Dilemma!

I wouldn’t upset her by saying you don’t want them perhaps like these have said above out them in a plant pot or donate them to a local hospice or nursing home that have the room to accommodate them

Put them in pots and increase size as they grow. Perhaps they won't survive, much to your DHs relief.

Another vote with merlotgran here for Wilko pots - they have some lovely lightweight plastic ones that look much more expensive. I personally couldn't fit another plant in the garden as ours is quite small, but every plant 'works' for me. I'd love a camellia - I think I'll try one in a pot! I agree with your OH though, the garden is my domain (my OH isn't interested at all) and kept me sane over the past few months. To make room in it for a plant that I don't want would irritate me every time I went out there. If he was kind enough to agree to take in your DS's dog for 3 months, a bit of compromise wouldn't hurt.

I grew some camelias in a pot and they did very well. It was virtually total shade which they seemed to like. Never had the same success with them afterwards and now I don't have a garden.
I would ignore the instructions, stick them in a pot and cross your fingers.

I have those same shrubs in pots and they are fine! put them in the front garden and show them off. Your sister will be made up too to see them there!

If he was kind enough to agree to take in your DS's dog for 3 months
Hadn't thought of this.

This is a tricky one. I would put them in pots and tell her not not to buy you any more as you haven’t got the room. It would have been better if she bought you a bottle of wine and some chocolates for looking after the dog

Can you explain to your sister that your DH has fixed ideas about what he wants in the garden and has decided he doesn't have room for the plants she has given you?

Could they perhaps be exchanged? Or could she use them herself and give you something your DH wants?

She is your sister, after all. She probably knows your husband's quirks by now.

If you cannot be honest with your own sister, you risk her giving you plants again with the same result

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I have a very tiny garden, with no ground in it all, it's a bit larger than a parking space with an extra bit where I have my table and chairs ..... so ALL my plants, and there are hundreds of them are in containers!

I have 2 Camellias and a Pieris and they are fine - prune at the right time to keep them at a size you need, and don't forget they all need Ericaceous Compost! Good luck!

Pot up the camellia with ericaceous compost - it prefers an acidic medium with good drainage. It will be a beautiful plant. An acid medium is also recommended for pieris. Why not try them all?

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This is how it started!

Go for it! x

If anybody gives me plants they die instantly, I don’t have green fingers and forget to water them. Having always told people this I luckily don’t get given garden plants.. love a bunch of cut flowers though. Some good advice in the posts, hopefully you can sort it x

I have chestnut, oak and philadelphus (to name but a few) that have been growing in pots for years. They're fine. So put them in pots - but not with a narrow neck so if you have to re-pot them you can get them out.

I also have several trees in my parking space - I have a beautiful Snake Bark Acer, a Gleditsia, a Robinia Lace Lady, and a Cercis/Judas Tree - because they need to grow long roots, mine are all in chimney pots or a milk churn! So yes trees are fine too!

They will be fine in pots because, as another person said, you can easily give them the conditions they want, and the pots will keep the sizes down.

I agree with others and put them in pots. It would be a shame not to use them especially if you like them. They may prefer the ground but that doesn't mean they won't be OK in a pot.

Lovely garden MadeinYorkshire

Even my neighbour, whose garden is wonderful, leaned over the fence and admired my pieris in pots when they were ablaze with their red tips in the spring.

I was very pleased.

annep1

Lovely garden MadeinYorkshire

Thank you annepl:! If it hadn't been for my garden I would have gone insane by now during lockdown! x

Someone made the point that if you don't tell your sister she may gift you more plants in the future. I'd be absolutely loth to tell anyone who was kind enough to gift me three beautiful plants that they were unsuitable - however I do believe it keeps life simpler to be straight.
A friend of mine gifted a piece of bog oak framing a clock to my son as an engagement present and while I knew neither he or his fiancee would like it I thanked her very much. What did she give as their wedding present? A bog oak framed mirror.
Both are in the charity shop.
I blame myself because I should have told her at the start that the clock would not suit the style of their home but I don't have whatever it takes to do that.
To be honest I don't know why she presumed to know their 'style' by giving such a gift. You might well say we should be grateful for any gift but shouldn't people put a bit more thought into what they gift?
Unless you are are in very close terms and know the recipient's style and even then I think a gift voucher is a much better idea as it gives the recipient the freedom to choose what they really need it want for themselves.

Know I'm going off track a bit there ...
think I just needed to get that off my chest