone for late summer.   If it's against a wall or fence I would also consider putting in some traning wires and growing a perfumed clematis such as http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=540 which is a group 3 so would be hard pruned in spring then fed and trained along your wires.

[cambourne7]

Christmas box would be much better than the lonicera which is dull enough to be used as hedging.  The potentilla is lovely but would probably flower at the same time as the tree peony so i would consider extending the season of interest by planting a self fertile winter holly and/or a variegated cornus alba sibirica.   

The holly would give you red berries and the cornus would give you lovely foliage to pick up the white flowers of the potentilla followed by bright red stems in winter.  As it gets pruned back hard in spring to maintain the stem colour it would never get too big for its place.

As the bed is outside your dining room I would underplant with white flowers that are more visible at night - snowdrops, crocuses, pheasant's eye daffs, white hyacinths for perfume and maybe some white Japanese anemone for late summer.   If it's against a wall or fence I would also consider putting in some traning wires and growing a perfumed clematis such as http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=540 which is a group 3 so would be hard pruned in spring then fed and trained along your wires.

Love the underplanting idea added to my list this area backs onto lawn so nothing behind it was looking for something a few ft high at the back and then decreasing size down to the front.

I was looking at the holly but decided maybe in a few years i will pop it in to replace perhapse the lonicera as i did not want to risk little one eating the berrys husbands suggested some blueberrys at the front if they were planted in there pots to keep the soil at the right acidity level but for the same reason i have said no i dont want her to get use to eating things from this part of the garden.

thanks for the suggestions and tips i think there areas about 80 there yippie