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We all keep hearing about frugal food these days but what about the garden, how can you save money without sacrificing quality? Luckily there is a simple answer – 3 for 2s from Hillier. These are our special range of “Garden Favourites”, classic garden plants that always perform. They are perfect for livening up existing gardens or forming the backbone of any new planting. Buy any two and you get a third one free making planting a pleasure, not a chore!
Evergreen Favourites
Has your garden reached the point where some shrubs have seen better days? Have you got gaps where plants have expired? Or do you just have dull corners to fill. Try one of these evergreen favourites.
This is always one of our favourites at Chelsea when the new growth is showing in delicious shades of copper and toffee. Gently arching branches carry leaves spotted and marbled with pink and white with clusters of blossoms under the branches in May. It is one of the best shrubs for shade but will also be perfectly happy in sun.
Gorgeous silver foliage makes this large shrub the perfect foil for any plant. Add to that the deliciously scented tiny white flowers in autumn and it’s ability to grow in even very poor soil and it is a real winner. It is an ideal choice for exposed and coastal sites and even makes a very good hedge.
The classic foliage shrub. Guaranteed to brighten up any garden Photinia can be left to form a large shrub, perfect for screening neighbours. If a controlled hedge is needed pruning encourages new red growth, so clip after the first flush of growth fades for masses of new brilliant red shoots.
Most evergreens have large bold leaves so small leaved evergreens are especially welcome in the garden. It grows in everything from shallow chalk to heavy clay with fan like branching shoots of soft gold foliage arching gently towards the ground. It is a great choice for cutting for flower arranging as it lasts really well.
Gorgeous Ground Cover
Make life easier for yourself, save all that weeding in the summer. Planting ground cover helps conserve moisture, suppresses weeds and, most importantly, provides an attractive contrast to your existing planting.
For low ground cover it is hard to beat the cottage garden favourite Vinca. It has really pretty variegated leaves and gorgeous pure lavender blue flowers scattered across the foliage. Don’t confuse this with the much more rampant Vinca major.
This grass like plant has become enormously popular in the last few years. The short black blades form a thick carpet and make a fabulous foil for shrubs and perennials. It also makes an excellent planting partner for spring bulbs, looking especially good with hardy cyclamen. It also makes a really striking container plant.
This shrub is often under rated because it is so easy to grow in any position. If you dont have this in your garden you are definitely missing out. It gives you evergreen bright golden and green foliage all year round, perfect as a carpet under shrubs like Aucuba or Fatsia. If you are looking for a short climber it is a real star clinging via aerial roots.
Most people are familiar with the upright rosemary but this form has always been hard to find. It has the same aromatic foliage and delicious blue spring flowers but the stems travel horizontally. It is fabulous in a hot sunny border or even dripping down a retaining wall.
Fabulous Flowers
Choosing individual flowering shrubs is relatively easy, the difficult part is choosing other shrub to combine with them. These are a few perfect partners to help bring planting schemes together with their fabulous flowers.
Not only a cracking evergreen, this tough and easy shrub bears the most amazing crop of flowers every year. The attractive pink buds form in autumn and carry all the way through the winter when they open in early spring. It is one of the best shrubs to establish wider mature trees.
For some random reason Escallonia is usually relegated to the hedging section but they make gorgeous freestanding shrubs. The foliage is deepest green and contrasts beautifully with the icing sugar white flowers. Easy to grow and highly recommended: again really good for coastal areas and hedging.
Choisya has really fresh bright green foliage, which is the perfect foil for the orange blossom scented clusters of white flowers. Very easy to grow, it is a classic low maintenance shrub, which is drought and pollution tolerant. It has the added bonus of flowering twice and being happy in sun or shade.
When you want a quick infill Ceanothus is the perfect choice. For new gardens it will give a feeling of maturity very quickly. A sunny well drained spot is a must and although a wall is its usual home it is equally happy in a border where the blue flowers are always welcome.
