Garden design inspiration and plants recommendations?

we have space to fill with some interesting plants (about 1.5m x 2.5m) by a south facing wall (sunny place, soil quality probably not very good). i'd like to plant some interesting and hardy grasses and shrubs and maybe some climbers. i want to create an interesting feature in our little garden with nice contrasting colours and textures. the plants should ideally be decorative all year round and shouldn't need watering.


can you recommend any plants or a good website that features photos and descriptions or even some ideas how to group the plants to get some nice effects? most websites i've seen give only lists of plants (no good if you don't know them).





any tips will be appreciated!

Garden design inspiration and plants recommendations?
For climbers, I go for either:


Roses as these can flower for quite a time during the summer.


Passion flower, these come in all different colours and in the autumn have lovely orange fruits [don't eat them!]


Clematis, these too come in all sorts of different flowers and colours.


Put black and/or green bamboo in tubs [ this spreads quite quickly] as an alternative to grasses.


And for a mass of colour all year round why not plant bulbs that flower in the different seasons. Bulbs you can leave in the ground to naturalise, so it's less work for you. Why not add a water feature or a sundial too.





Happy gardening
Reply:i would put daizy's,








they come in all colors.


butterfly bushes, white


and purple. i would buy


wood chips and lay them around my flowers


so i don't have to weed that often. the chips would absorb water for


your plants.





hope you like my


little garden.


laney
Reply:agaves are perfect for you.


if you live in an area with snow Parrys agave is the most hardy one for you cold hardy to -20 degrees F


here is a photo of one


http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showima...





needs no water at all and is attractive all year.





another thing to try is palm trees. if you live in a cold enviorment with lots of snow the needle palm is best. this is also cold hardy to-20 F and grows well in all 50 of the us states including southern alaska. they need no protection at


-10 degrees and doesnt even get damaged till well below 0 degrees F.





some climbers





trumpet vine.


doesnt look good all year, but puts out quite a show in the summer. it is a perrenial as long as you dont live where it is colder than -5 degrees F. it will die to the groung and come up in the spring. needs some water though
Reply:Be sure to test your soil first or you'll risk all the hard work. Tasha Tudor has really good designs with all the items you listed. Do you like the English Cottage Garden look? Even grasses need watering to establish, and if it doesn't rain.


PLEASE ENTER WHAT ZONE YOU'RE IN, and any microclimates, soil type, etc. If you don't know these, ask that question too.
Reply:Check out the website below for Dutch Gardens. You can give it search criteria such as sun, water, soil, etc and even what color flowers you want and it will give you matches.
Reply:Neighbourhood yards and your local garden centre are probably your best bet for what grows well in your area and how it will look.





Good Growing :)