Shelter in winter would be more important, as that's when the worst weather is, and when anything you plant will be affected. It's about getting something established initially. It may be that you'll need to use a physical windbreak of some kind to help with anything you plant. A Cytisus [Broom] would do the job though, but if the wind is strong enough, and they're a bit top heavy, they can need a bit of support. Mine was uprooted last spring in a particularly rough period of weather. They're shallow rooted. Portuguese laurel would be fine too, and less bulky than cherry laurel. It can be kept trimmed as a hedge or as a stand alone shrub.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Have a look at Griselinia littoralis. It is a robust evergreen, suitable for a windy coastal situation. I have many in my garden, grown as hedges and as individual shaped and unpruned shrubs. It takes close pruning well, you can shape it and keep it as tall or short as you like. It's a very cheerful apple green, grows quickly in sun, slower in shade, and it won't mind the wind. Here's one I have trimmed into a cube, it's on a very windy corner (sorry no luck turning this photo!):
And here's a hedge, trimmed to be six foot high, one foot deep, growing in shade:
Thanks so much for all the suggestions everyone. I think the best thing would be to go to the garden centre on the weekend and look at the shrubs you suggested in person. I'm still learning my way around plants and looking on Google images is just making me want to plant an enormous forest of poorly matched trees and shrubs in a tiny space
@puschkinia I think you are right a small space is always difficult as you want to squeeze in so many things. Some simple repetition is the best way this will make your planting come together using only a few plants.You will then be pleased with the result.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
The space you have is very small for any shrub that eventually gets sizeable enough for the job you want it to do, so you need to be aware that pruning is going to be needed, unless you take some of the grass away to allow it enough room to thrive and be useful, as well as attractive.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Pushkinia Hi you have had lots of really good advice and lots of good ideas .It may be that you need to start with something not that interesting to cope with the wind. It maybe just plain green but that makes a great back drop for more interesting plants.
You could go to the GC with a list of the plants suggested and try this experiment. Look for say the Olearia, then look for a grass or something with a sword shape leaf that is two thirds the height of the Olearia . Add a third plant half the height of the grass, with a totally different leaf shape and no flowers.Place them in a triangle Olearia at the back.
You will have instantly created some depth which at the moment your garden lacks. Take a photo and take a while to think on how you could add to this scheme. This is ONLY an experiment the plants maybe not suitable but this could give you a start. Hope this makes sense! Off for a coffee now I am useless with typing and computers!
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
You could go to the GC with a list of the plants suggested and try this experiment. Look for say the Olearia, then look for a grass or something with a sword shape leaf that is two thirds the height of the Olearia . Add a third plant half the height of the grass, with a totally different leaf shape and no flowers.Place them in a triangle Olearia at the back.
!!!!
@GardenerSuze this is so ridiculously helpful, there are no words. Thank you so much, I'm going to do exactly this. As you've probably all realised, I don't know what I'm doing at all and now I know what I'm looking for - depth, and now you've told me how to try to get it. Thank you!
I think the problems you've had before is what I described earlier. You've just randomly stuck things in. It rarely works A successful border has three storeys, on average, as @GardenerSuze describes - a high one [shrubs/trees] a middle one [smaller shrubs and perennials] and an understorey [groundcover or low growing plants]. Along with that, it helps to have enough seasonal interest, but that can be tricky in such a small space. Bulbs for spring, and a few slimmer verticals for throughout the year. Cyclamen etc for autumn. The narrow space you have there means you have to compromise a bit, unless you take that grass away... If you still wanted the grass, you could make it an oval, a circle, or a geometric shape, which would give you 'corners' to plant into, and you'd then have a lot more scope.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Fairygirl thanks again for all your brilliant advice! I've informed my partner that the overwhelming consensus is "bin the grass" - hopefully I'll get my way I'm thinking of waiting to see how the peach tree does for a season, but unless a miracle occurs rehoming it into a pot so that I'm free to organise that space properly, with less need for shelter. Maybe something like a specimen rowan with low-growing perennials & bulbs around it. Or alternatively, waiting a little, saving up, and doing a bit of landscaping so that everything can be arranged better.
@Plantminded, as I went through all the suggestions here again I looked at the sambucus again, then found the ones that aren't columnar. They're stupidly beautiful when they grow into a small multistem tree - I love them. I'm not too keen on purple leaves, but I found a couple of pictures on the forum of users' common elderberry trees and I adore them. Do you know whether those really do smell bad (I'm seeing some sites say they're awful and others saying they're fine)? Or alternatively, whether there are green leaved sambucus cultivars that are better? I can only find purple.
If the front garden isn't the right place for one I'm going to have to make space in the back garden!
Posts
A Cytisus [Broom] would do the job though, but if the wind is strong enough, and they're a bit top heavy, they can need a bit of support. Mine was uprooted last spring in a particularly rough period of weather. They're shallow rooted.
Portuguese laurel would be fine too, and less bulky than cherry laurel. It can be kept trimmed as a hedge or as a stand alone shrub.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
And here's a hedge, trimmed to be six foot high, one foot deep, growing in shade:
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
You could go to the GC with a list of the plants suggested and try this experiment. Look for say the Olearia, then look for a grass or something with a sword shape leaf that is two thirds the height of the Olearia . Add a third plant half the height of the grass, with a totally different leaf shape and no flowers.Place them in a triangle Olearia at the back.
You will have instantly created some depth which at the moment your garden lacks.
Take a photo and take a while to think on how you could add to this scheme.
This is ONLY an experiment the plants maybe not suitable but this could give you a start. Hope this makes sense!
Off for a coffee now I am useless with typing and computers!
@Fairygirl absolutely agree - I'd be widening the beds a lot to fit in any large shrubs. Slowly I'll be stripping the lawn out the front
!!!!
@GardenerSuze this is so ridiculously helpful, there are no words. Thank you so much, I'm going to do exactly this. As you've probably all realised, I don't know what I'm doing at all and now I know what I'm looking for - depth, and now you've told me how to try to get it. Thank you!
A successful border has three storeys, on average, as @GardenerSuze describes - a high one [shrubs/trees] a middle one [smaller shrubs and perennials] and an understorey [groundcover or low growing plants]. Along with that, it helps to have enough seasonal interest, but that can be tricky in such a small space. Bulbs for spring, and a few slimmer verticals for throughout the year. Cyclamen etc for autumn.
The narrow space you have there means you have to compromise a bit, unless you take that grass away...
If you still wanted the grass, you could make it an oval, a circle, or a geometric shape, which would give you 'corners' to plant into, and you'd then have a lot more scope.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Plantminded, as I went through all the suggestions here again I looked at the sambucus again, then found the ones that aren't columnar. They're stupidly beautiful when they grow into a small multistem tree - I love them. I'm not too keen on purple leaves, but I found a couple of pictures on the forum of users' common elderberry trees and I adore them. Do you know whether those really do smell bad (I'm seeing some sites say they're awful and others saying they're fine)? Or alternatively, whether there are green leaved sambucus cultivars that are better? I can only find purple.
If the front garden isn't the right place for one I'm going to have to make space in the back garden!