The Best Plants For Surrey Gardens: Local Favourites for Colour, Structure & Year-Round Appeal
Surrey is a beautiful part of the UK, offering breathtaking scenery and quality living conditions, as well as being home to leading landscape gardeners, like Urban Landscapes.
The county is rich in natural beauty, with its rolling hills, leafy suburbs and historic architecture making our jobs as landscapers easy – we simply have to look around for inspiration. Gardens across the country are as diverse as the people, with everything from urban courtyards to sprawling countryside estates, meaning there is plenty of room for creativity.
The key to creating attractive and successful Surrey gardens is to work with the natural beauty of our surroundings. With such amazing sights right on our doorstep, it would be a waste not to include them wherever possible.
Working with the natural surroundings of Surrey gardens not only creates attractive gardens but also keeps them healthy and thriving throughout the year. In this post, we are sharing some of the best plants for your Surrey garden, so you can experience the beauty of the country at home.
Understanding The Soil Conditions Of Your Surrey Gardens
To ensure you are choosing the best plants for your Surrey garden, we first need to understand what local conditions we are dealing with and how we can expect our gardens to react throughout the year.
Surrey’s geology is varied, which means that soil conditions across the county can change dramatically from one area to the next. Some Surrey gardens, such as those based in Guildford, Woking, and Reigate, likely sit on clay or have a large percentage of clay in their soil. While clay is rich in nutrients, it can become waterlogged in winter and dry in summer, making planting difficult for those seeking a low-maintenance garden.
If you are based in the North Downs area, then your garden may be built on more chalky, alkaline soils. This is common in this part of Surrey, and while it is free-draining, it can be difficult for some plants because it has fewer organic nutrients compared to clay and other soil types.
There are also patches of loamy soil in some Surrey gardens, as long as they are well-maintained. Older properties are more likely to experience these soil conditions.
To determine what kind of soil you are dealing with, and therefore want plants you can incorporate into your garden design, you should do tests for soil ph and drainage.
Best Plants For Surrey Gardens
While Surrey gardens may share some similarities in their soil condition and climate, we know that every landscape is unique. You want to create a space that reflects you well and is unique to your home, which is why we are providing planting options for all requirements.
Whether you are looking for colour, structure, or easy maintenance, these are the best plants to complement all kinds of Surrey gardens:
Flowers For Colourful Surrey Gardens
Flowers are a great way to add colour, scent and seasonal interest to Surrey gardens. With their beautiful blooms, you can see your landscape come to life with the change of seasons, and there are enough varieties to complement all kinds of outdoor spaces across the county.
To work with the natural beauty of Surrey, as well as the soil conditions and climate your garden may experience, consider planting the following flowers for colour:
- Roses: With a wide range of colours, roses can complement any style of garden and offer that classic English charm that works so well with the Surrey countryside.
- Lavender: Not only does lavender offer beautiful purple blooms, but they are also a wonderfully fragrant plant that offers soothing scents throughout the garden (and your home, based on placement within the garden). This is a hardy plant that requires little maintenance and is a great option to attract pollinators to your garden.
- Geraniums (Cranesbill): These vibrant little flowers are ideal for ground cover as they bloom far and wide. Like lavender, they are hardy and require little maintenance, making it easier than you think to care for your summer Surrey gardens.
Evergreen Shrubs For Structured Surrey Gardens
Evergreen shrubs are a great way to add both visual enhancement and structure to Surrey gardens. As they are evergreen, they provide foliage all year long and require little care, bar pruning to maintain their shape and form.
Based on the style and size of your Surrey garden, consider the following shrubs for structure:
- Boxwood: This is the traditional option for structural shrubs and can be a great addition to large country estates, traditional gardens or as perimeter privacy across the county.
- Photinia Red Robin: Ideal for gardens looking to add more colour or visual interest in unique ways, as this evergreen shrub produces bright red leaves at the beginning of its growth cycle. It provides dense, green foliage all year round, which can be the perfect privacy screen for your urban garden or to create private spaces in larger landscapes.
- Camellias: These are relatively easy to grow, making them suitable for even novice or beginner gardeners, and offer glossy green leaves throughout the year. What makes this shrub stand out is the bold, colourful flowering (in shades such as pinks and whites) which occurs both in spring and winter, adding interest to Surrey gardens all year round.
Trees That Thrive In Surrey Gardens
Like shrubs, trees can be a great way to add screening and shielding to your Surrey garden. They can also become a stunning focal point in your landscape and remain a staple in design for years to come. With the mild climate and varying soil conditions of Surrey gardens, the best trees for the region include:
- Silver Birch: These trees offer unique appeal through their light bark, which remains a point of interest throughout the year, even when the leaves have fallen. The light canopy appears in spring and summer, creating an elegant form to the tree and offering shade to small gardens.
- Japanese Maple: Similar to the Red Robin shrubs, Japanese Maple trees produce vibrant red foliage, which is certain to become a focal point in your Surrey garden. These trees can thrive with little sunlight, making them ideal for sheltered areas or north-facing gardens.
- Crab Apple: If you want to add some edible plants to your Surrey landscape or have more than just floral seasonal blooms, crab apple trees are an ideal solution. These are small, deciduous trees which will produce fruit during the spring and summer once established. The small size makes them suitable for all sizes of Surrey gardens.
Plants For North-Facing Or Mature Surrey Gardens
These plants are ideal for shaded gardens, which are more likely to have loamy soil based on the age of the property and landscape:
- Hostas: These are one of the most popular shade-loving plants and produce lush green leaves with unique colours and markings. They thrive in shade or sun-dappled spots, making them ideal for north-facing Surrey gardens, and can return every year with the proper care.
- Ferns: Ferns are an incredibly hardy plant that can last for years with the right care and soil conditions. Found organically across the country, ferns offer lush green foliage throughout the spring and summer, as long as they are not left in direct sunlight.
- Hellebores: These are classic plants for winter interest and colour, but they can also be a great addition to darker gardens as they require little light to thrive. Offering rich, warm blooms in shades of whites, pinks or purples through their elegant nodding flowers, they can complement all kinds of outdoor spaces.
Plants For South-Facing Surrey Gardens
These are some great drought-resistant plants to add to south-facing Surrey gardens, as they continue to thrive during the highest temperatures and little watering:
- Sedum: Ideal for ground cover in flower beds or large Surrey landscapes, sedum has fleshy leaves and flat flowerheads which bloom during the warmer seasons of the year. These are perennials, which means they will come back every year to offer colour and interest to your garden.
- Cone Flower: These plants are not just drought-resistant but also incredibly easy to grow, making them suitable for low-maintenance or beginner gardens. They flower in the late summer and will return every year to offer colourful blooms for long-lasting appeal.
- Salvia: Part of the sage family, salvia offers similar visual appeal to lavender with its tall jewel-toned flowers, but can come in a range of colours to complement your unique garden design. It is particularly popular with traditional or cottage gardens for this reason. This hardy plant is also an excellent pollinator, attracting bees and butterflies to your landscape during the spring.
Conclusion
Plants are a staple of garden design, and there are many varieties that thrive in the specific conditions of Surrey gardens. From beautiful, bold flowers to drought-resistant foliage, there are plenty of ways you can enhance the appeal of your outdoor space and ensure interest throughout the year.
As a local landscaping company, Urban Landscapes offers specific insights and recommendations based on the unique conditions of Surrey. We provide a range of landscaping services, including garden design and planting, to create stunning outdoor spaces that can thrive all year long across the country.
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