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West Coast of Scotland, advice on suitable plants
y_vonnie_2007
Posts: 8
in Plants
Hello people. We moved up from the South East to Dunoon in Scotland. I want to put a lot more plants in the garden but my knowledge of what will do well here is limited to what is already here. We have some rhododendrons and azaleas as do most people. There's a couple of pierus, 2 crab apples and a small pear tree. A lot of fushias in pots. A few other things I have yet to identify. Our house and garden both face SE, the lawn and main border is at the front. We have a large gravel area at the back that we want to do something with as well, there are some huge large leafed lime trees next door, on our border but we want something ever green there to provide some screening in the winter. I also want some sort of climber - is there a hardy evergreen I wonder (apart from ivy). I am thinking of getting a perennial "selection" offer and seeing what survives! However, if anyone knows what would do well in this area of Scotland I'd be really grateful for some advice.
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Your thread seems to have slipped through without a response. I am sure there are many members on the forum who live in Scotland and will be willing to give you some advice.
The best thing to do is to have a look at what grows near you. There will be things you can grow there that I can't. Ask neighbours or people who have gardens already, and watch some back episodes of Beechgrove
We had a lovely forum member who lived on the west coast, but she sadly died earlier this year. She had a lovely mature garden, and would have been able to help too. She had hedging etc to provide shelter and screening, but also grew lots of shrubs and perennials.
If you want a bit more screening, Rhodos will certainly work - they perform well as a hedge. You can always use laurel [if you have plenty of room] as a windbreak/screen, and you can then plant inside of that.
Many popular evergreen climbers won't perform here either. You see jasmine being regularly recommended on the forum, but they aren't reliably hardy. Some more protected gardens may get away with it on the coast though.
Some photos of your site will also help.
Personally, I wouldn't buy these 'offers' of perennials. They are often unsuitable for our climate. Far better to have a look at what will suit the conditions, and obtain plants from good nurseries and suppliers. We have a much shorter growing season in Scotland than the south too. Dunoon is very different to the SE of England
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Part of Edinburgh botanics...only 6 miles away towards Loch Eck
You will see there examples of many thing that will survive in Dunoon.
https://www.google.com/search?q=benmore+botanic+garden&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0uer0lr7pAhXvQUEAHUurB-IQ_AUoAnoECBoQBA&biw=1920&bih=938
very common on the West coast of Scotland.
Super views.
You can take your time re plants.
I would hate to lose that view across the sea.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Crinodendron+hookerianum&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZvbLwx8LpAhUzUhUIHQRDD0IQ_AUoAXoECBsQAw&biw=1920&bih=938
You are living in a beautiful area and will find the natives very friendly once life returns to normal.Many of my childhood holidays were spent down the road from Dunoon at Sandbank.
Stay safe.
I'd give it a bit of time. Often it's a case of trial and error, and hedging certainly offers protection, but get used to your site first, and perhaps in a few weeks, you'll be able to have a chat with some of the neighbours, and get some ideas of what will work. Most people are only too happy to help with advice, and they won't bite - not much anyway
You can probably do virtual tours of many of the gardens too - and the one S.Surfer suggests is perfect for your location. Creating little micro climates is always a good route to go down, and that might be what you'll need to do with your gravelled area.
An old trick to retain views, but also give some shelter, is to leave 'windows' in hedging, but that would take a while to do, and I'm not sure it would be for the best - there's a reason the previous owners haven't done it - they wanted that view
Shetland is a completely different environment altogether. There's a saying that when the wind stops blowing there, people just fall over.....
Enjoy those views on the good days - the forecast for the end of the week into the weekend is 'typically spring ' west of Scotland weather
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
On Shetland it is so windy they have hardly any trees.Those they have are just dwarfs.
Argyll can grow many fabulous plants.
Many that would never grow in South East...or Shetland.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...