Shrubs for sunny spot

I know gaura isn't a shrub, but it behaves like one in my garden - very bushy and flowers for months.
This one won a prize this year:
www.all-americaselections.org/winners/details.cfm?WinID=545

Sounds nice AKA hope it all comes together well.

Just googled it. I must be talking about a different species. I see there are annual and perennials.

I'm aching in every limb now and a few other places too.

Kitty I didn't know verbena was a perennial.

We made the mistake of cutting our verbena down too hard in the autumn and always lost it. We learnt to cut it to about a foot and cope with it looking awful as it now comes back. Though I always buy a couple more to be on the safe side

Must thank you all again. I've used so many of the suggestions already and spent this lovely, sunny weekend digging, pruning, moving plants, settling new plants in, watering and weeding. My new patch is still a long way from finished but it's starting to take shape.

I'm including a bird feeding corner and was watched with interest by a fat robin who actually sat on the fence right by where I was digging.

Lots of yellow butterflies and small tortoiseshells too

I could never grow Philadelphus on the sandy soil where we lived before in the NW, but must try again if the soil here suits it so well. I've had to relearn how to garden on the clay soil here and it's quite a learning curve. I'm noting all these down and wondering where I'll fit everything in.

Been out and spent too much a fortune quite a lot on some of the ones suggested (even though they are only 1' high) plus one that I remember from a long time ago Olearia or the Daisy Bush.

Ooooh - I love ceanothus. I planted one years ago with really deep, rich blue flowers - and it died I didn't try again.

I also have Clematis Armandii - evergreen clematis which is scented and flowers in winter/early spring

Chaenomeles is beautiful, TriciaF - we have an orange one as a shrub and I've just bought a pinky/light salmon one (might be Geisha Girl). The fruits make a wonderfully fragrant jelly.

Must look up Gaura. I thought it was a perennial, but maybe I'm thinking of something else. However, on that thread, do leave room for lots of verbena bonariensis. They are lightly scented, look beautifully airy and attract butterflies and bees like nobody's business. We've been trying to grow them for years - they never survive the winter for us, but maybe our soil is too heavy. You might have more success.

Lucid - don't know the name. Might be aromatica but that doesn't ring any bells (sorry, the flowers are bell-shaped....)

As for roses - I LOVE David Austin roses - many English Roses combine repeat flowering and gorgeous scent. Try their website and be tempted I can never have enough of them. I'd pull down the house if I could, to plant more ;)

I love philadelphus and have one with golden foliage. I don't think this is quite as robust as it's green-leaved cousin. I had a wonderful ceanothus and managed to kill it by over-pruning but a clematis has grown over the dead remains.

Our double philadelphus in Leics were huge- so I don't think of them as bushes- but the smell was divine. For me Daphné is a wild native plant of the Jura- I love them, but much prefer to come upon them, covered in fragrant flowers in the snow.

A magnolia stellata is nice and remains compact, and a ceonathus for gorgeous blue.

Aka - your list of plants which you're leaving in your plot is the same as those that do well here in SW France - clay soil.
Another suggestion is Japanese quince - chaenomeles japonica. Ours is magnificent at the moment.
But gaura is my favourite because it's so light and delicate and flowers all summer. A bit like gypsophilla.

When I lived in Walsall I found philadelphus went rampant. Roses also did very well. They liked the clay soil. They don't seem to like the sandier soil here

We live in the West Midlands JaneR we can have lovely wam Spring weather or there again ..... so I'll google Daphnes and check it out.

Do you live in a warm area? Daphnes are wonderful for Spring scent if so, but it sounds as if you want summer-flowering.

Rowantree could the clematis be Aromatica? We have one in a sunny spot on our patio and the scent is beautiful, although the flowers are only small.

Thank you. Great ideas.

I'm cutting off the bottom of my garden with a 3-4' high rustic fence which will face SW, but will get the early morning sun on the inward-facing side. Against this I want to plant many of these suggestions. Inside this area is when I will plant a sensory garden, mainly perfumed, including roses, lily of the valley, bluebells and other scented flowers over the seasons.

I already have a lovely blue lilac, lavender, rosemary, a bay tree here. Everything else will be dug up and relocated to the main part of the garden. There will also be a seating area. Think, setting sun, glass of wine, bird song, GC all gone home!!

Now I just have to work out what will be on the surface. Grass, pebbles, bark, stepping stones, a mixture of all these? Water?

Another one is gaura, comes in white or pink.
Very easy to grow and loves sun. Cut it right back in winter.

I'd grow some clematis too. They could scramble through any shrubs or grow up an obelisk. And what about lilac? There's a variety which doesn't grow as large - we have it, but I can't recall its name, only that I keep it pruned to about 3 feet and it has wonderfully fragrant flowers.
Growing through it is a lovely clematis with pale blue, bell-shaped flowers which bloom in the summer when the lilac has finished. Unhelpfully I can't remember its name either, but it is scented too!

Sorry, that's not a lot of help

What about a Philadelphus? Not evergreen, but a wonderful scent from the white blossom and easily kept to a manageable size.

That's a great list Roses … thank you

I have a couple of Choisya's [choisya ternata] in my South facing front garden, they do really well, evergreen attractive leaves, grow quickly and have fragrant white blossoms. They can reach about 7 feet eventually but are very easy to prune to shape.The dogwoods all seem to like the sun, also photinias [red robin or pink marble] evergreen as well and no trouble to grow. Fatsia's are also easy and are evergreen and fairly quick growing, also the taller lavenders.Euonymus is good too [lots of these so check for the height you want] variegated and evergreen as well.Lilac bushes like the sun.Buddleia of course and think about buddleia globosa [lovely little golden ball-like flowers.]Buddleias and lilacs not evergreen though. Berberis and rock roses like the sun too [rock roses, 'cystus' are about 3 feet tall and produce lots of pink or white flowers and they are evergreen.]

I'd forgotten about Buddlia, thanks. My aim is an area to attract birds, butterflies, bees, etc. so that will be added to my wish list.

Will look at Spiraea and Teucrium too

I have some beautiful fragrant roses that I'm aiming to move to this area too but will leave these until the very end of their season. I would do it now but the ground needs prepping.

Many thanks for help...all suggestions welcome.

There are some beautiful old fashioned, perfumed roses with long flowering seasons that would fit the bill. We're spoilt for choice in the garden centres now that roses are fashionable again.

How about Buddlia, or Teucrium (Germander). Mine has silvery grey leaves and a small blue flower. Some of the sages grow to 3-5 feet too.

Spiraea Goldflame colourful flowers and variegated foliage. Not too big.