By Scottish
Edinburgh,
Scotland 
Evergreen Shrub suggestions please
Come spring, I want to start work on my small front garden. I'd like to get a head start, lift the turf and plant a couple of shrubs now so they can get a chance to put down some roots. It's 4.5m in length.
Growing conditions out there are entirely different to the back garden, so new territory! I'm after some suggestions of shrubs to grow in the border nearest the fence you can see in the picture.
The garden is south/west facing has well drained soil but is battered by the westerly winds.
There is a privet that grows along the front, which I'm attempting to grow taller (as Tropaeolum speciosum grows through it and would hate to loose it) but would rather have something different down the fence. I don't want it formal as such but quite dense plants, if you know what I mean.
Thanks for any suggestions.
19 Sep, 2013
Answers
It is nice looking already and is not small for a front garden!
What would brighten it up are 5 plants and nothing else in the border:
2 pink Cordylines and 3 Phormium.
So 1 pink Phormium ('electric pink') at each side of the border then a lime coloured Phormium, then a pink one in the middle (pink stripe or the like) and then another light green/yellow Phormium. Mulch with bark. They will thicken out and will like the aspect and flow into each other and the colours will flow and look nice even in January when it is dark and miserable.
19 Sep, 2013
Hebe come to mind, Euonymus, I love the variegated, so cheery in the winter and Choisya ternata
19 Sep, 2013
I lean towards Pam's suggestions..all hardy,and Euonymous'Emerald and Gold' is always a winner for winter ..mine get battered about too,but they still look good all year round..
19 Sep, 2013
I hesitated to suggest that as I seem to recommend it to everybody! The silver variegated are nice too. Chaenomeles, red stemmed dogwood and I second hebe.
19 Sep, 2013
Thank you all for your input- plenty of food for thought. I've already got some of your suggestions so maybe with a wee bit of rejigging it need not cost me a fortune :)
20 Sep, 2013
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Hi Angie how about planting an Encianthus for the foliage beauty.
Or Rhodendrums.
19 Sep, 2013