A Phormium would tolerate shade in that position. As well as providing a contrasting foliage form, it would also help to hide the lower part of your Thuja. I have both Phormium and Thuja growing together in a similar situation. Choose one of the variegated varieties to add lightness to that space. My Phormiums did suffer some browning of leaves over winter but I removed the damaged leaves in spring and they have fully recovered. One has recently flowered for the first time after previously being in a pot!
Yes I would love to grow Phormiums, but they are a bit challenged by my winters here. I tend to struggle with anything less than than H5 hardy plants. I am situated in the bottom of a valley and the cold air forms a frost pocket
My choisyia ternata is under a large sycamore so only gets about 3-4 hours sun in summer. The one next to the fatsia is a Sun dance type in an east facing border which only gets sun in the evening. Your space looks a bit small for an Acer but maybe Silver butterfly would be fine as it’s more compact and slow growing for me than other Acers.
Thats a real specimen of a sambucus! Gorgeous. I am growing some sapling taken from cutting last year. One day mine will look like that!
I should have asked, is that a smaller hydrangea aspera cultivar like hot chocolate, or is it one of the normal types? They can grow into decent sized shrubs and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, they are lovely, but I'd factor in that it will take up a fair bit of that area, so perhaps something smaller would be a better choice and really let the aspera have room to show off.
Yes it is a Aspera Hot Chocolate. I do hope it will grow to full size but I still have a gap I think to the right and front of the thuja.
A Phormium would tolerate shade in that position. As well as providing a contrasting foliage form, it would also help to hide the lower part of your Thuja. I have both Phormium and Thuja growing together in a similar situation. Choose one of the variegated varieties to add lightness to that space. My Phormiums did suffer some browning of leaves over winter but I removed the damaged leaves in spring and they have fully recovered. One has recently flowered for the first time after previously being in a pot!
Yes I would love to grow Phormiums, but they are a bit challenged by my winters here. I tend to struggle with anything less than than H5 hardy plants. I am situated in the bottom of a valley and the cold air forms a frost pocket
That's a shame @WiltshireWild, Phormium and Fatsia are both H5, so may still be worth considering with some winter protection. Alternatively, some Viburnums are H6 or above.
Just to clarify - many phormiums are fine down to those temps -ie minus 10 or 11. It's the drainage that matters. Prolonged, very wet cold is what does for them, or the spell we had in winter when it was very wet and mild then suddenly froze ,and that repeated. That's hard for many plants to cope with. Hebes often don't manage here in an average winter, when phormiums do, although they [phormiums] can look manky and need trimmed back in spring. A gradual descent into winter and a slow warm up, which is what we normally have here, is no problem, and we frequently have long spells below minus 5 or 6, and upwards of 50 or 60 frosts every year is pretty average. The last two years have seen a big change in that though, and have been very mild.
I've been growing phormiums in gardens for thirty years, and have never lost any until this year, and that's because of the swings of temperature. Mine are all in containers or raised beds to counteract our rainfall and the clay soil, even though it's amended. The one I love, which looked a goner, has come back - it's in a raised bed, and the bits right in at the edge survived.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It would depend on the amount of room available. You'd really need to make the border much deeper if you want more shrubs, especially as there's something else on that wall to the right of the thuja. Spireas don't mind shade, or Potentillas. I only grow the whites of both - again because of the shade. They can be pruned easily too.
You mentioned spiraea. I am thinking and leaning towards spiraea snowmound. But an alternative would be actaea simplex. The actaea grows well here in full shade albeit in a more moist part of the garden. Any thoughts about these options?
Any of the white spireas will be fine. I prefer the early one - S. arguta The Bride as it has a great habit, but it's always personal choice. There are lots of Acteas, but they do need reliable moisture through the spring and summer. They aren't shrubs of course, so they die back completely for winter
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Any of the white spireas will be fine. I prefer the early one - S. arguta The Bride as it has a great habit, but it's always personal choice. There are lots of Acteas, but they do need reliable moisture through the spring and summer. They aren't shrubs of course, so they die back completely for winter
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A gradual descent into winter and a slow warm up, which is what we normally have here, is no problem, and we frequently have long spells below minus 5 or 6, and upwards of 50 or 60 frosts every year is pretty average. The last two years have seen a big change in that though, and have been very mild.
I've been growing phormiums in gardens for thirty years, and have never lost any until this year, and that's because of the swings of temperature. Mine are all in containers or raised beds to counteract our rainfall and the clay soil, even though it's amended.
The one I love, which looked a goner, has come back - it's in a raised bed, and the bits right in at the edge survived.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
There are lots of Acteas, but they do need reliable moisture through the spring and summer. They aren't shrubs of course, so they die back completely for winter
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...