Rosy's Planting Plan for a Small Sunny Border with Free Draining Soil

This planting plan has been designed for small island beds or front facing borders. The plants here are perfectly suited to hot borders in front of walls or fences. And are suitable for gravel or sand gardens - anywhere where the soil is well drained and on the poor side. Some of the plants will self seed so you may want to edit your border each year to remove unwanted seedlings or allow them to grow to create an informal feel. There will be some winter interest from the foliage and seed heads. 

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1. Euphorbia seguieriana x 3. Feathery grey-green needle foliage and clusters of vivid lime-green bracts appear on dark ginger stems from midsummer to early autumn. 

2. Helianthemum 'Wisley White' x 2.  Large white saucer-like blooms with a pale yellow centre appear in clusters during the summer. Thin silver/green leaves adorn this shrub-like perennial which produces a low mound of lush foliage. Helianthemums are perfect for alpine beds, gravel gardens and rockeries.  

3. Oenothera speciosa Twilight ('Turner01'PBR) (v) x 3. A low growing form of evening primrose, this spreading perennial has narrow green linear leaves with red markings. Lightly scented, large bowl-shaped flowers appear pink/white all summer. It is drought tolerant. 

4.  Silene coronaria Gardners' World ('Blych') (d) x 2. Double magenta flowers appear on tall branched stems during summer. 'Gardeners World' flowers for far longer than the straight Silene coronaria, it is sterile and therefore does not set seed, this maybe seen as an advantage by some.  It thrives in full sun and well-drained soils. These silver leaved Silene  are superbly adapted to survive short periods of drought and will add a big burst of colour to your border. 

5. Stipa tenuissima x 3.  This tidy but compact grass, produces a dense fountain of very narrow leaves and stems, with arching, feathery, initially pale green flowers, that gently fade to buff. Tolerant of dry soil, it is a great choice for a gravel garden. Remove faded foliage and stems in spring before new foliage emerges using a dog comb. It thrives in a free draining, fairly fertile soil in full sun.

6. Verbena officinalis 'Bampton' x 3. Spikes of small pink flowers appear throughout the summer above slender, wiry stems with narrow purple foliage which form a neat mound.  'Bampton' is a plant which will self seed freely. Verbena loves a position in full sun and a well-drained soil; gravel gardens, sunny wall-side flower beds and borders are all ideal.

For Mail Order.  Our mail order team is very small, so we’re unable to advise you on bespoke design, the specific numbers of plants you’ll need for borders which are bigger or smaller than the plans detail, or to complete quotes for online purchasing.  We can only do this type of work if you visit the nursery.  If you wish to purchase the plants online, use the links in the plans to find the plants.  We may not have all the plants listed on the plans for mail order delivery at any one time.  Our nursery shop often has alternatives and substitutes, but we can only advise and provide these if you visit us.