New to this bit

[annie8]

I have always been in the veg bit of the forum but am now going to start looking at the flower side too. Have established my veg growing beds in the garden. Next we have cleared and done the landscaping in the front garden so have that to fill. Also will be creating a border in the back garden where my husband has built a fence. Back is going to be shade,part shade and north facing although sheltered and about 75 foot long. Front garden is full sun west facing. It is about 20 foot by 16 and we have created a slightly higher area. Next step for front is to buy some topsoil. Back will probably not be planted until later this year so less of a pressure.

[nickdub]

Of the things I grow I reckon the flowering trees and shrubs are among the easiest, longest lasting and most versatile.

I like to get flowers with scent and autumn foliage colour if possible - this list is too long to cover in one hit, but if I was starting a new garden I'd want to plant a rose, a desert apple and a lilac, as long as I had the space.

[burnie]

Being on the east of Scotland like me, we tend to get late frosts, so be careful in your selections, some flowering plants might get the blossom knocked off. Late flowing group apple trees might be a choice on dwarf root stocks in the back garden.

[annie8]

Thanks will no doubt have some specific questions as I start working out what to buy. I have a Lilac and an apple tree in the back garden already and I really like them both. Its a really old garden although we have had to clear it to make it in any way useable. Am thinking cottage style garden at front but will need some shrubs as well as lots of perrinials. At the moment I have started a yew hedge and have a mehonia. Not much else apart from a few hellebores and lavender. Have been picking up a few things in the discount section of Homebase. Got a few grasses, rudbeckia, few more lavanders and a fern for the back. Is there any particular sites you would recommend to buy plants from?

[nickdub]

couple more to be going on with (really the list is endless) :- Choisya Ternata a reliable plant with good perfume, may be Daphne bodnantensis


for myself when buying stuff I usually check out any supermarket offerings and the odd garden center - I buy some stuff off Ebay too - I'm generally pretty cheap, so if I can find a way of doing it that saves a few quid I usually will - some of the clematis have very good scents BTW if you like climbers.

[annie8]

Am thinking of a few climbers for the back. Break up the new fence a bit. It is about 6 foot high. Maybe one of the clematis that isn’t summer flowering

[Babru]

A bit early in the year yet, but Morrisons generally has a good selection of keenly priced shrubs and perennials. They sometimes have unusual things too, and a good choice of clematis.

As with all of these types of places, you want to buy as soon as they come in, because they don't look after them at all. That said, a reduced rescue plant can be a lovely thing when you've saved it from death.

[veggiechicken]

I have a soft spot for camellias and there were some nice ones in Morrisons today - £5 and £8.

[nickdub]

clematis armandii apple blossom is a good hardy evergreen one with a lovely scent - it does tend to get leggy and leafless at the bottom, but if you're prepared to train it round in loops you could cover up most of that - or plant something-else in front of its base.

[nickdub]

I have a soft spot for camellias and there were some nice ones in Morrisons today - £5 and £8.

might be pushing it a bit with the frost problem with camellias in some parts of the country VC

I agree with you they are beautiful if you have the right conditions for them.

[veggiechicken]

Is that the effect of the buds freezing and sudden unfreezing when the sun hits them?
My roof-high camellias are planted against the house wall on the west and don't see the sun in winter until it sets. Poor things!

Shrubs will be on sale in L1dl next weekend - don't know what though.

[nickdub]

not sure precisely what happens, but if you get a hard frost all the flower buds are affected and indeed the flowers can go a mushy brown too - of course its not just whereabouts in the country you are, but what sort of micro-climate your plant is in - if in doubt, best to ask local gardeners.

[annie8]

Think a wee trip to Lidl next weekend then.

[veggiechicken]

They seem to have Weigelia, Forsythia, Choisya and Deutzia (from the advert) - maybe be more when you get there!

On sale from Sunday.

[Babru]

Camellias do fine here in Edinburgh, and there is a very large clematis armandii along a west facing wall in the south side of Edinburgh. I've seen it flowering and the perfume is lovely.