This is the perfect border if you have a new garden that you are keen to get started on, but have been forced to tighten your belt and dont want the bank manager breathing down your neck. It is made up of reasonably fast growing evergreen shrubs that flower and provide some colour during the year, as well as fast growing herbaceous perennials that either spread or self-seed readily. This means that in subsequent years after planting you can either divide the clumps, or lift the seedlings and plant them in other parts of your garden.

Planting tips: Dig in loads of composted manure before you plant and keep the plants well watered during dry spells. Cut back the perennials as they start to die back and apply a generous layer of mulch once a year.

You will need a bed 3.5m long by 2m wide in a sunny spot.