Ideas for small patch at front of house

Hello everyone

I'm very much a gardening newbie and have only properly "had a garden" since October, which is when we decided to completely overhaul the mess of weeds and overgrown plants we'd been living with for 11 years, and start from scratch!

We live in a traditional Victorian terrace with a small back yard and a tiny patch of soil at the front, next to some railings and paving. (We put in the railings and paving ourselves, and they're staying.)

We have a little patch of soil which up until recently had two dead conifer stumps in it and a load of weeds. In October, we had the stumps removed, got rid of the weeds, and planted two choisya plants and three lavender plants, thinking these might fill the space.

Spring has now sprung and the patch has gone WILD with weeds. Photographic evidence:



I've been out today and removed the weeds, so you can see how the intended plants look:



I'm wondering, have we been a bit too "conservative" here? It looks a bit formal and, well, I don't know. I feel like we had the option to introduce something more interesting to this patch of soil but I just don't know what. And will the lavender and choisya actually fill the space or have we not planted enough?

The patch is very sunny, south-facing, and the soil is heavy clay. I didn't think lavender would grow in the clay soil but there are green bits a-sprouting so maybe it will.

Just looking for some tips and inspiration really?!! I'm quite happy to move stuff or even get rid completely as we didn't pay much for the choisya and lavender, and I'd rather get it right.

Ideas for stopping those pesky weeds would be good, too!

Any tips?

 

Perfect for a herb bed. The clay might be a slight problem for some herbs, but nothing that couldn't be sorted with a couple of bags of general purpose compost dug into the top few inches, and maybe some bark chips or gravel or pebbles over the surface.

Rosemary, sage, oregano (once the risk of frost has passed), thyme, all will thrive in such conditions. Thyme, sage and oregano all come in different shades from almost yellow to vivid green and even slightly grey, and purple is an option with sage too. They all produce nice flowers too. When thyme blooms it makes a light fluffy cloud of flowers from white through to various shades of pink. Sage produces tall spikes of long lasting blooms that last right til the start of winter. Rosemary gets decked out in tiny blue or white flowers in early summer. All of these are very popular with bumblebees, unless you're frightened of bees, in which case the bees have no interest in them at all, honest gov.

Curry plant would also do well there, with its lovely feather silvery foliage and bright yellow flowers from early summer, but it is a bit stinky when the sun shines on it (not a problem if you love the smell of the local tandoori).

English marigolds (calendula, not to be confused with an entirely different species, Tagetes) are allowed in the herb bed too, as they produce edible flowers that some people use as a saffron substitute or to brighten up salads, and according to my rather dubious herb book, blondes also use them to make a hair rinse, but I personally don't know any blonde that has ever admitted this so I think it might be a fib).

Or, if herbs is not your thing, how about some nice flowers? Petunias, dianthus, osteospurmums, marguerites will all do well there, but all except the dianthus will need to be replaced every spring as they are not hardy. I like dianthus for a nice sunny spot because they come back every year and in warm weather, when they release their essential oils, the fragrance is amazing.

 

Hi

I think it looks great very neat and tidy , the garden centers will have all sort of annual plants in very soon to plant out , lots of choices;

Lobelia , french marigold , salvia , even a couple of dahlias plus the added advantage of some height would look attractive.

If you just want to take things easy, which I totally understand you can cover the soil with a couple of bags of bark , which will stop "most" weeds coming through.

any dry spells a good watering for all the plants.

Spruce

 

Fuschia's would give some colour and there's a choice of annuals or perennials. Lupins would look nice to, they are perennials so would give you colour from year to year. As Clueless and Spruce have said bedding plants will give you instant colour throughout this coming summer but they are annuals so will die at the end of the season.

 

A shrub like Cistus Purpureus or Custus Alan Fradd (or both) would look good there, they
are evergreen and have a paper tissue like flowers in June / July

Its just a shame they only last for about 6 weeks...............or you could have Flowers
from all the seasons (but it would involve changing them every few months) or maybe
seasonal flowers between shrubs?

 

The problem with it being so open to the pavement is that a) passing dogs may cock their legs on it (not good if you're growing herbs to eat) and b) if you grow anything flowering, kids may come past and nick the flowers (like they do with my next door neighbour).

I would leave what you've got there and put some poppy seeds down which are quite tough but would look beautiful until those plants spread out a bit. The lavender will soon bush out as it's fast growing and will give off a lovely fragrance which will hit you every time you come in or out of the house.

The Choisya will also smell lovely but isn't nearly as long flowering as the lavender.

 

Wow, everything is so green)very cool)I would advise you to plant smth more colorful, also you can buy it at any floristic shop, for example Megaflowers, but it doesn`t matter, because it is your business!but be deliberate with seeds)they have to be fresh)

 

There are some absolutely fantastic ideas here - thank you so much! I'd definitely like to add some colour. Lots to think about and loads of different opinions (which is great).

We get a lot of cats wandering in and doing their business on that patch, as well as dogs, so I'd agree that although it's a LOVELY idea (and I appreciate the detailed and helpful post from Clueless) it possibly isn't the best location for anything edible. :(

We recently had my brand new prized hanging basket stolen so wouldn't be at all surprised if flowers were picked too! But probably willing to take the risk...

Looking forward to the choisya and lavender growing. So you guys think the shrubs I've planted so far will, in time, grow to fill that space? I haven't under-filled it?

I think some colourful flowers to fill the gaps probably is my best bet then? Meant to say, the choisya is Sundance variety and the lavender is a deep blue one rather than purple. So blue and white flowers... maybe some purples and pinks to complement them?

Oooooh I don't know! But I appreciate all of the tips and advice! Got plenty to think about and for such a tiny space too!

 

Not trying to twist your arm (its your patch ), but I wouldn't rule out herbs even if you aren't going to use them. They are valuable for their appearance, resilience, and most amazing fragrance too.

 

This is my Choisya 'Sundance' taken two years ago, at that point the spread was about 4ft but it was badly damaged by heavy snow at Easter last year and I had to prune it heavily, it's now recovering well.

 

If you're after purples and pinks, how about Poppies Plum Pudding, Violetta Blush or Ooh La La.

 

Oooh those poppies are gorgeous. As is that choisya!

Embarrassingly, I've never actually sown seeds before. I don't have a propagator or greenhouse or anything like that. Can I just sow the seeds directly into the ground?

 

Yes lots you can sow straight into the soil , candytuft is easy and not to big and so easy to grow ....

 

Oooh candytuft is very pretty - love the pinks and purples...