Help me design a bed for my mum!
Liz Warner
Posts: 199
My mum has a bit at the back of her garden which needs sorting. It's in between a shed and an old pond. The side of the shed is north facing and the back fence is east facing. I suggested some form of curved raised bed (raised to add a different height for interest in the garden) with a climber on the shed. And hostas etc in the bed. She likes traditional plants and pink flowers.
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Hi Liz, are you wanting easy maintenance planting such as perennials?
Not necessarily. She's a young mum ?
If you build raised beds, you could fill it with ericasious compost and grow dwarf Azaleas.
Astilbes like shady conditions and some have pink flowers. Also, there are loads of hardy geraniums with pink flowers.
You could use a Hydrangea which can have pink flowers and some Astrantia, I have both together in a spot that doesn't get alot of sun and they grow really well.
Some lovely plant suggestions thank you. Mum and I like those ideas. What about design ideas?
Hi Liz. A very similar aspect to a shady corner in my garden which is flagged with a narrow gravel border beside the fence. I've been collecting plants for a collection of pots and have astilbes, hostas and fuschias at the moment. Plus a small Morello cherry tree which I need a big pot for (mothers day pressie). What a random collection eh?
Looking at the slate and sculptutre, if that's mum's style, how about an Acer? A nice purple leafed one by the shed could offset the smoke bush? on the other side and help screen the water but.
What's on the fence? I'd replace the small trellis and fix vine eyes and wires to fill the whole width with a clematis. Easy to do with wooden fence posts.
Are the water butt and electric socket staying? Do you intend building the raised bed against the shed? I have brick built raised beds in a similar aspect at the back of our garage (brick). I think my OH painted some sort of waterproofing stuff on the inside of the beds to stop damp getting into the garage.
The water butt can go. The electri point has to stay. Good point about protecting the shed. What about painting the shed blue/green. Lift the slabs in front of the shed and replicate the stones the other side on the old pond. And then shingle the ground inbetween but use big pots of different sizes?
Lots of different pots could work really well - but in that case I'd keep the water butt as pots need plenty of watering and it would be handy. You can easily grow dwarf acers and dwarf azaleas in pots, as well as hostas and most of the other suggestions above. Maybe get a pink flowered clematis to brighten up the fence behind (planted in the ground). The advantage with pots is the ease with which you can shuffle things about to get the best arrangement both for you and for the plants. And it's easy to introduce spring bulbs (a big pot of ballerina tulips, perhaps?) and summer bedding at the front where it's sunnier (a bright pink dahlia or petunia - or all of them) and then move the pot inside to protect it in winter, or just have something different next year.
I've had some great inspiration thank you. I've suggested mum lifts the slabs in front of the shed and, over a membrane, lays stone similar to the one on the old pond. Replaces the water butt with a slim line one. Paints the shed a modern green or blue colour. And places pots of increasing sizes next to the shed with the suggested plants with a stone seat in the middle. A climber on the shed and the back fence. How does that sound?