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dazron

By Dazron

West Yorkshire, United Kingdom Gb

I'm a complete newbie to gardening . I'm looking for no maintenance plants to go in raised beds i've made out of deck boards in my front garden. Any suggestions ?
Thanks




Answers

 

Yea, plastic ones - no, I jest! Welcome to GoY. Fact is, any plant will require a little bit of maintenance,usually in spring and a tidy up in autumn, so as long as you're prepared for that, there are quite a few easy care plants, so not quite 'no maintenance'.
First a couple of questions though - your raised beds, are they sitting on soil, open to the ground beneath? And second, are these raised beds in sun, shade, or half and half? Third, what size are the beds? And fourth, and this might be difficult for you to answer, what's the aspect, in other words, are we talking about an area that faces north, east, south?

10 Apr, 2012

 

Hi , the beds are sat directly on top of soil. There full perimeter of the garden. Longest is about 4m long by 80 cm wide. They are mostly in the sun and as for direction i havnt a clue sorry. But we do get sun in that garden on an afternoon.

10 Apr, 2012

 

Sun in the afternoon usually means west facing. You've got an immediate problem because they're not wide enough from front to back to achieve a layered planting effect - you're going to have straight rows of plants. I'd recommend mostly shrubs with some bulbs and some groundcover for low maintenance, so here's a list of things for you to check out via google to see what you like. All will be hardy in your area:

Spiraea Goldflame; Spirea Goldmound; Berberis 'Bagatelle' or 'Admiration'; Hebe toparia; Hebe 'Emerald Green'; Senecio 'Sunshine' (now called Brachyglottis, but still found as Senecio); Viburnum davidii; Pyracantha 'Harlequin'; Syringa 'microphylla'; Forsythia*; Ribes sanguinam*; Potentilla fruticosa; Genista 'Lydia'*; Sarcococca varieties. Anything with an asterisk means it needs pruning back after flowering...
If your soil isn't alkaline, also look at Pieris varieties, Skimmia (you need male and female for berries), Camellia - all these are fine with a fair amount of shade, but Camellia should not be planted where early morning sun may hit it.
Ground cover, shade or part shade: Ajuga reptans; Campanula portenschlagiana/muralis; Lamium 'Beacon Silver' or 'White Nancy'; Primrose/Primula/Polyanthus; Pulmonaria; Brunnera; Geraniums such as 'Wargrave's Pink'. Ground cover in sunnier areas: Helianthemum*; Armeria maritima; Pseudarmeria; Iberis sempervirens; Aubretia*; Arabis*; Oreganum aureum (usually in the herb section); Ophiopogon nigrescens.
Bulbs: Dwarf daffodils; Crocosmia; Allium christophii; Allium aflatuense (Purple sensation).
Perennials need a bit more attention, often wanting dividing every 2 or 3 years, and cutting down after flowering, but ones to consider which don't need too much attention are Campanula persicifolia; Veronica gentianoides; Sidalcea; Physostegia.
There are hundreds more plants, but these are ones which are pretty easy, and its already a long list anyway...

10 Apr, 2012

 

Thanks , i'll take a look at those

10 Apr, 2012

 

First hello and welcome to GOY Dazron .

We are in process of making a raised bed with decking boards.

But I want to plant mine out with alpine plants and bulbs.

And also you could have a colour theme going .

I will get my thinking cap on and come back to you.:)

11 Apr, 2012

 

Thanks for you replys, i really like the idea of using alpines or heathers. Just havnt a clue where to start.

12 Apr, 2012

 

Alpines require full sun and an open situation - some of the Ericas will tolerate a bit of shade, but most heathers also prefer an open, sunny situation.

12 Apr, 2012

How do I say thanks?

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