You have snowdrops, crocus and daffodils, in small clumps or they look silly. You mark where they are or you keep digging them up. You then have hellebore, bleeding heart and Solomon's Seal. You then have primroses and perennial violas and Geranium phaeum. Then hardy geraniums Azure Rush and Ann Thomson, with Campanula latifolia. Then foxgloves, toadflax and Penstemons. Then Michaelmas daisies and Japanese anemones. Then Colchicum and the seed heads of your Clematis tangutica, which you can cut down to the buds just above the ground, each February. You don't need raised beds, just a metre off your lawn with added compost will do the job perfectly. One last thing, match the plant needs to the sunny/shady conditions and water the ground under all new plants for a whole year. Look them up and make a sun/shade plan and a named variety plan. Be aware that all plants with the same name won't be the same shape or form.
☰
