I know what you mean regarding a scruffy grass border. Because the blades are very much the same to my mind it never works. Grasses are better when mixed with perennials. There are also some crocosmias that are more shade tolerant than others.
I am going to try the Erigeron mentioned by @Plantminded in a shadier place. The one thing it hates is prolonged wet and cold. Ten years ago when winters were colder I lost all of them other than one tiny piece so had to start again.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I have two Rosa glauca, one is in a west(ish) facing border backed by a high fence so it gets afternoon sun, and the other North-facing (south side of my front garden) backed it's only a low fence that doesn't block the light from the top part of the plant, but it gets morning shade from the house and some afternoon shade from a tree. Both are fine for foliage but the west-facing one gets more flowers and hips.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Thank you everyone for confirming I should be able to plant the Cotinus and Rosa Glauca. I don’t mind not having the flowers and hips Jenny, it’s the colour (and the colour combination) that I love about it in spite of how thorny it is.
I do like the yellow cotinus too Plantminded but will probably not buy one as I’ve got a golden hop and a jasmine Fiona Sunrise to lift the backdrop. If you’ve not already seen it, I’ve got a Cotinus Old Fashioned which has a blue/green leaf in another border and it’s just beginning to go red at the tips with its autumn colour. I’ve also have the Helenium you mention which probably needs to be moved from its current spot - so I’m not going to have to buy many more plants to make a good start.
@Foxhollow Good luck and I hope it goes well. It is surprising when you look around how many plants you can lift and split so that you can trial them elsewhere. You will be able to prune both the R glauca and the Cotinus which be helpful in the future. Is Fiona Sunrise evergreen with you if so an added bonus.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I don’t think the Jasmine will be evergreen here sadly - or at least not till it is more established. It would be marvellous if it was.
This garden is not at the stage of splitting too many things but the number of seedlings I find and pot on is a bit of a treasure trove. I’m extremely unsuccessful at raising things from seed myself but the plants do it for me.
I’ve not had a fuchsia for a long time. Tricolour was one of my first plant purchases and I loved the colour of the leaves but it did revert quite a lot.
I didn't either, but I got a bit of a thing for them a couple of years ago - they're high on my 'perfect' list as I like plants which don't need mollycoddling, lol; no slugs, no faff, long flowering, tons of varieties and colours, and edible fruit! 😃
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I am going to try the Erigeron mentioned by @Plantminded in a shadier place. The one thing it hates is prolonged wet and cold. Ten years ago when winters were colder I lost all of them other than one tiny piece so had to start again.