While planning your garden there are many considerations. Other than personal tastes, your plan will be influenced by your garden's natural conditions. Elements such as soil, exposure & aspect will determine what you can grow.

To achieve a successful scheme, it is always better to work with your conditions rather than working against it. Even the dullest of plants will look impressive if grown in their ideal surroundings, while a beautiful specimen plant growing in the wrong soil will soon look a miserable sight.

Luckily sunny spots open up a bounty of colourful plants, climbers, trees, herbs & flowers that you can choose to grow. Because a sunny location allows you to grow a wider range of plants, it is important to seize this opportunity and fill the space with as much colour as possible.

Because it is safe to say that 99% of all herbaceous plants like a sunny spot, we won’t mention any herbaceous plants in this list but instead focus on some of the best garden shrubs for a sunny aspect.

Roses – Might seem obvious, but sometimes we forget the benefits of roses. They are prolific bloomers and come in every possible vivid colour. Roses are ideal for the sunniest spot in your garden

Santolina Chamaecyparissus – Woody perennial, known as cotton lavender. Santolina forms a large mound of silvery blue foliage which become covered in yellow flowers in the Summer months. On a sunny day, this plant will make you feel like you’re in the Mediterranean

Choisya Ternata Sundance – Called the Mexican Mock Orange, Choisya is in fact an evergreen shrub with light yellow foliage. Must be grown in full sun and will reward you with creamy white blooms from late Spring to late Summer

Hebe Pink Pixie – Compact shrub grows about 60cm in height & will create a neat mound of pink flowers from Spring to Autumn. Excellent choice for full sun

Weigela 'Florida Variegata' – Varigated plants generally like a little bit of shade, in fact the white variegated part of the leaf acts like a sunscreen. Weigela Florida is happy in full sun and will produce clusters of long pink flowers from Spring to the end of Summer

Callistemon Citrinus – Bottle brush is so called for it's long cylindrical blooms that resemble a brush that cleans bottles. These exotic looking plants present a firey show of colour from late Spring throughout Summer. Callistemon can grow approx. 6m in height

Cytisus – Brooms are sadly, short lived shrubs, but in their short life they live every moment to the full with vibrant blooms and strong fragrance that gives your garden a real feel of Summer. They are mostly yellow in colour, but they can also be found in a range of reds & oranges

Trachycarpus Fortune – Who needs a holiday when you have Trachycarpus growing in your garden? These large palm trees add an exotic touch to gardens in Ireland. They can grow 12m tall and will require protection from Winter frost