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masses, specimen shrubs and shapes and place them in your plan. You should now have a garden which is filling in nicely. Shrubs suggested would be privet (for taller hedges), Buxus semperivens (for low hedges), buddleia (to attract insects) and Syringa vulgare (lilac) for flowers and scent.

Now consider any boundaries. If you have not used hedges and have fences and walls, you can cloak them with climbing plants. Think about those trees. If they are foliar, you may want to climb a rambling rose through them to create color. If you have trellis, cloak it with climbers like Japonica nudiflorum , clematis and roses.

Now you have the planting framework. It is time to fill in any gaps and create flower beds and choose aquatics if you have a pond.

For flower beds, choose perennials first as these plants will grow larger and be in the ground a long time. Again, choose them for height, period of flowering, any other features of interest like seed heads and make sure you know how far they are going to spread.
Place the larger ones and make patterns using repetition, rhythm and harmony with the other colors in your garden and home. Best ones to try are lupins, delphiniums, hemerocallis (daylilies) and chrysanthemums.

Now choose biennials and annuals. Best ones to try are digitalis (fox glove) and wall flowers for biennials and pansies, violets, petunias and tagetes for annuals. You will be able to change these plants every 2 years or every year, so use them to fill gaps, provide splashes of color and to infill where a larger plant has not yet filled the gap. Add some bulbs in duller areas which will come up in spring and you have almost completed the garden plants. Also, use annuals in hanging baskets and pots for the patio.

Consider grasses next - there are going to be areas where flowering plants will not grow so well but need some mass and you may also have an area where some gentle rustling would be welcome if, for example you live near a busy road. Use bamboos and grasses. Good ones are Sambucus nigra for a bamboo and Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' for a grass.

Finally, if you have a pond, choose plants for the bog garden and water. Bog garden plants include primulas (candelabra type) , gunnera (for larger areas) and regal lilies. For the water choose Nymphae alba (water lily) and Butumus umbellifera.

These are the best plants to really get your garden growing and establishing a growing framework to enhance your hard landscaping. Once these are growing well, you can experiment and add vegetables, fruit and herbs.

Learn more about this author, Sammy Stein.
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