Quote:
Originally Posted by seanspotatobiz
Mum and I have never had a garden before but a couple of years ago the garage was torn down (before it collapsed) and I've built a deck and whitewashed the walls. I'm building some nice planters out of left-over deck boards and we've been walking around a couple of garden centres noting down plants that we're interested in and would like to have in our pots, planters and hanging baskets (hanging baskets will probably be a job for next year).
I'm wondering which of these plants will be incompatibile (requiring different types of soil etc). My mum doesn't have a lot of free-time so we can't have anything high maintenance (I'm away studying most of the year). If soil composition is an issue, I will be at home twice a year (summer and winter) and can make adjustments then - but again, I have no experience so we want the most beautiful arrangement we can have with minimal risk of destruction.
Here is the list of plants we made:
Lilium (red pixie)
Cordyline
Begonia
Pansy
Fuscia
Geranium
Campanula
Phoenix canariensis
Coleus
Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.
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Hi, Firstly, as far as plants you use, within reason, whatever you like is fine, its about you looking at it and feeling pleased ! Having said that and in principle being in agreement with advice you have already recieved, let me add my thoughts.
Most of what you have listed will look nice the first year but some will need replacing after the winter ! My advice would be to use more shrubs and especially shrubs which give you evergreen foliage. These will give you year round colour, texture and structure and then add things like fuchsias etc to give you that 'extra' blast of colour for summer.
The list of suitable shrubs is endless but let me give you a few of my favourites, Phormium, Photinia, Ceanothus, Euryops, Choisya, Lavatera, Pieris,
Azalea, Euonymous, Fatsia etc etc, al these will give you a fine assortment of colour and texture and they can stay there, thus cutting down on the maintenance required.
But, as i say, its really down to what you like and also where abouts you live (you never said ??)
lannerman.