Help needed for raised beds plant choice.

As per title I'm looking for some advice as to what plants will work well in some raised beds that I have just built. Was thinking of having herbs in the small top bed then bushes/flowers in the bigger lower one. I really am a novice at gardening so please go easy if the below criteria is impossible:

1) would ideally like both beds to be quite maintenance free ie I don't want to have to dig up and replant flowers every year.
2) would like plants/bushes that won't suffer from a bit of neglect if I forget to water them.
3) would be great to have a bit of colour all year round whether it be flowers of foliage so if you can reccomend a few plants that will work well together that would be great.

The garden is north west facing with a hill to the west so the beds will get alot of sun in the late afternoon evening in summertime.

As you can see I will also need to fill the beds with soil so any recommendations for best soil type would also be great.

Thanks for bearing with the long post. Spent the whole of last summer doing the garden so looking forward to finishing it off!

Regards Aidan.

 

How wide are the planters Aidan ? Any particular colours you want . The planters don't look to deep but I'd fill with top soil and mix in some bags of compost. Are you in a cold region in the UK / other ?

 

Hi perki, we're in London. The big planter is 2.5m wide 1m deep and 20cm high, the smaller one is 1.2m wide 1m deep and 30cm high. There is a bit of hardcore in the bottom of both already. Was thinking along the lines of top soil mixed with a few bags of compost so that's good to hear
I think we would like subtle colours, nothing too bright. Would also like it to be quite busy with lush greens as I think the garden can take it as it's very sterile and bare at the moment. We really like ferns but my understanding is that they prefer more shaded areas?
Regards Aidan.

 

I'd go with a more formal look with the same evergreen shrubs planted equally apart in a line and keep it simple with only 3 species of plants but for bulbs .

Example - 4x Pittosporum irene paterson ( winter structure, plant mid / rear of border ) - 5 + salvia carrodonna ( inbetween Pitto )- 5+ Nepeta walkers low ( front ) and spring bulbs to add interest earlier .

Another partnership same rules as above - Pittosporum tom thumb - Euphorbia humpty dumpty - Lavender or Geranium ann folkland or Geranium Ann Thompson or any other geranium like rozanne / orion / patrica

Another - Bux / yew / ilex crenta topiary ( balls - cones - squares etc ) - Agapanthus ( ask for varieties ) - smaller topiary or Alchemilla mollis .

I can keep going if you like they are plenty of plants to look at , if you like orange for example the salvia or euphorbia can be changed for one of the agastaches or other .

You don't have to use shrubs either you can use grasses like phormiums - carex - hakonechloa etc

I've said formal ( more relaxed formal really ) causes it matches the rest of the garden lots of straight lines / square outbuilding and planters . The ideas I've give is for the lower planter but can be repeated for the top . And another thing low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance which to many people get mixed up with , all the shrubs will need annual trimming at least once a year and the other will need cutting back once or twice a year and feeding .

 

Wow perki thanks for the detailed reply. Looking up all these plant varieties will be my homework this weekend!
Will also let you know what the boss thinks.
Regards Aidan.

 

Don't forget about our friends the bees.

I'd go with some lavender, Echinacea, leucanthemum (doesn't need any particular care), allium and maybe some small sunflowers along the fence.
Also if you want to impress your visitors you could plant lilies and wild tulips.

 

Hi @Aidan123G , the beds and the garden look immaculate and full of promise. You have created something very special there, congratulations

For the upper bed near the house, base planting with Rosemary, Lavender and creeping Thyme to flow over the edge would give a good evergreen herb supply. All flower prettily.

Some Chives here and there will give a good show of flowers in summer and there would still probably be room for whatever you like to eat. Marjoram is a close relative to Oregano but hardier, and has pretty flowers too. All of these are perennial, draught tolerant and require minimal maintenance.

In addition, you could plop in summer delights of whatever you fancy just to have something nice to eat and smell next to the house. Supermarket pot herbs will do perfectly well and give two clumps if you rip the rootball in two. Think Parsley, Coriander, Basil... or grow something fun from seeds. Dill is super easy and will give some height.

If you want more flower colour, edible flowers would be great. Marigolds (Calendula) if you like orange, Pansies/ Violas if blue fits the bill.

For winter delight, the evergreens will look good all year round, and subtle garden lights in there might be just the thing to brighten dark evenings. Good quality solar ones will work all year around if you don't have outdoors electricity.

Please do let us know what you decide to plant, and share photos of the progress.

 

Just to add....there's a hardy fern called Polystichum setiferum which grows equally well in sun or shade When you've decided on your plants and got them planted, a thick mulch of a sterile material such as chopped bark, stone chippings, slate or pouzzolane will suppress weeds and keep moisture in the soil, so cutting down on maintenance and watering.

 

Thanks for all the extra advice guys, haven't given up just been a bit busy with work.
Managed to fill with top soil then chucked a couple of bags of multi purpose compost on top to get it to the correct level.
Does this need to be dug through the top soil or is it ok on top?

 

This looks better than any part of my garden....
I think its perfect and i dont see any need to dig it through, although it wouldnt do any harm if you did. Maybe you could find a few earthworms and relocate them to the raised beds. They will then help you with your work