Basically pretty much everyone else on this forum knows more about everything gardening related than I do, but in my ( london area) courtyard , hebes seem to flower most of of the way through the year if i keep deadheading/trimming ( which I don't always do). It's not continual , but fairly frequent flushes especially with the erratic weather. Not fragrant but seem to be popular with bees/wasps/hoverflies/any other stripy thing i've missed. The non-variegated one i have ( which i think is great orme ) seems to be more frequent flowering than the variegated one ( which i believe is silver queen but not 100% sure of that either)
Maybe that's why it hasn't done well in our clay. I'm also aware that our neighbour has a lot of tall out of control shrubs on the other side of our fence, I'm wondering how much of an impact that has on our side.
They don't need rich soil, so if anything, it would help. It's difficult to recommend plants of any kind without knowing what else you have around though, which can have an effect
Just shows the differences in location @Desi_in_London. One flush for a few weeks would be the limit for most Hebes here. The variegated ones tend not to survive winters either, so they can be short lived for me. The smaller the foliage, the tougher they generally are. Hundreds of varieties though, and some are more tolerant of everything than others
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Basically pretty much everyone else on this forum knows more about everything gardening related than I do, but in my ( london area) courtyard , hebes seem to flower most of of the way through the year if i keep deadheading/trimming ( which I don't always do). It's not continual , but fairly frequent flushes especially with the erratic weather. Not fragrant but seem to be popular with bees/wasps/hoverflies/any other stripy thing i've missed. The non-variegated one i have ( which i think is great orme ) seems to be more frequent flowering than the variegated one ( which i believe is silver queen but not 100% sure of that either)
I'll look that one up, our old fashioned garden nurseries have quite a selection, if anywhere is going to have any of these suggestions they will.
Not a shrub, but Geranium 'Rozanne' has come out top in pollinator trials. Easy to squeeze in among other shrubs. I was surprised it scored so highly but I think the secret to its success is that it flowers for such an incredibly long time.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
It's not evergreen and can grow larger than 5ft but is as simple to keep trim as a plant can be. Even with such a cold winter that cut back some of its vigour it has been flowering since the end of may and if we don't get any harsh frosts it's is sometimes still flowering at Christmas in a good year. The bees love the flowers. They prefer a sheltered spot but do well in full sun if you keep their feet moist.
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It's difficult to recommend plants of any kind without knowing what else you have around though, which can have an effect
Just shows the differences in location @Desi_in_London. One flush for a few weeks would be the limit for most Hebes here. The variegated ones tend not to survive winters either, so they can be short lived for me. The smaller the foliage, the tougher they generally are. Hundreds of varieties though, and some are more tolerant of everything than others
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/fuchsia-magellanica/
It's not evergreen and can grow larger than 5ft but is as simple to keep trim as a plant can be. Even with such a cold winter that cut back some of its vigour it has been flowering since the end of may and if we don't get any harsh frosts it's is sometimes still flowering at Christmas in a good year. The bees love the flowers. They prefer a sheltered spot but do well in full sun if you keep their feet moist.