What plants to plant here?

Hi folks,
We have a mobile home on the East Coast and as we are only a few hundred metres from the sea, the soil is quite sandy.

We have a wooden veranda to the side of the mobile and I would like to plant maybe 3 smallish plants that will last just in front of the veranda.

Apart from the soil being kind of sandy where I would like to position them will be mostly shady and only get a small bit of sun when it comes around later in the day.

Pic attached here of the position.

Any suggestions on easy to find, relatively cheap plants to get?

Thank you

 

I wonder if erigeron would be happy there? It's a very accomodating plant. There's also Erigeron Glaucus aka Seaside Daisy.

 

Presume you mean the East coast of Ireland.
I'd look at thymes and rosemaries, maybe tamarisk, possibly lavenders.

 

Correct, the East coast of Ireland. Thanks.

 

When you say "small-ish" do you mean something bedding-plant sized but permanent, just along the ground, or something that will mask the wooden "wall" but not get much taller than it?

If you want something with bulk to mask the wooden "wall" you might try some of the bigger Hebes (now lumped in with Veronica, but in my head Veronica are the perennial ones and Hebe the shrubs). Hardy fuchsias would do fine too, and only need pruning once a year in early spring. They might even stay mostly green if you have mild winters. But any of those would be better planted a bit further from the "wall" so they have room to grow widthwise as well as heightwise.

Smaller hebes might be OK for low mounds but the colourful ones like more sun. If you have mild frost-free winters like the west of Ireland, the smaller, non-hardy fuchsias might make it through the winter. For fuss-free foliage plants, the evergreen Euonymus take some beating but they can look a little bit "municipal planting" on their own (I have mine against fences for backdrop to other plants, but planted in the open they make more of a mound).

I think @NigelJ's suggestions would all prefer more sun than just a bit in the evenings (particularly the thyme), but could be worth a try if you can find them really cheap.

 

In an East facing border and sandy soil I have an ornamental grass, Calamagrostis Karl Foerster for height, Nepeta for colour and bees and Euonymus Green Spire for evergreen interest. Erigeron Karvinskianus would also be happy in those conditions, as would Heucheras which are evergreen. Your plants will grow better if you create a border and incorporate some organic matter to retain moisture.

 

Thanks, I should have been more specific.

I am not necessarily looking for something to grow and mask the wooden veranda, I was thinking something more along the lines of bedding plant sizes that may grow knee high or just above if that made sense.

 

Thanks you, forgive my ignorance but what is the best way to create a border? Just something I can pick up from a garden shop and I presume compost would do for the organic matter piece?

Thanks

 

About 2 to 3 feet in front of your veranda and across the width of that panel, remove the turf with a spade by cutting it and then lifting it. You will then expose the bare soil beneath the turf into which you can dig organic matter, often sold in garden centres and DIY stores as soil conditioner or Farmyard Manure. Just one bag should be enough for your border. Any left over you can use as mulch on top of the border to help to retain moisture.

 

OK! I'll stick with my 3rd paragraph above for small shrubs.

If you wanted some ground cover that would spread to fill the space rather than staying as individual little clumps, you could look at varieties of Vinca minor (not V. major), Lamium, dwarf creeping sorts of Campanula.

If you want some actual betting plants to fill in while your permanent plants are small, the best ones for shade are fibrous-rooted begonias (the small-flowered ones that come in multi-trays, not the tuberous ones with the big flashy flowers and often a trailing/pendulous habit) and violas.

Some bulbs to come up among other plants might be nice if you're going to be there in early to mid spring (you didn't say whether it's your permanent home or a holiday place) - crocuses, daffodils etc. Not tulips, they need to get baked by the sun.

 

I went to the local Woodies garden centre this evening and the young lad there pointed me towards the following two bags, will either suffice or is one better than the other?
Westland Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure 50L

Growmoor 50lt Blackgold Compost

I think initially anyway, I would rather just 3 types of plants/shrubs that stay in their position and don’t necessarily grow across and cover the gap.
I was looking at a neighbours patch which is exact same way facing as ours and they had what google tells me is a Hydrangea macrophylla growing for them.

 

I think that's the best way to approach it - have a wander around and see what everyone else is growing. If you find something you like and can't ID post it on this forum for help.

 

If you're planting Hydrangeas @NoviceGardener2023, go for the Westland Farmyard Manure. It will help to retain moisture which Hydrangeas like.

 

What grows well for the neighbours is a good guide. I didn't suggest hydrangeas because they like plenty of moisture and don't do well on the sandy soil here, but you probably get a lot more rainfall than we do.

 

OP here, after the advice above and from looking at what neighbours had grown. I opted for Rosemary, Lavender and Hydrangea to plant - all of which I planted in mid- May.

See first pic which is after I had planted in May. I think I could have made a much better effort at marking a clearer border. I also wonder in hindsight should I have dug the bed a little deeper.

Due to personal circumstances I was not able to make it back down to the holiday home till this weekend. A family member was using it on/off but they didn’t do any maintenance on the bed.
Upon arriving down this weekend, one end of the bed was infested with chickweed and it looks like some of the manure I had spread had disintegrated with the sandy soil.

I have attached updated pictures.

From October to March the holiday home will be locked up so I would like to improve the current situation as much as possible before the end of the month.

So, I am seeking any advice on best next steps.

Thanks