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Outdoor succulent garden

suyinkansuyinkan Posts: 9
in Garden design
I have a sort of raised bed area in my garden which is covered in landscape fabric and a layer of gravel. The soil underneath is pretty hard, dry and compacted. I want to plant sempervivums, sedums and maybe some hardy cactus. Can I just top the gravel with a layer of topsoil and sand? 

Posts

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    I would scrape as much gravel as possible out until you reach the membrane and then fill with a mix of John Innes no. 2 (or topsoil) and a third gravel or sharp sand, plant your plants high in that and then top off with the gravel alone. It does not look as though you have much depth for planting there so stick with your sedums and sempervivums. I don't know of any cacti hardy outside in the UK although there are some succulents like aloes which are but again, they will need a deeper root run than you can provide. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Don't rule out other Alpine plants too. Some saxifrages will love that and are just as interesting as succulents but often with better flowers. I'd also consider some structure to the bed as just plants can look a bit dull especially in the winter. You don't need to go full on rockery style but some sculptural wood or reclaimed materials will give you something to work with and provide a few little micro-climates that plants will appreciate. Even broken pots can be used to good effect if you have nothing else.
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