Plants for the Back of the Border

Taller plants sit well towards the back of the border, adding height as well as providing a backdrop for the front-runners.

By type

Shrubs (187)
Climbers (130)
Perennials (128)
Fruit (119)
Trees (109)
Large plants for instant impact (84)
Bulbs (74)
Connoisseurs collection (55)
Seeds (37)
Hedging (30)
Conifers (23)
Exotics (14)
Grasses (13)
Bedding plants (11)
Roses (10)
Vegetables (8)
Bamboo (6)
Ferns garden (6)
Pond plants (5)
Herbs (4)
Wildflowers (4)
Plant combinations (3)
Plants for gifts (2)

Facing

East (562)
North (164)
South (729)
West (767)

How much sun

Light shade (353)
Shade (19)
Sun (730)

Soil type

Acid (318)
Aquatic (2)
Chalky (569)
Haven't a clue (434)
Heavy clay (644)
Light sandy (656)
Moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil, or peat-free general purpose compost (165)
Moderately fertile, moist, but well-drained soil, or general-purpose loam-based potting compost (27)
Normal (759)
Peat-free general-purpose compost (72)
Prefers acid soil (33)
Reliably damp or boggy soil (2)

Special conditions

Boggy or damp shade (10)
Coastal conditions (55)
Dry shade (22)
Dry sun (64)
Exposed positions (44)
Tolerate air pollution (193)
Tolerates drought (78)

Flowering month

January (18)
February (33)
March (75)
April (199)
May (233)
June (247)
July (317)
August (294)
September (249)
October (89)
November (11)
December (9)

Flower colour

Colourful collections / bicolours (39)
Black (3)
Blue (44)
Brown (1)
Green (17)
Orange (21)
Pink (196)
Purple (81)
Red (55)
White (268)
Yellow (65)

Evergreen / deciduous

Deciduous (556)
Evergreen (153)
Semi-evergreen (33)

Fragrance

All scented flowers (122)
Aromatic foliage (48)
Evening scent (15)
Highly scented (38)
Roses that are slightly scented (3)
Roses that are well scented (3)
Roses with a knockout scent (6)

Attractive to wildlife

Attractive to bees (336)
Attractive to birds (170)
Attractive to butterflies and moths (89)
Attractive to pollinators (205)
Attractive to wildlife (381)

Quick growing

No (69)
Quite (517)
Yes (268)

Eventual size

Large (438)
Medium (394)
Small (139)

Special features

Architectural silhouettes (239)
Attractive bark (4)
Attractive seedheads (85)
Autumn foliage colour (112)
Berries or fruit (229)
Coloured leaves (56)
Colourful bark or stems (26)
Columnar (19)
Deciduous (164)
Dinner plate dahlias (9)
Easy to grow (67)
Evergreen / semi evergreen (171)
Fast growing (151)
Flower spires (53)
Flowering (667)
Large leaved (26)
Long flowering (133)
Low maintenance (179)
Makes a good hedge or screen (152)
Non invasive bamboo (4)
Plants that are native (48)
Plants that don't need pruning (39)
Plants that help filter noise (42)
Plants that show resistance to deer and rabbits (187)
Plants that will cope with the odd football (298)
Plants to deter vandals and burglars (26)
Resistant to diseases (107)
Rose hips (5)
Scented Leaves (7)
Scented flowers (48)
Small leaved (23)
Stylish in the border (188)
Sublime umbelliferas (11)
Suitable for containers (202)
Suitable for hanging baskets (10)
Tough plants that are harder to kill (72)
Weeping (10)
Winter colour (122)

Bulb planting time

Autumn planting (14)
Spring planting (69)

Bulb divisions

Dahlia (Division 1) Single-flowered (2)
Dahlia (Division 10) Miscellaneous (1)
Dahlia (Division 12) Star (1)
Dahlia (Division 2) Anemone-flowered (1)
Dahlia (Division 3) Collerette (2)
Dahlia (Division 4) Waterlily (1)
Dahlia (Division 5) Decorative (21)
Dahlia (Division 6) Ball (4)
Dahlia (Division 8) Cactus (3)
Lilium (Division 5) Longiflorum hybrids (1)
Lilium (Division 6) Trumpet and Aureelian hybrids (1)
Lilium (Division 7) Oriental hybrids (2)
Lilium (Division 8) Other hybrids (1)
Tulip (Division 6) Lily-flowered group (1)

Fruit pollination group

Apple pollination group 2 (5)
Apple pollination group 3 (17)
Apple pollination group 4 (12)
Apple pollination group 5 (1)
Cherry pollination group 3 (2)
Cherry pollination group 4 (1)
Pear pollination group 2 (3)
Pear pollination group 3 (3)
Plum pollination group 1 (2)
Plum pollination group 2 (4)
Plum pollination group 3 (3)
Plum pollination group 4 (3)
Plum pollination group 5 (1)
Self-fertile (41)

