I'd like my patio to look...

kitty I have a corner of the garden much like yours.

Thanks for the advice J52.

Plumbago is lovely blue with pretty leaves, grows 5-6 feet, and is nice in pots.

That is lovely roses, you obviously have excellent taste. I can definitely see the resemblance but what you see is nearly all of our garden as it's tiny!

Thank you for the nice comments about our garden, they are really heartening. We have been persuaded to open our garden this year and DH is having a bit of a panic about sweeping, planting, cutting back, weeding, laying bark etc. I keep trying to tell him that it is the overall impression that counts.

Not Japanese orange but I have a yuzu I bought last year. I also grow the Kaffir lime for its leaves in Thai cooking

Do they have to be taken indoors in the winter Galen?

Lovely, Roses, you have some of my favourites there.

Oh my goodness, lots of help for me here I see! And gorgeous pics too I am entertaining visitors until tomorrow but will read the thread after they leave. I shall need to relax for a day at least so this will make for good reading. Thank you all.

Most of them go into a cold greenhouse with a frost stat in it. The kaffir lime is too big and prickly to move so it just gets wrapped in a fleece and left in its corner.
I've also got a pomegranate. I grow all my culinary herbs out there as well ( to be accurate Gary does)
I have 3 types of thyme, basil, parsley, bay, tarragon sage and oregano. Oh! And lavender of course.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201704/medium-971224-256.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201704/medium-561440-253.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201704/medium-327590-248.jpg

My small seaside garden is a funny shape and its on quite a slope too. We haven't been in this house very long so its a bit of a work in progress, although we have 2 small patios to take advantage of the sun at various times of the day.

a seaside garden, oh, a seaside garden
you said it so casually gillybob

and not a weed to be seen either

Serious garden envy gilly

Clematis Freda ( taken a few days ago) this vigorous clematis is great, a smaller flower than some Montanas but a lovely deep pink and tons of flowers.

I originally wanted honeysuckle on the arch, but changed my mind, and put the honeysuckle on a strong trellis somewhere else in the garden.

You can grow a clematis in a large pot with canes in for height wildrose also honeysuckle or sweetpeas.Put bamboo canes in the pot tied together at the top like a wigwam.The plants will then climb up them.Not the Montana type clematis though,as they are way too big!

Have you thought of herbs as well? Rosemary gets quite tall, you could also have a tub of runner beans which often have pretty flowers.

Wow, that clematis! It is beautiful!

Beautiful clematis Roses, I'm still waiting for mine to flower. which might take a while because it's freezing here!

Yes, it's really pretty in flower, and the leaves are an attractive red/dark green for the rest of the year.We used to have a Montana Elizabeth and that was so vigorous it was aiming to take over the world. So this one is more managable.we planted two, one at each side of the arch, then they meet in the middle.

We have an ordinary Montana, planted on a trellis to provide a screen and it is in full flower at the moment.

DH was going to ask for recommendations for one for another arch further up the garden, Freda looks like a good choice. The summer flowering ones are much more delicate; they have started to grow and I fear this cold weather may have damaged the shoots.

I have only just (well 2 weekends ago) planted 3 honeysuckle along my back fence roses . They were recommend by the RHS for withstanding the salty air and so far they seem to have taken well. Fingers crossed. Do any of you experienced gardeners think I could criss cross these with some clematis? If so is there a particular variety I should be looking for ?

My "new build" garden is very much a work in progress as I am a relatively new gardener (keen to learn though) . I recently invested in a little lean-to greenhouse (don't have a lot of space for anything bigger) so -fingers crossed- hoping this year to produce everything from seed/ cuttings myself.

So excited for this summer. Can't wait to see what might come back as I can't remember what I planted and where?

My hydrangeas and rhododendrons seem to be doing very well so far, so the salty air must suit them just fine.

Happy days .

Fabulous clematis roses. I can't grow them at all and they are so reminiscent of my Granny's garden when I was younger. Those and hollyhocks which I can't grow either.

Gillybob, Vinca grows well at the sea. Pretty periwinkle colour, looks nice as ground cover or hanging pots.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles to grow clematis. They all failed in our last house and I have one here which is very pretty but never makes its full height and spread despite what I do with it.

kitty it may because your soil is too acid - we get wild old mans beard by the dozens on the Downs so I think they prefer an alkaline soil. Or you may not be planting them deeply enough. At least 4 inches of stem under the soil is the way to go- it helps the plant to recover from wilt if it is unlucky enough to get it. They should also never dry out. Which is why I am watering my newly planted clematis like mad at the moment.