@Plantminded That Cotinus is really nice. I also really like Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Spirit' with the lime green leaves.
I have this Cotinus in my garden too, also a lovely variety. If you like lime green leaves (I do!), consider adding a Catalpa bignonioides aurea which you can allow to grow to your preferred height and then pollard it annually to encourage new growth and bigger leaves. Euphorbias will also give you lime green flowers, mainly in spring but there are others which flower later.
@Plantminded That Catalpa looks amazing but I think, knowing me and my sometimes hectic lifestyle, I'll end up not staying on top of pollarding and end up with an enormous tree!
I've considered Euphorbias before but haven't pulled the trigger, maybe now is the time.
I totally understand the issue with beds that are visible from all sides. A way of thinking through it can be to imagine your garden as a set of 'lines of sight'. Where do you want your gaze to stop? Where do you want to be able to see over or through to the next bit? That then determines the height of things you plant. For example, you might want to plant a mix of Crocosmia, Verbena bonariensis and tall Geraniums (e.g. 'Orion') in a bed where you want to see the shapes in the foreground and have a dark backdrop of a distant fence or hedge.
In other beds, you might want to hide what's behind, and that's where you could have a few taller shrubs in the centre of it, and around their outside some shorter perennials that sort of mound up to the base of the shrub. Pittosporum are excellent--you can clip them and they contrast with the structure of perennial leaves. So in planting you would then put low-growing things at the outer edges of every bed, medium things next in, and a kind of 'backbone' made of shrubs in the centre.
The only issue then is that you have to figure out on which side your shrubs are going to cast shade and make it necessary to use shade-loving perennials next to them...
@Cambridgerose12 I think subconsciously that's what I have been doing as that corner with the Moor Grass is in the line of sight from my chair in the living room and I think I wanted something as a focal point there.
I forgot in my drawing to add the Viburnum Tinus which is towards the back right corner (in line with the Spirea). At the moment I think I'd like some sort of multistem tree that I can see through the french doors. Potentially an Amelanchier or Osmanthus x burkwoodii. Then maybe something like the cotinus more centrally in the bed.
Just remember that the bigger a tree/shrub grows [like the one in your pic there] the more it affects the other planting, especially if the other planting is sun loving. The bigger the trees/shrubs grow, the more moisture they take up, so that also affects those plants. That's what makes it tricky when planting up a bed. The eventual heights and spreads make a huge difference, and it can often mean taking things out and replacing them with others which can cope with the changing site. Re the positioning of plants - it's always hard to site them when you're viewing it from all sides, but it might be worth thinking about where you view the bed from most. You have a seating area, so you probably use that most from spring until autumn, and therefore some good perennials, and even annuals, might be the main consideration. If you see another view of it mainly from the house over winter, that side might have more evergreen interest, with some winter flowering shrubs and early bulbs.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just remember that the bigger a tree/shrub grows [like the one in your pic there] the more it affects the other planting, especially if the other planting is sun loving. The bigger the trees/shrubs grow, the more moisture they take up, so that also affects those plants.
🙈 😭 this is so hard!
One question then @Fairygirl, if I undercut the shrub in the picture, so it's more umbrella shaped, do that reduce the impact on the surroundings?
Do you mean removing the lower branches? Raising the canopy can mean more light getting through to the understorey, especially in spring and autumn when the sun is lower and more angled. It can help in winter too with evergreens.
It still depends on whether it's an evergreen or deciduous shrub/tree, because evergreens often prevent enough moisture getting in, while deciduous ones let plenty in during winter, and even in summer they can let more through because evergreen foliage is usually much denser. In sun, they both give good shade, but the condition of the soil by then is a big factor, and can affect plant choices. It's always a balance, and sometimes an experiment. Some plants can cope better with their site regardless of what their ideal is
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
I have this Cotinus in my garden too, also a lovely variety. If you like lime green leaves (I do!), consider adding a Catalpa bignonioides aurea which you can allow to grow to your preferred height and then pollard it annually to encourage new growth and bigger leaves. Euphorbias will also give you lime green flowers, mainly in spring but there are others which flower later.
@robairdmacraignil both those look fabulous, thanks for the suggestions
@Plantminded That Catalpa looks amazing but I think, knowing me and my sometimes hectic lifestyle, I'll end up not staying on top of pollarding and end up with an enormous tree!
I've considered Euphorbias before but haven't pulled the trigger, maybe now is the time.
In other beds, you might want to hide what's behind, and that's where you could have a few taller shrubs in the centre of it, and around their outside some shorter perennials that sort of mound up to the base of the shrub. Pittosporum are excellent--you can clip them and they contrast with the structure of perennial leaves. So in planting you would then put low-growing things at the outer edges of every bed, medium things next in, and a kind of 'backbone' made of shrubs in the centre.
The only issue then is that you have to figure out on which side your shrubs are going to cast shade and make it necessary to use shade-loving perennials next to them...
I forgot in my drawing to add the Viburnum Tinus which is towards the back right corner (in line with the Spirea). At the moment I think I'd like some sort of multistem tree that I can see through the french doors. Potentially an Amelanchier or Osmanthus x burkwoodii. Then maybe something like the cotinus more centrally in the bed.
Something like this
That's what makes it tricky when planting up a bed. The eventual heights and spreads make a huge difference, and it can often mean taking things out and replacing them with others which can cope with the changing site.
Re the positioning of plants - it's always hard to site them when you're viewing it from all sides, but it might be worth thinking about where you view the bed from most. You have a seating area, so you probably use that most from spring until autumn, and therefore some good perennials, and even annuals, might be the main consideration.
If you see another view of it mainly from the house over winter, that side might have more evergreen interest, with some winter flowering shrubs and early bulbs.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
🙈 😭 this is so hard!
One question then @Fairygirl, if I undercut the shrub in the picture, so it's more umbrella shaped, do that reduce the impact on the surroundings?
Raising the canopy can mean more light getting through to the understorey, especially in spring and autumn when the sun is lower and more angled. It can help in winter too with evergreens.
It still depends on whether it's an evergreen or deciduous shrub/tree, because evergreens often prevent enough moisture getting in, while deciduous ones let plenty in during winter, and even in summer they can let more through because evergreen foliage is usually much denser. In sun, they both give good shade, but the condition of the soil by then is a big factor, and can affect plant choices.
It's always a balance, and sometimes an experiment. Some plants can cope better with their site regardless of what their ideal is
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border