The prospect of a new bed sends GINA PARKINSON in search of plants to fill the empty soil.

OUR garden is undergoing change this summer and although it is still at the messy early stage, a new bed is beginning to emerge and new plants are being purchased.

The large shed that dominated the end of the garden has been demolished and replaced by one half the size; and the long concrete path running the length of the garden has, over the years, all but disappeared.

The concrete towards the end of the garden is reasonably thin and can be broken with a lump hammer, but nevertheless is it incredibly heavy and has involved several trips to the tip to dispose of it.

The bed was created out of necessity, as we needed somewhere to put soil removed in order to lay paving by the house. This earth is a mixture of good garden soil, bits of rubble from building work and large lumps of clay, which need to be broken down.

I have found the easiest way to do this is by leaving the clay to dry then breaking it up and digging it into the rest of the soil.

Soil that is made up of a large proportion of clay is difficult to work, being heavy in wet weather and unworkably hard in dry conditions, but once a spade and the worms have done their work, clay provides a good, nutritious home for plants. Apart from this sound reason for keeping the clay, I couldn't bear yet another few trips to the tip.

Now to the plants. The bed is one metre wide by two metres long, and although I always considered this to be a shady part of the garden, the removal of the shed has opened it out and it is in sun until mid afternoon.

There was already one shrub waiting for a home, dug up from a bed that was requisitioned for an extension to the kitchen. Sambucus nigra 'Black Beauty', has as the name suggests, very dark foliage and will do well in most soils and situations, growing eventually to three metres or more - although regular pruning will keep it smaller with plenty of new growth. White flowers appear in summer followed by black berries.

The new plants include Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' and a mop-head hydrangea with flowers in shades of soft blue and lilac, although this may change next year according to the acidity of the soil.

'Bishop of Llandaff' is a very attractive plant with dark, bronze-green foliage and open bright red flowers. Growing to about one metre, it will flower through the summer until the first autumn frosts, after which it is wise to lift and store the tubers, although they will survive the winter in a sheltered garden.

The hydrangea is a basic popular mop head bought as a reminder of a family holiday in Brittany where these hydrangeas, or Hortensia as they are known there, are seen everywhere.

Every garden seems to have at least one shrub and small cottages give the impression of sitting on a cushion of hydrangeas whose blooms spill on to paths and rest against the walls of the houses.

Ours will be less romantic but will grow at the foot of the elder and a climbing hydrangea growing against the wall at the back of the bed.

Updated: 08:57 Saturday, July 26, 2003