Am still waiting for the photos... reluctant to advise without sight - if you had things cut back and not removed, surely they're just going to get big again and fill up the 'spaces' that you want to fill?

I agree with Bamboo. Unless they were cut back so severely that they died, or you intend to make them into formally trimmed topiaries or hedges, what was cut back will return--often within a year or two.

Well -- that's just what I was going to say...

Hello All

Thanks for your comments - sorry but don't know how to attach photos!! Whilst i am findng out, position 1, beside the acer there was overhang from a buddleja, whilst this will probably grow back, we intend to keep it trimmed so that it doesn't overhang.

Position 2 is by the plum tree which was out of control and tangled up with another buddleja' which was been severely pruned and left a big gap.

Ideally, I would like something that is tall but not too wide otherwise is will overshadow the plants below.

I hope this makes some sense! I will lnow look to see how to upload the photos.

Cheers

Lynn

If the Buddleias concerned are B. davidii, they grow about 10 or 12 feet in a season - if you do not allow them to grow and keep them much shorter, you will lose flowers, so there wouldn't be any point in keeping them in the ground, might as well take them out. Their growth habit is naturally arching outwards, so I think to plant anything else whilst they're still present isn't a good idea.