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Great tips, thanks!
The previous owners did well but amongst the things that are there a number were in pots - so there are some gaps / compressed circles where these were, which I thought we could replace with other stuff.
They also had a bunch of things on the patio (not visible from that angle, it’s raised about 80cm above the garden - I was standing on it when i took that pic!) so without those it looks pretty bare - it would be nice to get that looking more alive with a few potted plants.
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For stuff on the patio, if you're going to see them from the house when you're doing the washing up, either evergreens or winter flowering things are nice so it doesn't look too dreary in winter.
Witch hazels are in garden centres now, should flower in January with good scent, will cope fine in big pots and with some shade. They are fairly non descript but nice enough in spring and summer, then they have fantastic autumn leaf colour.
Looks great, can't see too many gaps! Where would the pots go? If they're just going to go on the earth you might as well get the plants in the ground, less watering and feeding needed and they'll grow stronger. Anything can grow in a pot if the pot is big enough, but pretty much everything will be happier in the ground.
A bit of repetition is always good instead of having one each of fifty different plants. If there's anything there you particularly like that is doing well there, you could try propagating it, or just buy more, since you know it does well in those conditions.
Eg. there's a big grass at the back, might be a miscanthus, you could dig it up, divide it into three pieces, stick one back where it was and two elsewhere, they will all grow with renewed vigour.
You can also fill gaps with annuals that are easily grown from seed - poppies, cosmos, nicotiana etc.