Plants sense where the light is and focus on sending shoots up to reach the light very fast first, and then branch up there in the light. They don't spend too much energy sprouting bushy leaves in the low areas in the shade. Many flowering plants do the same as well as fruit trees. See this pic. Nature is clever and fascinating.
Tall ones give you privacy in your garden from prying eyes.
I think modern contempary design works really well with new builds (even if it isn't my favourite style of garden). I had look around and found some things that might, IMO, fit quite well..personally I woudn't plant a lawn but that's just my preference. Enjoy.. a blank canvas is a great chance to make something really nice.
Hi All, I'm moving into a new build house with an 'L' shaped patio in a north facing garden which gets the sun around 3pm in the summer. I'd love to edge the patio with some plants for year round colour as it can be seen from the kitchen/diner with the bifold doors. I love the thought of lavender falling over onto the patio but I don't think it does well in shade so maybe some grasses, and some evergreen shrubs and some flowers. Unsure where to start so looking for suggestions.
What I did was take a pencil and paper and drew a map of the garden. Make notes on where gets sun at what time of the year, where gets very wet, where seems to be very dry as you go through the calendar year.
And start drawing ideas of how things could look - I watched a lot of gardening programs and eventually decided on things like a colour scheme, a style, and the kind of investment I was willing to spend (pretty much minimal!).
Over the years I found out how much time I wanted to put into the garden and at what times which also informs what I want to grow and what I do not.
@staceyrose5 - I have a border in front of my back door which is south facing, so I can grow lots of sunlovers there. The only problem is that they all face away from me as I stand at the door and look out! Whatever you plant in front of your patio doors will give you pleasure from any angle. If it was me I'd be planting for leaf shape and more architectural plants and there are lots that love more shady conditions. You might want a path through though, directly in front of the patio doors as it will get tiresome pretty quickly having to get to the lawn area via the L bit by the kitchen window. You can have colour under your pleached photinias, taller perennials and bulbs. But I worry about those under next door's very large tree - keep an eye on them as they may not be getting enough light.
Not everyone wants wall to wall colour in a garden though. Some of the most iconic gardens have very little. Sissinghurst [the famous white gardens] and Levens Hall spring to mind. A calm green space is highly beneficial - especially for someone with a busy lifestyle. The location also dictates what will work. If you don't have time to faff with blousy perennials that need staking, dividing and cutting back, shrubs and minimalist planting work extremely well. @KeenOnGreen [here on the forum] has a very subtle, largely green space. I love that garden @Chris-P-Bacon, and you could easily adapt it to suit any aspect.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I garden in E Anglia on heavy clay which is neutral to alkaline. Depending where you are in the SE your soil may be similar.
As @Fairygirl said, it's worth investing some time and money in digging over your soil to decompact it, remove builder's rubble and incorporate lots of organic matter. New build gardens are notorious for a 3" layer of top soil laid over bricks, concrete and worse.
My rear garden faces due north and I live in the driest part of the country. Shrubs which cope well with the shade and my erratic watering regime include euonymous (evergreen) spirea, philadelphus and viburnum (mainly deciduous). I have also found that roses and clematis do very well once established as long as they get at least 3 or 4 hrs of sun per day in the summer.
One shrub I've planted this year which seems to be doing very well is Abelia "Kaleidescope". The blurb suggests it does best in a sunny spot. I've yet to see how well it survives winter but the plants are in what is best described as partial shade in the summer but will see little sun in winter. So far they're romping away and will form neat little shrubs about a metre or so high. Attractive semi-evergreen, variegated leaves and small scented flowers just opened. They might work in your border if it's not too exposed to cold winds.
My go-to perennials include hardy geraniums, epimediums, brunnera, astrantia, aconitum, foxgloves (not a perennial I know!) ferns and hostas.
Good luck with planning your border and do come back and ask if you're not sure if a plant would be the right one for your situation.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
I would have suggested Acteas too @Topbird, but they need lots of moisture. I doubt you can grow them easily? Another useful evergreen is Yew. The columnar varieties are particularly good - especially the golden one. Taxus baccata Fastigiata Aurea. Good vertical accent.
I didn't mention clematis because of the nature of the query, but some of the smaller ones which can be grown on an obelisk would certainly be good.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I prepped my soil a patch at a time bu digging deep and mixing in peat based compost, John Innes No 3, and some horticultural sand for good drainage. You mix in well with the dug up soil using a garden fork.
Trees, when you dig a good space and plant into it, handles it really well as they send in deep and long roots.
Posts
See this pic.
Nature is clever and fascinating.
Tall ones give you privacy in your garden from prying eyes.
I had look around and found some things that might, IMO, fit quite well..personally I woudn't plant a lawn but that's just my preference.
Enjoy.. a blank canvas is a great chance to make something really nice.
And start drawing ideas of how things could look - I watched a lot of gardening programs and eventually decided on things like a colour scheme, a style, and the kind of investment I was willing to spend (pretty much minimal!).
Over the years I found out how much time I wanted to put into the garden and at what times which also informs what I want to grow and what I do not.
You can have colour under your pleached photinias, taller perennials and bulbs. But I worry about those under next door's very large tree - keep an eye on them as they may not be getting enough light.
Chris-P-Bacon . However, we need to see more flowers and colour. The shrubs and trees will flower, yes?
A calm green space is highly beneficial - especially for someone with a busy lifestyle.
The location also dictates what will work. If you don't have time to faff with blousy perennials that need staking, dividing and cutting back, shrubs and minimalist planting work extremely well. @KeenOnGreen [here on the forum] has a very subtle, largely green space.
I love that garden @Chris-P-Bacon, and you could easily adapt it to suit any aspect.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I garden in E Anglia on heavy clay which is neutral to alkaline. Depending where you are in the SE your soil may be similar.
As @Fairygirl said, it's worth investing some time and money in digging over your soil to decompact it, remove builder's rubble and incorporate lots of organic matter. New build gardens are notorious for a 3" layer of top soil laid over bricks, concrete and worse.
My rear garden faces due north and I live in the driest part of the country. Shrubs which cope well with the shade and my erratic watering regime include euonymous (evergreen) spirea, philadelphus and viburnum (mainly deciduous). I have also found that roses and clematis do very well once established as long as they get at least 3 or 4 hrs of sun per day in the summer.
One shrub I've planted this year which seems to be doing very well is Abelia "Kaleidescope". The blurb suggests it does best in a sunny spot. I've yet to see how well it survives winter but the plants are in what is best described as partial shade in the summer but will see little sun in winter. So far they're romping away and will form neat little shrubs about a metre or so high. Attractive semi-evergreen, variegated leaves and small scented flowers just opened. They might work in your border if it's not too exposed to cold winds.
My go-to perennials include hardy geraniums, epimediums, brunnera, astrantia, aconitum, foxgloves (not a perennial I know!) ferns and hostas.
Good luck with planning your border and do come back and ask if you're not sure if a plant would be the right one for your situation.
Another useful evergreen is Yew. The columnar varieties are particularly good - especially the golden one. Taxus baccata Fastigiata Aurea. Good vertical accent.
I didn't mention clematis because of the nature of the query, but some of the smaller ones which can be grown on an obelisk would certainly be good.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Trees, when you dig a good space and plant into it, handles it really well as they send in deep and long roots.