30m of terraced beds to plant up - suggestions for whites and purples?

[cloudtree]

We have just had our wrap around patio completed and due to changes in ground levels I now have around 30 of terraced beds to plant up (two tiers). Ideally I would like to stick to white and purples with some evergreen shrubs in there (low level so that they don't block the view - top bed is 1m high and each bed is 40cm wide). I'd also like some trailing plants to cover a few corners which are not the neatest. Anyone have any suggestions? I've been looking forward to this bit but I'm now feeling a bit overwhelmed. The ground is generally quite poor soil (previously just lawn planted onto sand) but I will be able to enhance it with a good six inches of compost.

So far I have a bag of alium bulbs and that's it!

Sounds wonderful. It’s best to put your structure plants in first. Hebes are perennial, low growing shrubs that come with leaves and flowers in purples and white. Some of the low growing ones will form a mat and fall over the edge
Carpet roses?
Slow growing horizontal blue pine?
Small while Hydrangeas?
Campanulas are great plants, in several varieties and shades of purple/ white.
Salvias are another.
Small variety of crainsbill geranium?
Possibly heathers for winter colour, although you might have to dig in ericaceous compost where you plant them.
Vinca minor.
Crocus bulbs, paperwhite dallodils, white hyacinth.

Ooo lots of suggestions - thank you I'm going to start googling!

Purple: salvia, verbena, veronica, astrantia, lavender, nepeta (cat mint), sedum 'purple emperor', phlox, geranium, aubretia, sweet pea, clover, heather, clematis, crocus, lilac (compact version), allium.

White: patio rose, anemone 'wild swan', calla lily, foxglove, geranium, aqueligia, clematis, white narcissus, snowdrop, tulip, solomons seal, lily of the valley, white allium, white dicentra.

I was going to suggest artemisia Powis Castle - lovely silvery aromatic foliage but forgot it has yellow flowers though they're inconspicuous. Still, I think it would go well with your white and purple. It's a small shrub.

Iberis and Aubretia give lovely evergreen spilly clumps and early spring colour (white and purple respectively).

Campanula can be a right thug. I have it all over my garden and it swamps everything. I rip it out by the bucket load and it's just as bad next year.

Watch out for lilies if you have cats, they are fatally toxic, I lost a healthy young cat to lily pollen. They brush past, get it on their fur, wash themselves, and bam, kidney failure and death.

Your campanula sounds as if it’s very happy in your garden, MrsBertBibby.
Perhaps one of the more upright variety might be more suitable for the OPs garden.

I think you'll find it's the campanula's garden, not mine!

The upright Canterbury Bells types are indeed fine, mine is the prostrate traily kind they often sell in a basket for Mothers day. Hollow laugh.

It's a delight for the bees, so I tend to let it go and rip it out after flowering, but it will swamp everything if left.

Thanks all this is incredibly helpful. Ive had a stroke of luck and found a wholesaler who is willing to supply me for very low prices (eg £3.20 for a 2l hebe) and so I'm now going through their stock list and comparing it with your suggestions.

I’d put in AT LEAST 20% evergreen , otherwise you will be looking at earth for a lot of the year. And miniature bulbs - don’t get too caught up on your colour theme as white and purple crocus are lovely but even nicer with some yellow. And they won’t clash with much else in January!

Don’t put in larger bulbs as they are very messy while you wait for the foliage to die down .

You know that most alliums are quite tall? What’s your max height ( I’m assuming these are raised beds, which is why you want low planting )?

Morning glory for climbing

Cosmos and aquilegia for the borders.

That's a good tip about the proportion of evergreen, thank you.

This shows the heights. As you can see it's all very new, the stone isn't even dried out yet. The top of the highest bed is about 1m at the highest point.

We are on a hill and so the levels change all around. Some of the area only has one tier surrounding it and then it drops down again so that at the largest section of patio you walk down steps into the garden.

Aliums will be great! I find them very tough and the leaves die away nicely.

How about herbs? Chives, marjoram and oregano, some thyme : all purple flowers and bee heaven. Lovely for the pot.

Consider hyacinths and snowdrops, lovely early colour. Snowdrops do better planted when in leaf in January rather than as bulbs in Autumn.

Saxifrage! Lovely fresh green cushion all year, clouds of white (or pinks and reds) flowers above. Perfect for those beds.

Also an excellent purple sisyrinchium, with grassy leaves and sun-opened flowers will go for months. Great plant. In the alpine section, along with saxifrage.

Very helpful photo.

Ok these beds are really small and you have poor soil so you need to

1. Improve the soil ( I know you said you will do this )
2. Water in dry weather ( especially if the beds get a lot of sun or wind or you live in a sunny part of the country )
3. plant things that would do well in a pot
4. Vary heights and texture so you don’t have two lines of plants like soldiers

From all the plans suggested above, go for those that cope with poor soil and drought. So lavender and not nepeta . Artemisia and not Astrantia or roses. Etc etc

Yes the beds aren't massive, they've very long (longest stretch is 8m) but the planting section in each is 40cm wide. They're probably slightly bigger than they look from the photo because each slab is 90cm x 60cm - those steps are each 1.2m wide

The beds are not self contained in that they have no bottom and so hopefully this should help a bit with the watering/drying out. Most of the soil that is currently in there is building rubble and will be coming out. We live in the East Mids so definitely not a sunny part of the country (apart from at the moment!)

Salvias are great for dry, non water retaining soil. Rosemary is ever green and should do ok.

Another tough customer is thrift (armeria?) which comes in whites pinks and mauves. Little flower heads fluttering over a mat of grey green. Very pretty.