Thanks slow worm, I already have some purple salvia sensation near the Broomhill Gold. Quite a lot of purple, mauve and pink in the border so I may try a rose coloured one to lift it a bit. We already have quite high hedging all around us Fairygirl, so have done what we can re the wind. We don’t lose many plants, so right plant right place is working by and large, and the soil is good, but hopefully will be even better with leaf mould added.
🤣🤣🤣Yes indeed, and I also have a Nepeta which I’m wondering may also be rather lonely! We can’t have lonely plants, that would never do- another great excuse to buy more. There are also some Potentilla in there which I’ve divided last Autumn- Monarch’s Velvet. There were being mobbed by some pink geranium so I’ve dug a bit of that out. Im very grateful for all the suggestions- and feeling much happier about the border now I feel I know what Im doing a bit more with the planting 👍
No we can't, it's verging on plant cruelty. 😆 I'm glad you're feeling more positive about your border though, a garden based natter is always good. 😊 I need some nepeta too.
If you can keep salvias alive over most winters, you should be able to keep Hebes. No salvia is reliably hardy here apart from S. caradonna, simply because it's too wet and cold for them. Most Hebes need the same conditions, more or less, ie - free draining soil, and a decent amount of sun. It's wet cold that sees both of them off, which is why my Hebes are mainly either potted, or in the gravel paths with no real soil below them at all. Even potted ones can succumb though, because the wet roots can freeze. The salvia is in a raised bed, because, even though my soil's well amended, they still can't manage it easily. The larger leaved hebes and the variegated ones are less hardy than the smaller leaved ones too, so it's often a question of getting the right choice.
Potentillas are very reliable, in any soil and site, although the woody ones need to have cuttings taken for propagation - they aren't the same as the one you have. Repeat planting of fewer varieties of plant will always look better than one each of lots of different plants.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Great advice, though for some reason we can grow Salvias, but not Hebes 🤣 Evenwith the best theories, our gardens can keep us guessing.
I’ve just planted another Potentilla - a woody one called Double Punch Cream, in a South facing house wall bed. I think the colour- cream and hints of pink, will tie in well with a Claire Austin rose - cream- grown as a climber, and a Clematis Confetti - rose pink. And two lavenders nearby too, a Munstead and a Hidcote. Am rather proud that we managed to rejuvenate the lavenders, which were looking past their best, by cutting into what appeared to be the old wood. I cut low down in early spring,where I could see minuscule buds and they’ve both ‘come back’ really well- did one last year and the other this year. Another success worth sharing is that Claire Austin, and indeed most of my other roses, have been planted on the site of a previous rose - and all have survived. All are Austin’s English roses, some shrub and some climbers, and we replaced the immediate soil with fresh and ‘boxed’ the roots with thin cardboard.
I think some plants just don't grow well for some people, I've had a few which just don't thrive, or grow, no matter the location, soil etc. Also some people have a knack with particular plants. Just one o' them things.
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Im very grateful for all the suggestions- and feeling much happier about the border now I feel I know what Im doing a bit more with the planting 👍
I'm glad you're feeling more positive about your border though, a garden based natter is always good. 😊
I need some nepeta too.
No salvia is reliably hardy here apart from S. caradonna, simply because it's too wet and cold for them.
Most Hebes need the same conditions, more or less, ie - free draining soil, and a decent amount of sun. It's wet cold that sees both of them off, which is why my Hebes are mainly either potted, or in the gravel paths with no real soil below them at all. Even potted ones can succumb though, because the wet roots can freeze. The salvia is in a raised bed, because, even though my soil's well amended, they still can't manage it easily.
The larger leaved hebes and the variegated ones are less hardy than the smaller leaved ones too, so it's often a question of getting the right choice.
Potentillas are very reliable, in any soil and site, although the woody ones need to have cuttings taken for propagation - they aren't the same as the one you have. Repeat planting of fewer varieties of plant will always look better than one each of lots of different plants.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...