On Tue, 3 Apr 2012 09:25:25 +0000, worldideastim
wrote:

Great to be part of Garden Banter.

Welcome to USENET - I get the impression that the Garden Banter site
doesn't make it abundantly clear that they're merely providing a
web-based gateway for posting to several usenet discussion lists which
pre-exist even the world wide web.

You could get to the same usenet groups using google:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.gardens/topics

[snip]

There are a few bushes on one side of the garden but nothing on the
other side. It looks unbearably bare! Would type of thing would you
suggest doing with my garden that wouldn't take too much work but would
add interest.

You indicate the soil type, but not the sun exposure of the strip of
yard, nor the weather (yea, you're posting to Garden Banter, so you're
probably in the UK, and that just means "overcast"), or soil pH. Is
the area to be trafficked, or are you looking for shrubs against the
side of the house? In the Northern hemisphere, a south-facing strip
will get more sun than one which faces North (i.e. on the North side
of a structure or any other obstacle). East and West sides of a
structure get differing quality of light (and, also depends on whether
something to one side of you casts shadows in the morning or
afternoon): morning sun is cool, afternoon is hot (as the ambient
temperatures have risen by then). If you're in a area prone to
overnight frosts, something facing East (getting morning sun) is more
likely to handle frosts than something facing West (not warming until
later in the day).

Anyway, I can't really offer you specific suggestions for your clime,
but thought I'd mention a few things you should take into
consideration when trying to find something suitable for the spot.

The soil is sandy.

Sandy, or Sandy Loam? I have the latter, which I amend with tons
(literally) of compost, which improves the moisture retention and
percolation (water running down into soil, rather than stratifying in
the top inch).