"al" wrote in
:

I've just had our garden completely removed and re-landscaped at long
last. Trouble is, it's a lot later in the year than I'd planned. I'm
looking for some planting suggestions for things I can buy now and
will survive the winter.

The garden is south facing, has reasonable drainage and quite neutral
soil. One side fence is mostly shady but gets a little sun. The back
fence gets continuous sun all day, as does most of the other side
fence. The two sides have two flowerbeds each. Currently there is a
climbing type rose on the shady side and two healthy but out of
control (gonna prune hard this autumn!) bushes on the sunny side. The
bottom of the garden for about the last 5m is woodchiped with a stone
circle in the centre. I'm hoping to put some small potted trees on
that bit to brighten it up.

Really don't recommend buying trees or shrubs now. You will be watering
them like mad for the next couple of months, and they will do just as well
(or better) if you leave getting them till the autumn.

You could buy some potted drought-tolerant things like lavender, rosemary,
sedums for your sunny area - they should settle in OK, though you'll have
to remember to water them from time to time till they are properly
established.

Victoria