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What plants look good with red robin

juliehawley1967fhSAvUKdjuliehawley1967fhSAvUKd Posts: 10
in Garden design
After lots of stress trying to work out a border I’ve decided to just simplify my new border 
the back will be planted with a row of red robin mainly as a screen/ hedge
its approximately 30 ft wide and 1.5 mt deep
i was just going to go for rows as I’m totally stumped 
I need to order plants quickly as need it planting in 2 weeks🤦‍♀️
many help on plants that will look good
mainly evergreens to create a nice border that looks good most of the year 
I can pop bulbs in etc later 
so what I’m after is what to plant that will look good?
was looking at row of phlox
then either euonymus or artemisia or euphorbia??
then a row of smaller plants then something at front?
I have no idea about placements so was just going to do rows
i really am no good at design 
or what plants look good with the red robin for texture , etc so I’d be grateful for any help
i would love a cottage border but not got the time to tend to it 

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  • juliehawley1967fhSAvUKdjuliehawley1967fhSAvUKd Posts: 10
    It’s south/east
    soil is fine bit clay but I’ve got compost and manure to dig in 
    and it’s at the very top of garden in full view but also not close to house as it’s a really long garden
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    "bump'
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    How are you going to maintain the Photinias? They grow very large in all directions if they're happy, so that will make it very hard to trim them back if you have other plant sin there as well.
    They'll easily spread to 1.5 metres in width. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I don't think that border is wide enough for anything like the number of plants you have in mind. As @Fairygirl says, I think the Photinia will fill the whole border.

    I would also caution against just having rows of a single plant, it is unlikely to look good.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • juliehawley1967fhSAvUKdjuliehawley1967fhSAvUKd Posts: 10
    I can make the border bigger and I can get to maintain at the back
    tge question I was asking really was relating to plants that look good with red Robin due to the colours really 
    I can double the depth of the border there’s plenty of room really
    its was about what other shrubs and plants work well with the red Robin hedge 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    edited May 2023
    I have a Ceanothus next to my Red Robin, but it might not be to your taste  :). It's a few years old so it's pretty tall, but you can treat them as shrubs.


  • Mrs-B3-Southampton,-HantsMrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants Posts: 732
    @AnniD Love your ceanothus please tell me its name.
    Southampton 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I wish l could @Mrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants, but it's years old l'm afraid. 
  • robairdmacraignilrobairdmacraignil Posts: 782
    In the garden here I have a bright leaved Philadelphus variety that I think might be this one. I think the bright leaf colour contrasts well with the red robin growing next to it that has much darker leaves but not sure how this would work with a full row of plants.
    Happy gardening!
    https://www.youtube.com/user/sustainableveg/videos
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You'll still need to prune the front though, because it'll grow in that direction too, so you'll need to make the border far wider, and then you'll need to be able to access it without standing on other plants, so you'll need a gap right along the front of it, or stepping stones. 
    I'm not sure why you need to order the plants so quickly, but I think you need to consider very carefully the approach to this planting to avoid wasting a lot of time and money.  :)
    I also agree that lines of plants won't look right. Repeating a plant is always a good strategy, but you need a mix of heights and shapes, as well as thinking about the timing of individual plants, so that you have enough interest through the seasons.
    The Eounymous fort. and most Euphorbias are evergreen, so they'd give all year round colour. You could add Hebes into that mix too. Add verticals for spring and summer, and even longer, for the height change, and pick things with flowers that work with the existing colours - whites/purples/dark reds/golds will all do that. There are loads - Achilleas, Liatris, Veronicas, Aquilegias etc. 
    Hardy geraniums will always be reliable and will fill spaces around the two evergreens, and you can add bulbs in with those - that's always a good solution. You'd have to wait till autumn for the bulbs.
    All of those will work in that aspect, and are fairly straightforward in terms of care. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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