Help with plant selection for gravel patch.

Hi all, I’ve got my first garden. I’ve previously grown some edible plants in pots on windowsills and outdoors and am so excited to have a whole garden to play with now.
I’ve already put in a raised bed and have started off some edibles indoors.

It’s a long garden with 2 patios, a deck, a lawn and a gravelled section. I’ve got bigger plans to potentially move things around in the future but for this year I’m starting small. There’s currently no plants anywhere, apart from a small leylandii hedge.
Where I’m really struggling, is figuring out what plants will work for the gravel section, it’s a layer of gravel maybe 5cm deep laid over weed suppressing membrane. I’ve read that I can cut into the membrane and dig a hole to plant. Everything I can find about planting in gravel seems to assume a much deeper gravel I’m seeing talk of plants that like free draining around their roots but that won’t be the case with my garden.
So is anyone could give me any ideas, including something climbing I can put against the fence.

 

I don't think there are many plants that will grow in gravel alone, so you'd have to cut into the membrane to plant them in the soil. Then it depends what condition the soil is in or what type of soil it is - e.g. clay, sandy, etc ... and that would determine what plants would grow there.

 

As @Michael Hewett says please give us some info about the type of soil you have under the membrane and an idea of where you live.
If you have a look on Google for scree gardens that may give you some ideas.

 

@Smcask If it was mine and I was thinking of a redesign in the next 5 years I'd go with pots and planters, rather than looking for plants to grow in gravel. Then I could move things around make plans etc.
I would give thought to the Leylandii hedge remove/replace or keep it well trimmed.
It would be useful if you could add your approx location to your profile.

 

There are plants that will grow in gravel or pure sand, but it depends on what is underneath the gravel in terms of soil.
In Essex there is the Beth Chatto gravel garden on free draining soil and in Leeds there is a good sized sand bed, near the entrance, in York Gardens. A visit to either might give you some ideas

 

@Michael Hewett @Pete8 I’m so pleased you asked what kind of soil, I had an inkling it was clay but I decided this morning I’d go out and give it a proper check and wouldn’t you know it’s nothing at all it appears to be cemented completely under the gravel!
So it looks like I’m going with @NigelJ suggestion of pots. That’s totally thrown me!
Longer term in might look at putting some raised bed borders in but the previous owner of this flat certainly made some questionable decisions when they renovated, both inside and out.
So I guess now my question changes to a climber that can grow in a pot.
I’m in the North East of England, the garden is south East facing and the fence I’m looking to plant along gets the sun all day.

 

If it's your property you can look forward to a long term project of breaking and removing the concrete so that you can plant directly into the soil.

 

There’s been a further revelation, because I couldn’t get it out of my head! I’ve managed to pick up a corner and find that it’s actually block paved underneath. Like the path and patio. This has changed everything for me!

 

The previous owner wasn't a keen gardener then @Smcask . That combination would have provided a low maintenance section, not having to clean and weed the block paving. As previously mentioned, containers and raised beds will provide you with quick planting options and can look very attractive.

That looks like a very well maintained Leylandii hedge, you could perhaps let it increase in height to provide more privacy. Climbers on fences can be problematic once they develop bulk and weight. I grow two shade tolerant climbers on steel frames attached to my fencing, Lonicera American Beauty which is semi-evergreen and Solanum Laxum Album which is evergreen. You may need to grow them in large containers to begin with until you decide what to do with the rest of the garden.

 

there is raised decking behind the leylandii, which gets the evening sun, so I think that’s why it’s been kept at that height. ill certainly keep on top of trimming it. I’ve seen them get out of control in previous neighbours gardens, so I’m very cautious of them, how ever right now it’s the only place for wildlife right now. I’m very happy that the sparrows seem to like hiding out in there.

 

How wide is the garden? Maybe you can check the bricks what is underneath. Hopefully it’s not concrete but soil.
When I saw the bricks, I had the idea to dig them out and reuse them for raised beds to the left and right of a path. That means chaos at beginning but worth thinking about it.

 

I’ve just taken a brick out on one side and found concrete underneath but I’ve got reinforcements on the way (my mum) with extra buckets and shovels so that I can investigate further! Now that I’ve started this I can’t let it go until I’ve got the full picture!

 

By the sounds of it you should have asked her to bring her pick axe.

 

The question that now occurs to me is what is under the grass. If soil rather than hard standing then problem solved and lawn becomes flower and veg bed over a weekend.

 

Yes, maybe, I’d like to keep a little bit of lawn at least, because the dog likes it and I’m ultimately a slave to him! I was planning to overseed with clover. I’ve started shifting gravel to pull up a bit more and have found slab having in bits too! So who know what else is under there. The gravel section is about 6x3.5m and I’ve found that in parts the gravel seems to be around 8-10cm deep.