Help with what to plant - not a clue!

iwanna

A complete gardening newbie here, up until now all I've mastered is using the lawn mower
Am trying to tidy up the front of my house and have had the weed bed graveled over with the view to putting a large pot in the middle i'm hoping to work on this over the coming weekend but have just realised i have absolutely no idea what to plant in said pot !!!!

It will be in a mainly shaded position with only about 3-4 hours morning sunlight (North-East aspect). I'm hoping to get a large pot say at least 60cm diameter or a trough or something similar.

I love purples and would love a dwarf lavender in there but don't think the aspect is right. Also not sure if it needs to be seasonal so just spring/summer plants in now and then replant later with autumn/winter stuff or can i put stuff in now that will last all year round ?

Any ideas where to start (p.s. i've already looked on the rhs tool but still not sure)?

doodle-bug_2

Possibly try a hebe (google 'hebe heartbreaker'). There are several purple-ish ones like this, try looking at google images to find them. I had three put in my front garden when it was landscaped, and actually had people knocking on the door to find out where they could buy them from! A few years ago they were scarce, but are more commonly available now.

I_have_spoken

If you were OK with reddish-purple, you could have an acer or a cordyline, although I'm not a fan of the later as you see them everywhere in pots.

A hardy fuchsia would give you purple flowers.

iwanna

doodle-bug wrote: »

Possibly try a hebe (google 'hebe heartbreaker'). ....

Oh that looks really nice Doodle-Bug! Will definitely consider that !

iwanna

I_have_spoken wrote: »

If you were OK with reddish-purple, you could have an acer or a cordyline, although I'm not a fan of the later as you see them everywhere in pots.

A hardy fuchsia would give you purple flowers.

Thank you I Have Spoken ! Reddish purples are good ... looked both of those up and although i like Acer's ( i never knew that's what they were called) in other garden's they're a bit too tree like for me i think the cordyline's look fab especially if i could get one of the pink ones! I think that could look lovely in a pot surrounded by some hardy fuchsia.
I guess i need to suss out if they'd be compatable in the same pot/soil etc. though

I_have_spoken

What about the purple leaves of cannas?

I had this 50cm pot in a position where it only got the sun rising in the east until about 10am. The higher temps in London would suite cannas.

iwanna

I_have_spoken wrote: »

What about the purple leaves of cannas?

awww that's really nice too. Good to know that even just a bit of morning sun can be sufficient.