Sowing month inside or protected

January (3)
February (12)
March (23)
April (18)
May (11)
June (1)
October (3)
November (3)
December (3)

Sowing month outside

February (2)
March (8)
April (14)
May (22)
June (8)
July (1)
August (1)
September (7)
October (6)

Vegetable harvesting month

May (3)
June (1)
July (1)
August (3)
September (2)
October (2)

Vegetable groups

Legumes (1)
Other cooking vegetables (5)

Multibuy packs

6 packs (7)
Multibuy offers (205)
Selected offers (15)

Ready made borders

Ready-made border Autumn colour (2)
Ready-made border Bee and Butterfly (1)
Ready-made border Blending purples (1)
Ready-made border Blue and silver (2)
Ready-made border Budget (3)
Ready-made border Chalky soil (3)
Ready-made border Clay soil (5)
Ready-made border Cool grasses and hot exotics (5)
Ready-made border Cool shade (1)
Ready-made border Cottage garden scheme (4)
Ready-made border Dark and light (1)
Ready-made border Divine summer (1)
Ready-made border Dry Mediterranean (1)
Ready-made border Elegant and architectural (1)
Ready-made border Fiery summer (3)
Ready-made border Good bedfellows (1)
Ready-made border Gravel garden (1)
Ready-made border Keep it cool (4)
Ready-made border Red summer (3)
Ready-made border Sandy soil (2)
Ready-made border Scented garden (1)
Ready-made border Shades of pink (2)
Ready-made border Smoky (1)
Ready-made border Soothing green and white (1)
Ready-made border Spring colour (1)
Ready-made border Stars of high summer (3)
Ready-made border Steamy jungle (3)
Ready-made border Summer savanna (2)
Ready-made border Sunny pink (1)

Planting combinations

Acid shade plant combination (1)
Agastache and Angelica plant combination (1)
Astrantia and Digitalis plant combination (1)
Attracting wildlife seed combination (1)
Blue and silver plant combination (2)
Bold foliage for shade plant combination (1)
Brazen plant combination (2)
Create a praire plant combination (2)
Create a prairie plant combination (2)
Dry sun plant combination (2)
Echinops and Achillea plant combination (1)
Foeniculum and Astrantia plant combination (1)
Golden prairie plant combination (1)
Green and white plant combination (1)
Henry Agg Dog friendly plants (1)
Inula and Persicaria plant combination (1)
Less is more plant combination (2)
Oenothera and Perovskia plant combination (1)
Opposites attract plant combination (1)
Persicaria and Echinacea plant combination (1)
Pinks and purples plant combination (1)
Prairie plant combination (1)
Pulmonaria and Athyrium plant combination (1)
Purple and gold plant combination (2)
Sanguisorba and Calamagrostis plant combination (1)
Shady chalk plant combination (1)
Slug resistant plant combination for shade (2)
Spires and spots plant combination (1)
Stars of the show plant combination (1)
Stipa and Verbascum plant combination (1)
The Highgrove Hosta Collection (1)
The Highgrove Kitchen Garden Collection (2)
The Highgrove Mixed Delphinium Collection (3)
The Highgrove Purple Delphinium Collection (1)
Vibrant colour for bees plant combination (1)
Yellow and gold plant combination (1)

Hardy

No (19)
Semi (161)
Yes (611)

Leaf colour

Blue (27)
Bronze (24)
Green (727)
Purple (39)
Red (19)
Silver (9)
Variegated (18)
Yellow (11)

Ground cover

No (502)
Yes (47)

Shape

Ball (6)
Bushy (22)
Columnar (4)
Fountain (14)
Hummock (1)
Pyramid (1)
Spreading (6)
Weeping (7)

Soil moisture

Damp (38)
Dry/Sandy (154)
Normal (764)

