Advice on planter

Hi all
I have two empty planters, the larger one will be a veg planter eventually (started a seperate thread about that in the edibles section) and I have this one that I'm hoping to sort out this week if it's the right time to plant it.
It sits under a high partition wall and is in shade pretty much all year round.
Dimensions are approx 9 foot by 1 foot and growing medium will be a tad over 1 foot.
It sits on a thick clay base with poor drainage so it will have some drain holes going in.

Here's the questions
What growing media shall I put in there? I had 2 bags of cheapy "general compost" so I've just spread that along the bottom for now.

Given the poor light, I'm looking for suggestions on what to plant in there? Before work started, there was a Fuschia there that seemed to do OK but it'''s been transplanted eleswhere. Garden centre mentioned Cyclamen, Heuchera and "shrubs". The odd tallish one would be handy to camoflauge the big wall a bit.

Here's the offending planter with high, light blocking wall - cheers!
Chris

 

I would try a Honeysuckle there.

 

Ahh, should just say we have a dog and I believe thats quite bad for them if ingested?

 

A Sarcococca would provide evergreen, shrubby foliage and perfumed flowers in winter. S. Hookeriana digyna gets to 1m, S.H. humilis is smaller, S. orientalis has fans on here ...Here's a link to various species...Sarcococca - Growing Guide - Burncoose Nurseries. Then there's Nandina domestica 'Firepower'...a very useful evergreen/red.
If you're going to grow climbers such as honeysuckle on the wall, you'll need to provide wires or trellis or some sort of support. Climbing Hydrangea, H. petiolaris sticks to a vertical surface by suckers and so does the shade-tolerant Parthenocissus henryi.
Liriope is a useful, grassy-leaved perennial with pretty spikes of purple or white flowers in late summer.
Give your plants a few bags of John Innes No.3 soil-based compost, well mixed with a decent multipurpose peat-based compost, if you can find some. Blood, fish and bonemeal fertiliser is gentle and long-lasting, or add chicken manure pellets.
ETA: Forget BFB and chicken manure....the dog will try to eat it!

 

Cheers, do you mean compost is generally poor quality these days or availability is bad this time of year?
We're off to the local nursery/garden place on Monday so will see what they have

 

oo... nice! I'd go all ferns, and perhaps an evergreen Lonicera (Henryi?)to cover the wall.

Seasonal highlights would fit in well amongst the ferns, summer bedding and a blob of heather or gaultheria for the winter perhaps?

 

There looks to be three holes in the wall, are they outlet pipes? Would filling the planter obstruct those?

 

Since the manufacturers have had to go 'reduced peat' or 'peat free', there has been a tendency to use chopped vegetable or wood waste as a substitute in multipurpose compost. The cheaper it is, the higher the proportion of waste. IME plants don't like it and it's certainly more difficult to judge water requirements. Sometimes, GCs and nurseries sell the compost that they use for their plants. It's more expensive but contains peat and is generally far superior.
John Innes formula composts contain topsoil which is better for perennial plants and shrubs, as long as it's mixed with something to help drainage.
Then, if you're going to grow things like Camellias, Rhododendrons or Hydrangeas (or heather, Gaultheria or any other acid-loving plant) there are specific composts for them. The main difference is that they don't contain lime).

 

I'd go with strawberries.
They are accustomed to growing in the shade, multiply by themselves and need little to no care.

if you want something that covers the wall, maybe go for some rasperries or blackberries (preferrably without thorns). Just drill 2 holes in the walls, and tie 'em up there

 

Thanks for all the tips, I went to our local niurset and bought some of the "decent" Levington topsoil (still found a couple of bits of plastic in there though), some John Innes No3, and some compost (Jack something or another.
Had a good chat with the guy there, got a mix of plants. Some are definitely suited to shade, I think a couple may be slightly higher risk and we are leaving room for something taller to go in but stock is low at the moment. Guy suggested Taxus Baccata but since we got home and googled it, we realised we already have some elsewhere in the garden and mrs is not keen.
The holes in the wall are indeed drains from next door with us being on a hill and next door is higher (hence the tall partition wall) Dont think I've ever seen anything come through though.
I'll take a pic and add it here once we finish later...

 

Well, no idea if its right and not sure if we can fit in the taller ones we were supposed to be leaving room for but here it is...

 

Looks beautiful, Chris! The Cyclamen might peg out before spring, so will leave you some spaces for taller, more permanent plants

 

It does have a high content of organic matter, probably green waste or household waste, explains the plastic.
Nice planter though