I’m looking for some ideas for my small front garden and what to do with it. I will be pulling up the box border as they’ve been devoured by box moth so I plan on planting lavender as a border but I need some ideas to make it not seem plain as it is now and like the idea of something along the lines of a cottage vibe. It’s a north facing garden so it really only gets sun during the evening so plant suggestions will be helpful, thanks!
by LongstuffUK
13 Comments
Plant potatoes.
Plant a vegetable patch. A row of cosmos. Throw some Nigella seeds down. A row of garlic and some onions. If you leave some onions to seed, they are in the allium family.
Rosemary makes a fab hedging plant. Fragrant, flowers beautifully, attractive to pollinators and easily pruned into shape.
Youve got a hardy geranium that looks happy so think about more of those. Plenty will take a north facing garden and they’re super hardy and robust. Gardener’s World has a last of suitable varieties.
A cottage effect would be tricky unless youre happy to give up the whole lawn. I’d also think of a few small shrubs to give structure and some vertical interest. I have a similar small square front garden and love my Dawn Viburnum this time of year. Comes into flower late December and has the most beautiful fragrance every time I pass.
Plant something native
Gotta stop you on the lavender idea right out of the gate. I see people make this mistake constantly on North-facing lots. Lavender needs baking hot sun all day to thrive and in a shady North spot that only gets evening rays it is going to get leggy, flop over, and rot within a season. If you want that purple spike look without the sun requirement look at Liriope or maybe some Catmint if you get decent ambient light but honestly you are better off embracing the shade.
If you want a true cottage vibe you probably need to kill that lawn. Small patches of grass like this are a pain to mow and just fight with moss in the shade anyway. I help people with these kinds of layouts all the time and the best move is to widen those beds significantly or just turn the whole square into a garden bed with a few steppers. You want layers of texture rather than just a single border. Think about putting some Oakleaf Hydrangeas or Rhododendrons in the back against the brick for height.
For the front border and filler look into Coral Bells and Astilbe. They bring that ferny colorful cottage texture but love the shade. Japanese Forest Grass is another killer option that spills over edges beautifully to soften those hard concrete lines. Don’t be afraid to pack them in tight because cottage gardens are supposed to look overgrown and lush not manicured.
I’ve got a row of lavender that’s doing ok in a north facing garden. It looks lovely when it’s in full flower and it attracts the bees. Rosemary also another great idea. Or you could mulch it and turn into a woodland type garden with plants that can thrive facing north. Hardy geraniums, cyclamen etc.
I design these as part of my job and my days, it is depressing seeing the reality sometimes. Amazing that you want to plant up the front garden and your new pavers look fab.
When I am permitted to use plants and *any big house builder name* actually plants them… have a google of some of these.
– Tiarella cordifolia
– Brunnera macrophylla
– Pulmonaria saccharata
– Pachysandra terminalis
– Ajuga reptans a few varieties
– Geranium phaeum Samobor or any hardy geranium
– Bergenia cordifolia
Maybe eyonymous or Berberis for year round interest?
Some ideas for you to think about:
A hedge out of berberis, hornbeam, photinia x fraseri, cornus, skimmia japonica, sarcocca confusa, or something with some year round interest.
Small tree like an amelanchier, crabapple, or apple.
Some shade tolerant bulbs like snowdrops. Best planted as plants rather than bulbs.
Lots of traditionally cottage garden plants like more sun but you could plant some brunnera, ferns, forget me nots. Just Google plants that don’t mind shade.
You didn’t say what the soil is like so good to check that out and match the plants to your conditions if you can. For example some plants need good drainage but others will be okay with being more waterlogged.
Enjoy your project!
OP hopefully you don’t get taken in by the AI answer from the shill account and do some research for yourself.
In an urban environment beside paths and driveways, the adjacent soil is 100% compacted and will have sod all drainage and will need amending at the very least if not replacing to give most plants a fighting chance.
Lavender is a rubbish plant to use on the border anyway; it gets too leggy in rich soils, flops over and its season of interest is too short. It doesn’t respond well to regenerative pruning and looks dull as ditch water in winter. It’ll be stepped over by passers by and will break.
You’re better off using something sensible and tough like acer campestre/taxus baccata as a border then plant inside it with your seasonal interest plants. With an evergreen structure in place you can put in nice deciduous plants like nepetas, salvias which have longer flowering seasons and are more resilient than lavender along with an Amelanchier or a Corylus ‘Red Majestic’ as a specimen plant.
Magnolia tree – specifically Magnolia stellata? A lot of people in my neighbourhood have those in their front yard – north facing. Does not get too big (3-5 meters) or too “bushy” and gives beatiful flowers in spring.
Robust stuff. People will shortcut across it. So herbs that smell nice bruised, or more open free prairie style, with routes to pass around the planting
A nice small tree that you can maintain? Or some shrubs/bushes with good height so it feels like a proper garden. Then fill everywhere else with plants that suit the location, considering how much sun it gets etc.
https://preview.redd.it/3rjagyi4dl7g1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb99f468751aa94f6ac1fb671912d746e2f1d12b
AI slop sorry