1st garden!! What are all these plants????
clemmyx760
Posts: 32
Ok so I am a TOTAL novice, never had my own garden before and we've just moved into our new home which has a lovely sunny terraced area and big raised beds.
Can you please tell me what these plants are in the garden?
I am trying to identify them, and then work out if I want to keep them/can move them/what will go nicely with them.
I think the big spiky thing is a Phormium? I would like to move it to the left hand side of lower bed to add some height and also maybe cut it in half to make it thinner. I suggested to my OH that we could move it, and he said 'how about we move it to the recycling centre!!' I don't think he's keen on "ol' spiky" 
Any tips for evergreen, low maintenance but funky looking plants for 2 big raised boxes in a very sunny terrace much appreciated. I was thinking that some small clumping ornamental grasses might look nice, then some taller plants at the back? I'd love to craft some topiary animals but seeing as my skills are 0 that might be a bit ambitious!!
I'd like some quite unusual looking plants so what would do well, provide all year colour, not need much care and LOVE a super sunny sheltered spot?.
Any/all tips appreciated
Thank you
C x
Posts
Also forgot to add, how can I trim back the green shrub on the left in the first pic? The house sparrows absolutely love it so I don't want to move it but it is a bit large so I would like to trim up back a bit. Is that possible?
The golden leaved one looks like a golden leaved Jasmine, possibly "Fiona sunrise"
The shiny dark leaved one looks like bay.
The jagged leafed tree in the wooden bucket looks like a cherry of some sort.
Yes old spiky is a phormium. It could be sliced in half with a saw in Spring. The roots are massive but take quite rough treatment.
Third one mid-right looks like an aster.
Fifth/sixth looks like viburnum tinus to me.
Andy is probably right. furry leaves on new shoots are not Bay. I wish I could enlarge photos properly.
Fb, don't assume I'm right, I'm still new to this gardening lark!
Would be good if I was though 
. I just thought I saw some berries that suggested viburnum to me.
Last edited: 07 June 2016 14:15:35
It was a rental property before we bought it so I think the owner was happy to just sell the garden as it was. The wooden casing of the beds needs some attention but other than that it is all in good condition which is great for a first timer like me!
I have since dug the left bed out and thrown everything away from it except that pale yellow climbing thing which another friend thought might be a jasmine?
the suspected Jasmine has gone dry and brown on the ends of the climbing tendrils, should I cut this off? leave to fall off? I am going to make it some more sticks to climb up as it has got to the top of what it has now.
Do I have to wait until Spring to move ol' spiky? What would happen if say...I attacked it with a shovel this weekend, and replanted it?
I just googles Viburnum Tinus and that looks very much like it.
So now would be a good time to prune it back/cut off dead bits according to this > http://www.gardenguides.com/68332-prune-viburnum-tinus.html
Can I shape this shrub? Into a ball shape?
so far example if I just trimmed the Viburnum like this to make it a round shape, would that be bad for it? Do I just take secateurs to it? and chop off the branches until it is more round? and then also cut any dead bits off?
Last edited: 07 June 2016 14:40:38
Erm... I guess you could trim it to a ball but I don't think its really suitable for topiary. You cut it now and you won't get any flowers next winter/early spring. Best to take a third of the old wood down to the base to get new growth rather than taking cutters to it to make it round.
Of course, it's your plant so you can do what you want with it
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