Used at Chelsea

2002 - HRH The Prince of Wales - Laurent-Perrier (3)
2003 - Tom Stuart-Smith - Laurent-Perrier (2)
2004 - Sir Terrance Conran - Laurent-Perrier (2)
2005 - Tom Stuart-Smith - Laurent-Perrier (3)
2006 - Tom Stuart-Smith - Laurent-Perrier (4)
2007 - Jinny Blom - Laurent-Perrier (10)
2008 - Arabella Lennox-Boyd - Daily Telegraph (5)
2008 - Tom Stuart-Smith - Laurent-Perrier (6)
2009 - Luciano Guibbilei - Laurent-Perrier (6)
2009 - Ulf Nordfjell - Daily Telegraph (10)
2010 - Andy Sturgeon - Daily Telegraph (10)
2010 - Tom Stuart-Smith - Laurent-Perrier (4)
2011 - Cleve West - Daily Telegraph (10)
2011 - Luciano Guibbilei - Laurent-Perrier (6)
2012 - Arne Maynard - Laurent-Perrier (4)
2012 - Sarah Price - Daily Telegraph (7)
2013 - Christopher Bradley-Hole - Daily Telegraph (10)
2013 - Ulf Nordfjell - Laurent-Perrier (5)
2014 - Luciano Guibbilei - Laurent-Perrier (5)
2014 - Tommaso del Buono - Daily Telegraph (1)
2015 - Dan Pearson - Laurent-Perrier (4)
2015 - Marcus Barnett - Daily Telegraph (4)
2016 - Andy Sturgeon - Daily Telegraph (2)
2016 - Jekka McVicar - St John's Hospice (4)
2017 - James Basson - M & G (3)
2018 - Sarah Price - M & G (2)
2018 Tom Stuart-Smith - Garfield Weston Foundation (8)
2019 - Andy Sturgeon - M & G (4)
2019 - Sarah Eberley - Forestry Commission (8)
2022 - Andy Sturgeon - Mind Garden / Crocus (13)
2023 - Sarah Price - Nurture Garden (8)
2024 - Tom Stuart-Smith - National Garden Scheme (2)
2024 - Ula Maria - Muscular Dystrophy (2)

Kitchen garden planting guidelines

Propagate in green house (14)
Suitable for grow beds (23)
Suitable for large container gardening (30)
Use cloche (15)

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Showing Position : Back of border clear all

777 items

20% off

Phyllostachys nigra

£39.99 - £207.99

18 litre pot | 2.5 - 2.8m tall In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

2 litre pot | 20 - 30cm tall available to order from autumn

5 litre pot | 60 - 70cm tall available to order from autumn

9 litre pot | 1.6 - 1.8m tall available to order from autumn

15 litre pot | 2 - 2.2m tall available to order from autumn

3 × 9 litre pots | 1.6 - 1.8m tall available to order from autumn

0.5 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 4.6 5 16

Nigella papillosa 'African Bride'

£2.39 - £6.00

approx 100 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × packets of approx 100 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch'

£2.79

approx 100 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

50% off

Nicotiana 'Whisper Mixed' F1

£2.99 - £18.49

approx 70 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

40 + 20 FREE seedlings In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 5.0 5 3

20% off

Digitalis purpurea

£2.49 - £30.39

approx 1000 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

9cm pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

6 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 5.0 5 2

20% off

Digitalis purpurea Excelsior Group

£3.49 - £27.99

approx 1000 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

9cm pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

6 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

0 star 0.5 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 3.4 5 5

Helianthus 'Tall Single'

£2.49 - £7.00

approx 50 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × packets of seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 5.0 5 2

20% off

Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball' (PBR)

£36.99 - £84.99

2 litre pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

7.5 litre pot | 30 - 40cm tall In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 2 litre pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

0.75 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 4.7 5 6

20% off

Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora

£2.25 - £19.80

approx 250 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

9cm pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

6 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

0.75 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 4.7 5 6

Nicotiana mutabilis

£2.79

approx 100 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 5.0 5 3

Digitalis purpurea 'Pam's Choice'

£3.49

approx 200 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

20% off

Digitalis × mertonensis

£3.79 - £27.99

approx 1000 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

9cm pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

6 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

0.25 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 4.3 5 4

New

Dahlia merckii

£5.49 - £35.98

approx 10 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 × tuber available to order from winter

9cm pot available to order from autumn

2 litre pot available to order from autumn

3 × 9cm pots available to order from autumn

2 + 1 FREE 2 litre pots available to order from autumn

Dipsacus fullonum

£2.99 - £34.99

approx 150 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

9cm pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

6 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 5.0 5 3

Helianthus annuus 'Desire Red'

£3.99

approx 10 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Forsythia 'Lynwood Variety' - Flowering hedging

£50.97

3 × 2 litre pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Verbena bonariensis 'Vanity'

£3.99

approx 40 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Helianthus debilis 'Soluna Bronze'

£3.49

approx 30 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Helianthus debilis 'Soluna Lemon'

£3.49

approx 30 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Lablab purpureus 'Ruby Moon'

£2.99

approx 10 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Alcea rosea 'Single mixture'

£2.49

approx 75 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

20% off

Eupatorium cannabinum

£2.99 - £49.99

approx 200 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

1 litre aquatic pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 1 litre aquatic pots Delivery by trusted supplier within 1 week

3 litre aquatic pot available to order from summer

5 litre aquatic pot available to order from summer

Helianthus annuus 'Ms Mars'

£2.99

approx 20 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Alcea rosea 'Nigra'

£2.99 - £22.99

approx 50 seeds In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

9cm pot In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × 9cm pots In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

0 star 0 star 0.5 star 1 star 1 star

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