Design a new bed

[LilyTheMink]

Are there any tools or programmes that can help you design the planting for a new bed? I want to make one roughly square, about 5m x 5m, and part shade.
I have some ideas but I want to lay it out etc and play around.
Any suggestions please?

Does it back on to anything, a wall, or fence or is it in the middle of the lawn.
Do you want plants or shrubs or both. do you want a central something - tree pergola etc

I went to a garden design class once and the only bit I remember and have found useful is that yellow is a very strong colour and will draw the eye - so you could have a lovely display of blues and whites but the bright yellow plant in the corner is what is seen first - hence I avoid yellow unless it's with lots of other strong colours such as red or orange.

Another thing I do now is avoid one of this and one of that. I go for several of one thing so it makes an impact when in flower. I think we used to one of everything to try to get summer long flowers but I prefer a big bold effect for a shorter time.

Oh thanks. yes its in a sort of corner space, with a fence at the back and side of deck to one side. A central tree would be good.
Slighlty difficult as the soil there has been known to have honey fungus :(

I don't know much about honey fungus but here is a list
www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/plants-resistant-to-honey-fungus/
You need to look up each plant and see what size it is, or what size it is after 10 years. Even if it seems big after 10 years you can usually prune and control the size.
Get some squared paper and work out your plants. taller ones at the back by the fence. You might want some that clamber up onto the decking. These main ones are the perennials so appear every year but you can by any number of annuals from the garden centre for the rest of the bed. You will probably have to wait for the new shrubs and perennials to grow before they fill the space you have chosen.
5x5m is big.
Cosmos, nasturtiums, nepeta, spread well.

I’ve just dig a bed for specifically purple. I’m enjoying finding purple plants to fill it but no big plan really except balancing larger plants centrally building around it.

So far I’ve got in

Lavendula
Polenium
2 varieties of aubretia
English lavender
Salvia
Scabiosa
Nemesia ... in a pot, think it might be pink when it flowers so will move it
Erysium....might move it, looking pink too
And something else which I’m not sure of but moved it from a bed from last year

I’ve also curved a bed round cutting through lawn to make a rose garden. It now hides the shed and has created almost a second garden