Gardening - help and advice

dUnKle

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Having given decorating up as a bad job (and handing it over to my other half) I am going to get back into my Garden. Its something I had never even tried before getting own house 18 months ago and now have become hooked

Problem is I am sort of at a loss

First thing I could do with is some plant recommendations.

Ideally I am after something which meets the following

  • Grows well in clay soil
  • Is colourful
  • Flowers for a good amount of time
  • Comes back year in year out
  • Fragrent (if possible)

Have fair few climbing plants around the garden at moment and ideally would like either shrubs or roses that meet the above. Problem is at a loss as what to look for. Also would like a good selection of colours (yellow, ble and red if possible)

If someone could reccomend a few shrubs that I could still get away with planting at this time of year would be most grateful
 
We're on heavy clay, so here's a bunch of stuff that grows well, are shrubby or come up every year, and are no trouble:

Aquilegia (seeds for us like crazy so must like it)
Crocosmia (VERY happy in clay)
Ceanothus seems to be doing ok
Phygelius capensis grows like crazy
Buddleja (butterfly bush - get something like Black Knight..grows big though)
Verbena bonariensis (seeds everywhere in our gravel garden!)
Agapanthus seems to be reasonably happy, but likes a bit more drainage ideally
Gaura lindheimeri is proving very reliable
Both of our Cystus are happy
 
we are also very much clay and we have a load of Fuscia Mrs Popple and they thrive like anything.
 
We're on heavy clay, so here's a bunch of stuff that grows well, are shrubby or come up every year, and are no trouble:

Aquilegia (seeds for us like crazy so must like it)
Crocosmia (VERY happy in clay)
seems to be doing ok
Phygelius capensis grows like crazy
Buddleja (butterfly bush - get something like Black Knight..grows big though)
Verbena bonariensis (seeds everywhere in our gravel garden!)
Agapanthus seems to be reasonably happy, but likes a bit more drainage ideally
Gaura lindheimeri is proving very reliable
Both of our Cystus are happy

Cheers - have a HUGE Ceanothus but need to try and prune it back and replant it (its in the site of the new shed)

Do any of the above have good fragrances ? Most of the chosen shrubs etc will surround the decking and would like them to be fragrent

Also is there anything I should consider (again with fragrence in mind) for decking based pots ? Got a few lavenders to plant (of different colours) would these be my best bet
 
Scented roses obviously
Herbs in pots - with scented leaves and flowers would be easy...lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano etc
Buddleja is scented, attracts butterflies, but is a brute that'll turn into a tree (I lop about 5ft off to take them down to waist high every year!). Lilys do well in pots, and stuff like Dianthus, Verbena etc would work in planters too. A lot of the aromatic silver leaved things are from fairly dry areas so REALLY don't like heavy clay - lavender and rosemary grows but under protest for us, so raised beds or planters would be better

There aren't actually that many obvious really scented shrubs apart from roses - Choisya, Daphne maybe? Quite a few climbers are scented of course (honeysuckle being the easiest)
 
loads of things will thrive on clay but do them a favour by forking lots of organic matter before planting.Peat, manure helps
 
loads of things will thrive on clay but do them a favour by forking lots of organic matter before planting.Peat, manure helps

That was first bit of advice I had upon moving in - have forked in a fair few bags of compost and manure over last 12 months and ensure that regularly keep it topped up
 
That was first bit of advice I had upon moving in - have forked in a fair few bags of compost and manure over last 12 months and ensure that regularly keep it topped up

you should be ok then. If you buy some of Dr Hessayon "Expert" books they give a list of the kind of plants that'll grow in those conditions.This one is for shrubs:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Shrub-Expert-Books/dp/0903505177

the kind that'll grow in clay are:
forsythia Berberis Mahonia, Eunymous, Philadelphus, Aucuba ,Choisya, Potentilla, Hypericum

Remember that you'll also make life a lot easier for yourself if you work a lot of compost in as it makes the soil more friable
 
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you should be ok then. If you buy some of Dr Hessayon "Expert" books they give a list of the kind of plants that'll grow in those conditions.This one is for shrubs:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Shrub-Expert-Books/dp/0903505177

the kind that'll grow in clay are:
forsythia Berberis Mahonia, Eunymous, Philadelphus, Aucuba ,Choisya, Potentilla, Hypericum

Remember that you'll also make life a lot easier for yourself if you work a lot of compost in as it makes the soil more friable

Yeah I can vouch for Euymous, Berberis, Forsythia and Mahonia. We have a mahonia about 8ft high now, so it must like clay!

My Potentilla didn't make it though.
 
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