What plants are your best "doers" in your garden?

Should say "Any of the Magellanica Fuchsias"

I’m a big fan of geums, I’ve got ‘totally tangerine’ in a dark corner of my garden by the shed, it had its first flowers in February, I pruned it after the main flowering in May, and it’s now flowering again.
I’ve got four acers in big pots (soil not suitable here), all different colours and they glow, I’ve had them for many years.
Winter flowering jasmine is an uplifting plant although it’s a bit untidy, I love to see it flower in January, and the stems are good for flower arranging in the summer.
My absolute favourite is my annual ornamental gourds though, I love everything about them - not knowing what they will look like until they set, all different, looking for new baby ones, watching them grow and change every day, and picking them for the house, where they last for the whole autumn - they are my plant babies.
Actually though, I love all plants, there aren’t many that don’t have something to recommend them- although I really don’t like begonias.

I've got Totally Tangerine as well Casdon and love it. I bought it when it was a new star at the Chelsea Flower Show a good few years ago and it always performs well. The other geum I love, although not as tall and showy, is Mai Tai.

I shall watch this thread. I moved house last year and left the garden for a year to see what would show itself.
I kid you not, I had one daffodil. So I will be planning a new garden over the winter and look up the plants and shrubs that are mentioned on this thread.
I love gardening, but planning a whole new garden is something I have never done.

Mai Tai is lovely too - I’ve got my eye on another geum, Flames of Passion - I’m going through a red and orange phase at the moment, particularly really deep reds. I bought a perennial chocolate cosmos this spring, it’s only had one flower so far, which was stunning - hoping I can nurse it through the winter.

It depends at what time of the year- I designed my garden so it keeps changing with the seasons.

At the moment, the champions are different coloured phlox which attract humming bird moths, and several types of sedums, covered with bees., golden rod and several types of autumn asters.

I know there not everyone’s favourite but I do love my Montbretia. They are 5’ tall. I talk to them and stroke them ?
Also my lovely Agapanthus.
For all year round I love Pieris.

Jalou, how exciting! A whole new garden is something to look forward to but I would say don't try to do it all at once. Work out what the necesseties are first (think Garden Rescue!) and what you would like to use it for - veg growing, patios, aspect, and don't forget drying your washing! I think someone on another thread mentioned that on those TV garden makeovers they never mention washing lines/whirlygigs!! Then take it one bit at a time- if you try to do it all in one go you will get overwhelmed. I decided after many years to concentrate on what was closest to the house as that is what I would look at first, and then work down the garden. Some things depend on what stage of life you are at. For example, we have two young grandchildren who like to run about so a lawn is a necessity but not necessarily what we would choose if we had free rein. We will live with it for now, but when they get older I would like a gravel garden rather than lawn and perhaps a pond (which I had before they were born). The latest addition to the garden is my "Wine Corner" at the far left hand corner, behind the green house where I have had a very tiny pation just large enough for a table and two chairs and a couple of large potted grasses where I can sit in the setting sunshine enjoying a glass (or two!) in the evening. It took 18 years to get there, but I am enjoying it now!

Casdon - I looked up Flames of Passion and it is a cracker! Maybe next year?

Fleurpepper I have some phlox which I "Chelsea Chop" so that they last longer. I chop the front ones in in clump in May/June, the back ones flower and die back and the front ones flower later and disguise the scruffy leaves of the back ones (does that make sense?) They are good "doers"! And yes, I have seen several beautiful hummingbird moths this year - aren't they so beautiful!

Meryl in my last house we had a border of Montbretia (I still call it that although I know its name has changed now.) They were called Lucifer and were such a bright, fiery red that they lit up the garden and the neighbours always commented on them. Almost indestructible too, even though they were in the scorching sunlight for most of the summer.

I garden on chalk, so any of the downland flowers do well.

Scabious, geraniums seed everywhere, thyme is rampant, asters do well, Japanese anemone, phlox, achillea, loads of others.

Actually it isn’t bad gardening on chalk?

Just when everything is starting to look rather tired, the sedum start to turn colour and they attract butterflies and bees.
They tend to grow anywhere, rather like weeds, but are always a welcome sight in September.
They are the larger variety, not the rockery type.

Yes the large varieties, the ordinary pink, but also darker ones with red stems, and white flowered ones too.

I absolutely love my Chaenomeles x superba 'Salmon Horizon'. It flowers early, lasts for ages and does well in a shady border. Hydrangeas earn their keep as does the scented climbing jasmine. Lots of favourites -agapanthus, camassia, and not forgetting my absolute favourite- verbena bonariensis.

In our garden we have a clematis jackmanii that just keeps giving us glorious blooms. We have a few other varieties, but the flowers are sparser and the leaves turn brown after flowering.

Miniature lilac 'miss kim' is also a great small shrub. It smells divine, and blooms for longer than most lilacs.

I give a shout out to geranium 'Johnson's Blue' for giving a good showing for a long time, and staying tidy and managable.

I agree Hardy geraniums such as Johnson’s Blue or Rozanne are very good ‘doers’.
There are many varieties ranging from quite petite ones such as Elkie through to the larger blowsy ones. There are spreading ones and some that have a distinct perfume.
They are easy to propagate by splitting when the plant gets too big and are happy in most situations.

Thank you AskAlice.
Have to admit I have already planted a whirlygig! But yes looking at the big picture is daunting. Shall start off with a patio, which is currently decking. Sorry I am not a lover of decking so will take it up and make some planters out of it.
There are no shady corners in my garden, so that will affect plant choice too.
I had a pond in my old garden, but eventually the maintenance started to get too much, so maybe just a water feature.

We seem to have the ideal conditions for camellias and hydrangeas, so we have lots of those. Also several trees which will need sorting in a while.

J52

I agree Hardy geraniums such as Johnson’s Blue or Rozanne are very good ‘doers’.
There are many varieties ranging from quite petite ones such as Elkie through to the larger blowsy ones. There are spreading ones and some that have a distinct perfume.
They are easy to propagate by splitting when the plant gets too big and are happy in most situations.

Yes, love them and got so many different colours and heights. I always chop them down after flowering, and they will give us 1 or even 2 more showings.

Hardy geraniums are great do-ers, as are penstemons, Aster Frikartii Monch (lovely blue flowers July to Sept), crocosmia especially Star of the East, achillea, stachys (lambs ears), and if I could have only one rose it would be Old Blush China which has pink flowers almost all year. Gaura are very pretty and long flowering. If you can get them, Alcalthaea are shrubby members of the hollyhock family which flower from August to November in my garden and don’t have the rust problem that ordinary hollyhocks do. All these plants are drought tolerant, which seems to be the way to go now.

I'm reading this whilst making a list of plants to investigate. Thanks everyone! Germanshepherdsmum I used to have some penstemons but they got a bit tired and leggy. You've reminded me that I must replace them, such great plants for flowers all summer and into autumn.

Interesting comment about Gautama, Germanshepherdsmun, our local nursery has loads and we’re selling them at £4.99 yesterday.
I suppose it depends whereabouts in the country you are. They don’t do well in my garden, which is a shame as I do like them.

I did type Gaura!

If you trim penstemon back early in the spring they will shoot up again, nice and bushy Alice, even if they’ve got leggy.
I have found Gaura do much better in the ground than in pots J52. Those I put in containers died. No idea why. I’m in Norfolk, free draining soil. I trim them back when they’ve finished flowering in late autumn.

I should have mentioned sedums too. Drought tolerant and loved by bees. Red Cauli is my favourite.