It's not better to buy mature shrubs if you mean full grown plants - they take much longer to settle in than younger ones do. And don't buy from magazine adverts either - some people do, but often the plants are disappointing and you often have to buy 3 or 4 together of the same thing. Buying online from reputable suppliers is okay, or the garden centre, but these days if there's something you really want, online might be the only option because your local gc doesn't have whatever it is.

In order to advise on which plants to recommend, knowing the situation is critical - sun or shade? Heavy or light soil? Windy and open? I would ask which way the border faces in terms of North, south, whatever, but people often don't know that, but if you're able to say the area gets, for instance, morning sun, but none in the afternoon, that's a good guide.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS. GARDEN HAS SUN ALL AFTERNOON, FAIRLY WINDY (2 MINS. FROM COAST), NOT SURE ABOUT SOIL (HAVE NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHAT LIGHT OR HEAVY SOIL MEANS), AS YOU CAN GATHER I AM A VERY AMATEUR GARDENER !!

Ah, 2 minutes from the coast, does that mean you get salt laden winds off the sea? Or is the area sheltered from those?
Heavy soil is sticky and claggy when its wet, cracked and hard when its dry - sandy is light and easy to move around, wet or dry.

It was me who replied to your first question and Bamboo has answered your second post very helpfully as always. Another time if you want to make a further comment on your own question the thing to do is to add it as a comment underneath the original question and then the original person who answered will be notified. Good thing you didn't this time though, as Bamboo might not have seen it!
I'm sure she will be able to give you a useful list. Also you could look and see what your neighbours are growing successfully. If you see hydrangeas and they are blue your soil is probably acid and if they are pink it is probably chalky or limestone, and alkaline.

Thanks to Steragram & Bamboo for all their help. Bit confused with neighbours, at the top of the lane adjoining houses are growing both blue & pink hydrangeas which doesn't really help with acidity etc. Someone told me if you have pink hydrangeas you can add iron filings to turn them blue but, until joining this site, I have had so much conflicting advice I am getting dizzy with it. Anna

Few facts about hydrangeas then, to straighten out the confusion (hopefully). Its only the Hydrangea macrophylla varieties, those with the mophead type flowers, we're talking about. If they're blue, they stay blue on acidic soil, or soil which has had a treatment applied; if the soil is neutral, they may be lilacy pink; if the soil is alkaline, they should be pink. (this excludes white flowered forms).
But you can add aluminium sulphate to the soil around the blue ones to make them blue (should have the same effect on the pink ones), and apply a different alkalinising solution, if necessary, to keep pink ones pink.
Lots of people mention iron nails and other things because they have a generally acidifying effect, but aluminium sulphate does a better job for keeping them blue.