Front garden planting advice

[Greenfield81]

I have a west facing front garden and a bare rectangular flowered measuring 180cm by 180cm I need to fill. I’m a bit overwhelmed by what to plant, so keen for some advice - what type, and number of plants/shrubs I should be buying as well as general design ideas welcomed!

Planing on euonymus green spire small hedging for the pathway border

 

[Mystic Moon Tree]

Plants as they age get waaaay bigger than what you buy from the store unless its something that dies each year & you have to replant. That is a fairly small planter, so you will need to feed the plants there & plant sparsely at first so they don't over crowd the space. What you plant there depends entirely on what you personally like & want to accomplish for the space. Are you looking for decorative suggestions, food plants, do you want a tall focal plant, or low growing decorative plants, a flowering ground cover, a rare grass, new plants every year, what are your favorit colors & textures, what is your climate, etc.?

 

[Anniekay]

I don't know if you can get these in Britain but Abelia "Rose Creek" is a new cultivar that gets only 3' tall and wide and is quite floriferous. You might like that to add color to the bed.

 

[Greenfield81]

Plants as they age get waaaay bigger than what you buy from the store unless its something that dies each year & you have to replant. That is a fairly small planter, so you will need to feed the plants there & plant sparsely at first so they don't over crowd the space. What you plant there depends entirely on what you personally like & want to accomplish for the space. Are you looking for decorative suggestions, food plants, do you want a tall focal plant, or low growing decorative plants, a flowering ground cover, a rare grass, new plants every year, what are your favorit colors & textures, what is your climate, etc.?

In terms of planting, im looking for tough, low maintenance plants that will give as much seasonal interest as possible. I’ll then infill with spring and summer flowers/bulbs. I’ve no idea about design here so advice on what plants and how many would be great - I’m thinking dwarf varieties with a viburnum tinus standard as a centrepiece. I like the cottage garden look but I’m not up for massive maintenance for a front garden!

Thoughts?

 

[Mystic Moon Tree]

The viburnum will take up most of that planter's root area, so I would plan to keep it tightly pruned to whatever shape you preffer. If you want to do bulbs near it's base know that most bulbs are spreading when they are happy & will need to have their extra bulbs dug out periodically. Some bulbs also put out chemicals that can bother the roots of other plants, so if the viburnum seems to be struggling it may be a competion with the bulbs. I would think a bulb that is lower growing with a more delicate leaf would be complementary like lilly of the valley (white bell shaped flower) or fairy grass (pink bell). Perhapse even a naked lady (peachish pink flowers), a white fresia (which smells delectible) or a true lilly (various colors) all are fairly hardy, if you want something lower growing you could try a wild white iris. I would fill in with a non choking slow growing ground cover like a pink thyme, moss, or lawn daisy. Or, if you want a dark leaf contrasted color you could do heal all (purple flower), snow in summer (silver leaf with white flowers), wood sorrel (small round tuft with heart shaped leaves and white or pink varrieties of flowers, or sweet woodruff. All of those have a cottage fairy garden vibe feel.