It would be a good idea to incorporate some organic material to improve the fertility. Plenty of rotted manure of some kind would be a big help.
Your soil appears to be very free draining and has low fertility. Organic stuff will help with water retention (especially as it's a raised bed) and will introduce plenty of bacteria and fungi to help make your soil come alive and help to feed whatever you plant there.
There are innumerable options on what could work there. What sort of 'look' are you hoping to achieve?
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
It would be a good idea to incorporate some organic material to improve the fertility. Plenty of rotted manure of some kind would be a big help.
Your soil appears to be very free draining and has low fertility. Organic stuff will help with water retention (especially as it's a raised bed) and will introduce plenty of bacteria and fungi to help make your soil come alive and help to feed whatever you plant there.
There are innumerable options on what could work there. What sort of 'look' are you hoping to achieve?
Thanks for the advice.
Can I buy this organic material from Homebase/B&Q or similar? Do I then dig/mix with the existing soil? Is compost the same thing?
I just want it to look neat and tidy and colourful I suppose. Symmetrical in some way with something nice like a small tree in the middle.
It's some sort of rotted manure you're looking for. The bags of compost sold by B&Q etc (e.g. Verve, Levingtons, John Innes etc) are for raising seeds and potting plants. They won't help your soil much. It's organic material you're after. All garden centres will sell rotted farmyard manure or horse manure - either will make a big difference. As to how much - as much as you can afford to dig in.
You can buy plug plants at garden centres (and of course on line), but be wary that they sell them even when it's too cold to plant them out. Hardy annuals would be a good start and you could sow the seed direct onto your soil, they don't mind the cold. Half-hardy annuals/perennials can easily be killed by frost, so don't plant them out until around mid-May Trees are lovely but tricky in a small border. And small trees soon become big trees! They cast shade and will soak up masses of water that will not then be available to your plants and as your soil is free draining you'll be forever watering. A few shrubs would give some structure. I often use the Crocus site to look for plants as they have plenty of filters you can apply (see left hand side). Their plants are ok, but often much cheaper elsewhere
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
It's some sort of rotted manure you're looking for. The bags of compost sold by B&Q etc (e.g. Verve, Levingtons, John Innes etc) are for raising seeds and potting plants. They won't help your soil much. It's organic material you're after. All garden centres will sell rotted farmyard manure or horse manure - either will make a big difference. As to how much - as much as you can afford to dig in.
You can buy plug plants at garden centres (and of course on line), but be wary that they sell them even when it's too cold to plant them out. Hardy annuals would be a good start and you could sow the seed direct onto your soil, they don't mind the cold. Half-hardy annuals/perennials can easily be killed by frost, so don't plant them out until around mid-May Trees are lovely but tricky in a small border. And small trees soon become big trees! They cast shade and will soak up masses of water that will not then be available to your plants and as your soil is free draining you'll be forever watering. A few shrubs would give some structure. I often use the Crocus site to look for plants as they have plenty of filters you can apply (see left hand side). Their plants are ok, but often much cheaper elsewhere
Thanks very much for your help on this Pete.
I have had a look online (only at Homebase, as we have a local one near me) and I can't seem to find anything like the manure. I will probably just pop in and see if they have any in-store.
I don't know of any sites that give inspiration and I'm hopeless at it. I see something I like, buy it then try and work out where to squeeze it in.... so it's all a bit random, but it looks nice, there's plenty of wildlife and of course it changes through the seasons and every year.
If you plant something and it doesn't look right, you can move it somewhere else. Sometimes plants just die - keeping the reason to themselves.
Gardens evolve all the time, so the most important thing is to enjoy it and have fun doing it. Even with the soil you have, there are plenty of annuals that would thrive there - wildflower mixes and the like (poppies, cornflowers, eschscholzia etc) prefer low-nutrient, stony soils and many put up with dry conditions. Plenty of grasses would be happy there too if they get enough sun.
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Plenty of rotted manure of some kind would be a big help.
Your soil appears to be very free draining and has low fertility.
Organic stuff will help with water retention (especially as it's a raised bed) and will introduce plenty of bacteria and fungi to help make your soil come alive and help to feed whatever you plant there.
There are innumerable options on what could work there.
What sort of 'look' are you hoping to achieve?
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Can I buy this organic material from Homebase/B&Q or similar? Do I then dig/mix with the existing soil? Is compost the same thing?
I just want it to look neat and tidy and colourful I suppose. Symmetrical in some way with something nice like a small tree in the middle.
The bags of compost sold by B&Q etc (e.g. Verve, Levingtons, John Innes etc) are for raising seeds and potting plants. They won't help your soil much. It's organic material you're after.
All garden centres will sell rotted farmyard manure or horse manure - either will make a big difference.
As to how much - as much as you can afford to dig in.
You can buy plug plants at garden centres (and of course on line), but be wary that they sell them even when it's too cold to plant them out.
Hardy annuals would be a good start and you could sow the seed direct onto your soil, they don't mind the cold.
Half-hardy annuals/perennials can easily be killed by frost, so don't plant them out until around mid-May
Trees are lovely but tricky in a small border. And small trees soon become big trees! They cast shade and will soak up masses of water that will not then be available to your plants and as your soil is free draining you'll be forever watering.
A few shrubs would give some structure.
I often use the Crocus site to look for plants as they have plenty of filters you can apply (see left hand side). Their plants are ok, but often much cheaper elsewhere
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I have had a look online (only at Homebase, as we have a local one near me) and I can't seem to find anything like the manure. I will probably just pop in and see if they have any in-store.
Thanks again
https://www.homebase.co.uk/gro-sure-farm-yard-manure-50l/12807364.html
Quite specific I know, but you never know
I don't know of any sites that give inspiration and I'm hopeless at it.
I see something I like, buy it then try and work out where to squeeze it in.... so it's all a bit random, but it looks nice, there's plenty of wildlife and of course it changes through the seasons and every year.
If you plant something and it doesn't look right, you can move it somewhere else.
Sometimes plants just die - keeping the reason to themselves.
Gardens evolve all the time, so the most important thing is to enjoy it and have fun doing it.
Even with the soil you have, there are plenty of annuals that would thrive there - wildflower mixes and the like (poppies, cornflowers, eschscholzia etc) prefer low-nutrient, stony soils and many put up with dry conditions. Plenty of grasses would be happy there too if they get enough sun.
Some Google images may help inspire..
PS - more inspiration from the RHS
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.