Newbe without a clue
Gareth Parker
Posts: 6
Hello,
Just joined the site. 2 years ago I made some raised beds to hide a big hole in the fence and to brighten the top of the garden up. With some advice from a local gardener I bought some "easy" things to fill them with .
2 dwarf conifers, 2 euonymus shrubs, some plants that look like roses without thorns and some bishop forum.
The bishop forum has died and I have removed that today, The euonymus shrubs have turned more orangy than yellowy...are these dying too? some of them rose things look like they are on the way out too.
I have had a good tidy and mixed all new compost into the soil today to see if that will help things improve.
What could I put in the front area now its empty ?
The lower bit I have just planted some things that were kicking around in pots. 2 roses and I'm not sure what the plant in the centre is, i'm sure it had big orange flowers one year though.
any ideas what I could tidy the rest of this up with?
Posts
Well done with your beds, not sure if your roses are on the way out, cant really see, but give them a little longer, its still very early, they may be asleep for a little longer.
How much sun does that spot get? Too much or too little could be the problem, too much sun and the compost will dry out, too little and your plants will struggle.
How do you feel about a splash of colour? Some pansies would look fab and take almost no looking after.
If the beds are on the shady side, you could put some ferns in, there are tons to choose from and again they are really easy to grow
Have you seen anything on tv or in a neighbours garden that you like?
its flower bed is south facing so it gets sun (when its out) I dont want to over crowd it . will pansies need digging up once they die off? or will they come back each year?
Its more important to go for something you like the look of. Are your beds on concrete or soil? The nutrients in compost only last a few months, so your plants may have been hungry.
As its south facing, there is so much choice, you could even grow a little fruit there if you fancied.
The beds are on top of clay soil. Then some topsoil then some new compost mixed in
The level of fertility you need will depend on what you grow, if you put something in thats slow growing and dosent really flower like the dwarf conifers you already have,a top dressing with compost once a year like you have already done will be fine. If you opt for something which is faster growing and produces lots of flowers or fruit, you will have to top dress as you have, and water with a liquid fertiliser every week or two.
What about more dwarf conifers? They come in lots of different shapes and sizes, dont need much care, and actually look really good when they are planted together. If you want a little variation, you could pop in some spring bulbs (available in pots from the garden centre now) they will just die back when tjey have done their thing and come back next year, easy as anything.
Try not to leave too much soil bare as you may find weeds get in
The euonymus are fine, they often change leaf colour in cold weather, they'll go back to normal when it gets warmer. The roses without thorns look like they may be exactly that - some varieties are thornless and the leaves do look quite rose like, though I can't say for certain from the photo.
In the other bed the roses seem ok. I think I can see small buds along the stems, but it may be a while yet before they put on much growth, probably towards the end of March. The shrub in the middle looks like a camellia and it even has some flower buds I think - they are the fat ones on the ends of the stems. It does have some leaf damage though - this might be from frost, if there was then early morning sun, or sun scorch ,especially if the leaves got wet. Ideally camellias prefer dappled shade, though they will grow in sun. If you want flowers though, it is important to keep them well watered, though not wet, during the previous summer as otherwise buds will not form. You obviously got it right last year!
In front of the conifers you could grow some heathers, as they would go well together. You can get a range of different foliage colours and some flower in spring and others in summer so you have a good looking bed all year round.They don't need much looking after, just a quick trim when they finish flowering. They do mostly need acid soil or ericaceous compost, as does the camellia
In the other bed, you could ring the changes with summer bedding plants, which won't upset the camellia as long as you don't disturb its roots but which will have to come out in the autumn. If you would prefer something perennial, have a look in the garden centre for something you like, that is also low growing. You might find something in the alpine section as many of these are evergreen (or ever grey) and would look good through the winter.
In both beds you could add some spring bulbs, such as small flowered daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops or tulips (look for the word Greigii or Kaufmanniana on the label as these are smaller and earlier than other kinds). You might find some bulbs in pots on sale now, otherwise buy and plant them int he autumn and you will have early spring colour next year. They will come up every year and won't affect the other plants.