What to plant in my south facing narrow raised beds?

[cannonball8726]

Hello all,

I'm a total gardening novice and have a narrow south facing London garden that gets a lot of sun. We had some fencing replaced recently and two raised beds created along the sides of the lawn. The beds measure 6.2m x 0.6m. I've planted some daffodil and tulip bulbs but otherwise feel clueless in what to plant and what would work with such narrow beds. We have some Hebes in pots that I was planning to plant. Lavender would be nice too - can I plant this now? Sorry for total gardening ignorance. Would be grateful for any ideas. Please be gentle with me!

I’d leave it until spring. You’ve done the right thing getting the bulbs in first.

I’d aim for climbers at the back for height, 1/3 evergreen for winter structure, then fill the rest with what you like.

But the first year I’d invest in a climber (winter jasmine?) in the spring, and then pick things up as you go. Get a packet of marigold seeds and sweet peas, and fill most of the bed with them. You can pull them out as you find plants you love, but in the meantime they’ll fill the bed with colour.

Thanks @peapotter! That's really helpful. I will definitely buy some marigold and sweet pea seeds. I love the look of the winter jasmine too!

I was going to buy some small evergreen shrubs to stop it looking so empty right now! Do you have any suggestions? I have a couple of Hebes that are in good condition in big pots and I was thinking of planting them too - would you do this now or hold off until spring?

Thank you again! Really appreciate the advice.

I really like evergreen herbs like rosemary and sage. They have nice foliage and flowers and are useful.

As you’re in London and south facing you could probably plant your potted Hebes any time. I wouldn’t do it here in Scotland until April or so.

You can also get evergreen succulents or ground cover like ajuga, which are nice along the front as fillers. They spread fast and shallow and are easily pulled out when you want to fill the space.

Good suggestions above, I’d add Aubretia in the front in the spring. It flowers late spring and will spread. It’s very pretty with spring flowers.

I’d recommend star jasmine is an evergreen climber with a lovely scent even though I believe it is not a real jasmine.

What sort of things do you like? Herbs and veg? (tomatoes are good for growing in the summer in a south facing garden if you know you will remember to water and feed them) or colourful flowers (I love sweet peas and big blousey roses like a Shropshire lad).

Alliums are very dramatic in raised beds, some of them end up being taller than you are!

I also have Verbena & Agapanthus, & an everlasting sweat pea climbing up the fence. I also put bedding plants in pots on the sides or backs of the beds to add colour and interest and just change those as and when.

Obviously not for planting now! 😀

A fig tree. If you like figs.

Passion flower would love it. Put some twine or a trellis for it to climb along. They look amazing.

Raised south facing beds are going to be hot and dry. Unless you have invested in a watering system you will need plants that can cope with those conditions. Have a look at the drought loving plants listed on the Beth Chatto site. She planted an amazing garden on a hot dry gravel patch - it used to be the garden car park and I remember when it was. Because she chose the right plants it looks amazing. Depending on the size of the beds you could go for smaller plants that will be wonderful to see close up, or taller plants that are a bit more spectacular. If the beds are huge you could mix them up a bit, but if they are small beds I would stick with one size or the other as it could look messy.

Her books about planting plants for specific conditions are very helpful, she has lots of ideas about design as well.

RIP Beth, lovely lady, stunning gardener.