@carletonexotic Three is a bit of a problem in my case, it leads to repeating the same pattern on the three "prongs" which is what I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid!
@februarysgirl I was watching Love your garden and they had built some raised beds for an elderly lady. What was interesting they used the same plants in each but arranged then in a different way. Not sure if this might be another approach. I do like how you have positioned the grasses they lead the eye down the garden A very pretty space.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
That’s a very smart but fairly ordered garden structure. I think you just need lots of airy, billowing grasses, perennials and/or annuals and be a bit random in their placing. Don’t worry too much about plans and schemes, have things spilling over, think organised chaos and just go for it!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@GardenerSuze Where those grasses were, are now dwarf blackberry bushes or at least they will be when they grow up 😂
@nollie What I'd ideally love is a woodland style but creating the shade is going to take time as it's largely dependent on the trees. In retrospect I should have had the beds made curved rather than angular but I'm going to try to counter that with lots of potted plants but that's not going to happen overnight. I've just taken out the grasses because I'm more inclined towards foliage. I'd love if the planting could obscure part of the bottom raised bed so you have to walk round to see what's there and the grasses just weren't doing it for me. I've replaced them with some dwarf blackberries because they're denser and who doesn't love blackberries? I've definitely loosened up from when I put the raised beds together in 2019. I was adamant that I was only going to have perennials, no shrubs and no annuals then by the end of summer 2020 I realised the planting was wrong and that I'd need to put some shrubs in. I've got Nandina Domestica, Philadelphus Lemoinei, Lonicera Tellmanniana, Rosa Rugosa Alba, Sorbaria Sem, Rosa Primula, Weigela Middendorffiana and Buddleia Buzz Ivory. So much more variety than I would have had in the past. I'm having a go at annuals this year to fill up the gaps whilst the shrubs grow but I've never grown from seed before so it's possible that's not going to work. I would absolutely love to have something that spills over and hides the beds themselves. In an ideal world, Tiarella Happy Trails but with a south facing garden it's not going to happen 😔
@Fire Would love to buy in 11s and 17s but my pocket can't cope with that! Hopefully if I'm successful with annuals I might be able to do it that way but I'll see how growing from seed goes this year. I had a read of that page and there's lots of good stuff on it. I was already planning pots around the edges of the beds to soften them but it's another time and money thing because they're so long. Overspilling is definitely on my list, I just haven't found anything that fits the bill 100% They either get too long, too tall or can't cope with the sun.
Ah, the grass is always greener - most would kill for a sunny south-facing garden and you would really love a woodland garden 😊 I have made so many mistakes and changed my mind about planting schemes so many times over the years, so you are absolutely not alone! You have some gorgeous plants and great structure, so you will get there.
Do you have any leftover wood? I’m thinking you could soften your beds by creating triangular troughs at the corners to break up the angles a little. Might be easier to maintain and cheaper than loads of pots?
How are you finding Philadelphus Lemoinei? I have just taken delivery of one..
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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What was interesting they used the same plants in each but arranged then in a different way. Not sure if this might be another approach. I do like how you have positioned the grasses they lead the eye down the garden A very pretty space.
@nollie What I'd ideally love is a woodland style but creating the shade is going to take time as it's largely dependent on the trees. In retrospect I should have had the beds made curved rather than angular but I'm going to try to counter that with lots of potted plants but that's not going to happen overnight. I've just taken out the grasses because I'm more inclined towards foliage. I'd love if the planting could obscure part of the bottom raised bed so you have to walk round to see what's there and the grasses just weren't doing it for me. I've replaced them with some dwarf blackberries because they're denser and who doesn't love blackberries? I've definitely loosened up from when I put the raised beds together in 2019. I was adamant that I was only going to have perennials, no shrubs and no annuals then by the end of summer 2020 I realised the planting was wrong and that I'd need to put some shrubs in. I've got Nandina Domestica, Philadelphus Lemoinei, Lonicera Tellmanniana, Rosa Rugosa Alba, Sorbaria Sem, Rosa Primula, Weigela Middendorffiana and Buddleia Buzz Ivory. So much more variety than I would have had in the past. I'm having a go at annuals this year to fill up the gaps whilst the shrubs grow but I've never grown from seed before so it's possible that's not going to work. I would absolutely love to have something that spills over and hides the beds themselves. In an ideal world, Tiarella Happy Trails but with a south facing garden it's not going to happen 😔
@Fire Would love to buy in 11s and 17s but my pocket can't cope with that! Hopefully if I'm successful with annuals I might be able to do it that way but I'll see how growing from seed goes this year. I had a read of that page and there's lots of good stuff on it. I was already planning pots around the edges of the beds to soften them but it's another time and money thing because they're so long. Overspilling is definitely on my list, I just haven't found anything that fits the bill 100% They either get too long, too tall or can't cope with the sun.
How are you finding Philadelphus Lemoinei? I have just taken delivery of one..