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We removed some very elderly shrubs and some rather sick large escallonias
last autumn from some metre plus wide borders and would be grateful for
suggestions as to what to replace them with. Preferably evergreen,
flowering or just attractive foliage and shape.

The location is south Devon, about 800 metres from the coast, on a
relatively exposed hill. Two borders receive full sun for around 2/3 of
the day and another for 1/3 of the day. Frosts of any significance are
rare (even this winter) but high winds are fairly frequent. We are on the
edge of the Devon Redlands and the soil has a fairly high clay content.
Existing planting includes various conifers, pieris, mahonia, various
broom, eryngium, photinia davidiana, some large phormium, a couple of
surviving escallonia gold ellen, various euonymous, fatsia jopinica,
skimmia, berberis darwinii.

You could try the larger leaved hebes, which flower heavily for many
months.
Choisya ternata (handsome evergreen foliage, fragrant white flowers)
Lonicera nitida Baggeson's Gold ( very small evergreen gold leaves,
a good contrast to other foliage)
Cornus alba elegantissima (variegated foliage, not evergreen but
attractive red stems in winter)

Janet




Add to that Hollies and Eleagnus
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea