My approach is approx. 1/4 of plants evergreens or structural plants, 1/4 spring into early summer flowering plants (May to mid-July), 1/4 late summer into autumn flowering plants (July - October), and 1/4 flowers with a long season of interest (annuals, long-flowering perennials, repeat flowering plants, plants with additional interest like fruit/berries/hips or autumn foliage). Spring bulbs are added to this + random pots with annuals or bulbs for more colour. I don't really care about winter interest. Also, during every season, some plants should be the focal points/stars of the garden and some should be fillers. I don't have any sophisticated method how to put this together, just watching the garden, taking tons of photos, and making changes all the time.
Shrubs can be good for year round interest and if I had to pick just a few for this then some of the hebe varieties with colourful leaves or pittosporum tom thumb would be the ones I find have the best winter colour. Buddleia and viburnum tinus are also good ones to plant for their flowers with the viburnum providing blooms from autumn to spring and the buddleia being great for attracting butterflies in summer.
Perennials I like include primrose and snowdrops for early flowering followed by red valerian(centranthus ruber), Geum and penstemon for long lasting summer blooms and erysimum bowles mauve which flowers almost continuously to the extent it often burns itself out in its second year and I think is best propagated from cuttings regularly.
Pot marigolds(calandula) would probably be my favourite annual and I usually start some in spring in containers to fill any gaps in the garden that I think could do with more colour in summer.
There was a gardening programme with Carol Klein on over the weekend on Channel 5. It looked at Great Dixter and the planting across the seasons. It may be worth a watch as it does mention the plants. Also, the gardens at Gravetye Manor and Malverleys are known for their succession planting. Both head gardeners are Dixter alumni.
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Spring bulbs are added to this + random pots with annuals or bulbs for more colour.
I don't really care about winter interest.
Also, during every season, some plants should be the focal points/stars of the garden and some should be fillers.
I don't have any sophisticated method how to put this together, just watching the garden, taking tons of photos, and making changes all the time.
@robairdmacraignil I started watching a couple of your videos, very interesting, will watch more later this evening!