"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 26/04/2012 22:20, Jo wrote:
I am about to plant up a bare bed, around 10' x 3', against the front
wall
of our house with some lavender. It's a fairly large bed and I'd like
some
ideas as to what grow well with lavender in this west-facing bed. We
have a
huge plinth on the front wall, around 18" high or more, so I'd like to
plant
plants which grow high enought to cover this ugly black area!

Any ideas will be gratefull received.

Thanks,

Jo





Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' would work well in that situation, and starts
flowering before lavender. Your cat would thank you for some Nepeta
(catmint). Allium 'Purple Sensation' and A. christophii would also look
good. Look at some of the hardier Cistus varieties, which will give you
pink or white flowers. Plants with larger leaves would give good foliage
contrast, such as Bergenia (flowers white or rosy pink), Heuchera, Francoa
and Brunnera (esp. if you have a shadier end).

At the back of the bed and trained against the wall, you could try
Cotoneaster horizontalis and Chaenomeles (red, white or peachy tones).
These flower early and will give you (and insects) some spring interest.

If you have enough room, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus repens is a low, mounding
evergreen shrub with masses of blue flowers in late spring. You could
always let a clematis scramble over it for later flower interest, if you
want to.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

Thanks Spider. I love the idea of Cistus sp. I think I now have my bed
fully planned!