Hi,

I've got a medium sized garden, but most of it is patio. I've got into the
cycle of spending a week in Spring at the DIY sheds and nurseries buying
ready made hanging baskets and plants, keeping them watered and looking nice
all summer and watching them die in the winter, then having to take the
remnants to the tip a year later.

I really want to plan ahead this time, and fill it with living stuff that
looks nice but doesn't need replacing this time next year. It doesn't have
to be a show garden, but I've got lots of borders and plenty of fence/wall
to hang things or climb plants. I tried looking for inspiration online, but
it's all a bit "poncy" for me, all mirrors and rustic furniture and weird
cane contraptions, nothing simple.

All I want is some decent, long lasting shrubs/plants/trees/baskets which
won't die, I'm getting a new (bigger) shed so don't have room for a
greenhouse to store plants over winter. Just simple, dense foliage that
fills the bland spaces between patio and boundary, or sits in pots on the
patio and maybe flowers sometimes too. If they grow fairly quickly so I get
some scenery this summer, that would be a bonus.

Any help or pointers to sites would be much appreciated, thanks.