[Kleftiwallah]

As Lee Marvin said in my favourite film "Paint Your Waggon",  "The lady want a cabin to live in".

Well, my lady wants a flower border 2 foot deep and 20 foot long filled with flamboyant colourful perrenials.  If begonias were perennials these would be at the top of the list which may give you an idea.

No high growing flowers as it is quite windy and all suitable for all day sunshine (when we have some)!  A possible bee friendly few and long flowering.The soil is well balanced and free draining.

It's just a shame I tipped the various seed catalogues into the compost (shredded) a while ago!
Just spotted this on floral parade 
Oxalis versicolor
"Candy cane sorrel"   now THATS what I'm talking about!

Over to you friends and floralites.  cheers,  Tony.

 

[Debz]

Phlox, japanese anenome, crocosmia, astrantia, astilbe iris,aquilegia - some of the ones from my garden that are reliable and mostly bee / butterfly friendly.

[mumofstig]

Just a few to consider...
Erysiums Red Jep & Fragrant Sunshine,
Rudbekia Goldsturm,
Heleniums - Moerheim Beauty & Helena Red
Helianthemum Red Dragon & Canum Yellow
Red Hot Pokers,
Sedum Spectabile
With lots of short perennial Geraniums to fill in the gaps....
Some of the huge 'dinner plate' dahlias are really gorgeous, if you can be bothered to either lift the tubers over winter (or heavily mulch/protect them) where they are.

[Kleftiwallah]

A cracin' list, however red hot pokers are a bit tall, unless there is a dwarf variety and geraniums, cannot stand the musty smell of 'em.

Cheers and thanks.  Tony.

[mumofstig]

.... geraniums, cannot stand the musty smell of 'em.

I meant the hardy Cranesbill types, not the Regal/Zonal ones, which are the only ones with that funny smell (to my nose anyway!)

[snowdrops]

Yep good suggestions so far, just what I’d have suggested, plus asters,plumbago,verbena bonariensis- it’s tall but wafts about anyway & nice to ‘see through’. Grasses.peonies of supported. Lily of the valley, Chinese lanterns, poppies all sorts, English marigolds. Eucomis. Day lilies, London pride dwarf sunflowers.
Any shrubs for winter structure?

[jaydig]

We bought a couple of geraniums from the 'sick, poorly bad and dying' table at a local garden centre.  They looked a bit pathetic and were absolutely pot bound, but soon recovered and have made a couple of beautiful mounds of bright green leaves and have carried a lovely display of blue/purple flowers all summer and are still going strong.  Name on the lable was Rozanne.  Well worth buying if you want a geranium.

[Subversive_plot]

Does annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) grow well there?

You said perennial, but these re-seed readily where I am.  Maybe where you are, maybe not?  The bed you see at this post https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=135858.msg1574339#msg1574339 I have not planted in 2 years, it comes back from seed dropped the previous year, and keeps getting larger.

Like sun?  Yes.

Like well-drained?  Yes.     (hates standing wet)   Very drought-tolerant.

High-growing?  No.  Roughly a foot tall.

If bedding plants are available, they start more easily that way.  Don't dead-head them if you want them to re-seed each year.  Seed pods look like tiny French beans.

[New shoot]

Does annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) grow well there?

It is only sold as seasonal bedding here, although if it did make seed pods I guess you could save them and grow the next year.

When I worked at a garden centre I had a supplier who grew it and I would always buy it in when I saw it on the list. It is very pretty, but not seen much on sale over here for some reason.

[Subversive_plot]

Does annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) grow well there?

It is only sold as seasonal bedding here, although if it did make seed pods I guess you could save them and grow the next year.

When I worked at a garden centre I had a supplier who grew it and I would always buy it in when I saw it on the list. It is very pretty, but not seen much on sale over here for some reason.

After the frost browns the Vincas up, I let them dry for a month or so, then mulch them in place with a lawn mower.  The seed that were in the pods come up next year from that mulch.

[Kleftiwallah]

Many thanks to all who replied, I certainly have enough ideas to get us thinking and deciding through the winter.

Cheers,  Tony.