Small raised bed design

willougs

I have a small semi-oval raised bed (probably 3m x 1m (at its widest)) under a bay window.  It's new and therefore a blank canvas.  I'm pretty hopeless at gardening at the moment so don't really know where to start to fill it with plants.  Therefore,  my question is,  is there a resource online somewhere that gives you ideas/images of raised beds etc but that also give a list of plants used to create it?

The raised bed is under my little ones bedroom window.  I want to make it look modern and contemporary,  but also designed to make it hard for people to get near the window.

Any help gratefully received.

Kirsty Sanderson 667

Hi, 
I would try Pinterest for inspiration, there are literally thousands of photos and articles that you can browse through. Just type something like "raised bed plants" and I'm sure you will get some ideas from that. 
Hope that helps. 

hogweed

Anything that grows in the ground will grow in a raised bed so don't confine yourself to just looking for raised bed planting schemes. There are lots of books which can be acquired quite cheaply that will give detailed planting plans for beds and borders. Try and track some down and they will give you a start if not the complete package.

Obelixx

Keeping people away from the window will involve the use of spiky or thorny plants - not necessarily the safest thing for a small person.  You also need to consider the aspect - how much sun it gets - and the weather - how exposed, wet, windy, dry it is.