These plants help to stimulate the senses within a small space. Chimonanthus and Hamamelis provide some welcome winter colour and scent, while the Caryopteris, Salvia, and Nepeta display shades of blue and purple throughout summer and early autumn and provide scented foliage.

Chimonanthus, Caryopteris, Salvia and Nemesia will also attract pollinators, helping to increase garden biodiversity.

In addition to colour, Nemesia helps to cover bare soil, protecting the soil surface, supressing weeds and reducing soil moisture loss by evaporation from the surface.

Consider mulching the bare soil to help this further while waiting for plants to spread, using an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer. 

1 - Hamamelis ‘Arnold Promise’

2 - Chimonanthus praecox ‘Luteus’

3 - Caryopteris ‘Worcester Gold’

4 - Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’

5 - Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’

2 - Chimonanthus praecox ‘Luteus’ is a deciduous shrub with highly fragrant, waxy little yellow flowers in winter, which appear before the rough-textured, glossy green leaves open. 

3 - Caryopteris ‘Worcester Gold’ is a rounded deciduous shrub with deep yellow-green foliage and clusters of small violet-blue flowers from late summer.

4 - Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ is a herbaceous perennial with upright spires of deep purple flowers through the summer, which are loved by bees and are held above narrow, rough, grey-green leaves. 

5 - Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ has blue-lilac flowers on dark stems, accompanied by silvery aromatic leaves. It flowers from early summer into autumn if kept deadheaded.