"Mentalguy2k8" wrote in message
...
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.
Tell us whereabouts you live, and the orientation of this garden, ie does it
face North, South etc. Also the kind of soil you have, ie sandy or clay, or
something in between. Look at your neighbours gardens, what grows well in
theirs will probably also do well in yours.

Do you want to grow ornamental trees? fruit trees? There are several kinds
that don't take up a lot of room, and provide colour as well as food. How
about roses, or clematis? The possibilities are endless.

When you see someone gardening with something in their garden that you
like, ask them about it. They will almost certainly be glad to chat, and you
may well get some freebies, and almost certainly good advice.

Steve