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What to plant in this narrow, but long strip of border.

PinkPantheressPinkPantheress Posts: 2
in Garden design
Hi there! I'm a complete novice to gardening and also new to this forum so please go easy on me!

Could anyone suggest some plants, (preferably with colour) to go in this space. It's about 270cm long, 60cm wide and soil type is loamy, lime/chalk rich. It's very open so it gets lots of daylight and sun. I was thinking hydrangeas but I have heard that they don't do well with lots of sun? Our garden is looking a bit bland so I'd love something colourful to brighten it up. Thank you ever so much for any help you're able to give! :)
 
Very much a beginner to gardening
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hi @PinkPantheress and welcome to the forum 😊 

    Can you tell us which way the bed faces please?  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • PinkPantheressPinkPantheress Posts: 2
    @Dovefromabove Morning! Oh sorry, I should have said in my previous post, it's South facing. 
    Very much a beginner to gardening
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hello @PinkPantheress you could plant selections from lavenders, achilleas, gazanias and geums - all of which are happy in south facing gardens.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Hydrangeas aren't keen on dry soil or ful sun and would also be too big for a narrow bed like that.

    There are lots of colourful plants that would be happy there, rudbeckias, echinacias, penstemons, veronicas, salvias, liatris, some of the hardy geranium family. Have a look in a garden centre and read the labels on the plants.

    Could you grow something up the fence, like roses?
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    60cm is wide enough for one row of things like lavenders or shrubby salvias which will love the sunny aspect. If you wanted more scope, for example to grow climbers on the fence and something else in front, or taller shrubs to mask the fence, you could widen the border, maybe up to where the black thing by the raised bed is (sorry I can't tell what it is from the picture).

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • WaterbutWaterbut Posts: 344
    Plant roses. I love roses but have been banned by the gaffer from planting more.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @PinkPantheress What ever you do decide to plant don't go for lots of different plants. Repeating the same plant will look more natural. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Actually I prefer a row of different plants which flower at different times and in different colours. Each to their own I guess.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I agree with @Lizzie27. I find repeated plants rather dull.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I agree with @JennyJ, if you are able to widen the bed a bit, every little helps as they say.

    As a fan of shrubby salvias, l would definitely go for some of those, also hardy geraniums give you good value for money, and Heleniums would give colour through Summer into late Autumn. Here are a couple of links to give you some ideas.

    https://middletonnurseries.co.uk/product-category/salvia/

    https://www.cranesbillnursery.com/

    https://www.ashwoodnurseries.com/shop/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=Helenium+

    I would also say that a lot may depend on whereabouts in the UK you live. Do you want year round interest (which might be a bit tricky in a bed that size), or are you happy to concentrate mainly on the Spring to Autumn months ?

    You may feel a bit overwhelmed by all these suggestions, but it's all part of the fun of choosing what you like.
    Visits to a good garden centre or nurseries over the course of a year would help you to see what's in flower over the seasons .
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