New raised beds, what to plant, suggestions please
I'm selling my house and I've constructed some raised beds in the front garden to pretty-up the front of the house ready for sale.
The beds are about 6 feet x 2 feet and 1 foot high and I've got 3 of them. I filled the bottom half with rubble and then filled to the top with topsoil I took from the back garden.
I estimate (because I don't really know) that the soil is reasonable quality and with the rubble in the bottom will be very well drained. The previous owner of my house was a keen gardener and made a pile in the back garden from what seems to be a mixture of topsoil and compost. So I've dug out some of that and transferred it to the beds in the front garden.
The beds face north-west but see a lot of light from the south-west as there's nothing blocking the sun once it's past the house.
What I want is to cover the beds totally, some hanging over the sides, no more than a foot high, but I think pansies and the like would be a little lost in the fairly big beds.
Colour wise I think I want 70% green with patches of brightly coloured plants.
I don't want to spend much money as I'm moving out. I also want the colour to hang around for a good few months as I don't know how long it will take to sell. I also want fairly quick results, maybe not enough time to plant seeds.
What do people recommend. I'm a novice gardener so I don't have much knowledge of plant types or what works well where.
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I'd keep them simple and uniform - same plants in each bed. You can probably get several types of evergreen plants at this time of year in GCs or nurseries which would suit. Decent sized Hebes would be fine - even though the aspect isn't absolutely perfect for them. They will still grow and look good as a green backdrop. Expect to pay a fair bit for those though. A plant in a 6 to 7 inch pot could be a tenner in a GC, cheaper in a nursery if you have one nearby. For instant impact you'll need at least five, possibly seven [always odd numbers] If they were getting time to grow, you'd only need 3.
Winter heathers would be fine for edging - but again, you'll need a lot of them if you want instant impact, probably around ten per bed if they're in at least a four or five inch pot. Some of the alpine type plants will be ideal for edging too, but many of them don't flower until nearer spring.
That sizing goes for almost anything you buy. Smaller plants will take a long time to establish and grow, and it's not the time of year to be planting anything out that isn't already growing outdoors and is acclimatised. You'd have to cram in more plants to make the beds look filled.
You can infill with ready planted pots of spring bulbs which many GCs will have - DIY stores too. Pansies and violas will also fill gaps. Primulas and polyanthus will be readily available - that might be a cheaper alternative, and they can go on flowering for a long time. You could also use some of small trailing ivies which are readily available almost anywhere
If the house is still for sale in spring into summer, there are more choices, and you could fill those beds easily with annuals inexpensively, but at this time of year, it's very difficult to plant something up easily without spending a bit of cash.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
GCs have bigger overheads, and sell all sorts of other 'items', cafes etc, which is reflected in the higher prices. They tend to be places for people to go and spend a few hours, as opposed to places to buy plants
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The diy stores have loads of plants, but you may not get a big choice depending on the size of it. It can be a cheaper option than a GC, especially if you're trying to economise.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Might be an idea go along to a big garden centre near you and see what takes your eye/whats in flower now. If you see something you like, shop around online nurseries to see if thay are available cheaper - many do first order or mult-buy discounts.
When I was selling my last house, I put two small, conical conifers (‘Goldcrest’) on each side of the two balconies and a long trough planted up with white flowered bedding plants - it was quite cheap to do but made all the difference to the photos and kerb appeal.