Novice note very active gardener what should I plant in my new raised beds?

[Hippopotas]

I’m popping to the garden centre tomorrow and I’m looking for things that are pretty but aren’t very labour intensive on the gardening front.

All suggestions welcome :)

Following with interest. I have the same dilemma two raised beds to fill and haven’t a clue either. I would like low maintenance easy on the eye and looks good all year. Thinking a combination of greenery and colour/flowers. I have looked at garden on a roll, Crocus, Waitrose, Wickes and Homebase etc in desperation and got lost googling but still non the wiser.

My favourites for uber low maintenance are alpine plants. Our front garden is south-facing & window boxes were getting absolutely roasted, but alpine plants seem to thrive out there. Lavender is a good low maintenance staple too, in the shader back garden, & I have some pretty purple hebes there too.

I find roses are low maintenance once they are established. Also viburnum, which survive my neglect. Trees, after a couple of seasons

Once you figure out what type of soil you have and how much sun you get, you can find things that are low maintenance for you

I have just had 2 very large raised beds made and filled with topsoil and manure. The topsoil is wonderful as usually I would be planting in clay. The beds are quite high as I have a back problem.

I am slightly worrying that the things I have put in are a bit too big, but I will have to keep them well pruned.

What I have put in:

• lilac
• lavendar
• guelder rose
• fuschias
• cistus
• Japanese anemones
• several climbers (as the bed is against a fence) - clematis, honeysuckle, jasmine, cotoneaster
• primroses - I have transplanted these from my old house - they will do their thing in the spring.

I also plan to put some bulbs in, and possibly winter-flowering pansies.

Lots of good luck with your beds.

I have a raised bed and in mine, I have lavenders, geum, echinacea, verbena, dahlia, armeria, ornamental grass and an acer at the back. Photo attached.

Also agapanthus and a star jasmine as the climber. All fairly low maintenance plants that I dehead spent blooms

That looks lovely @Creamegg11 do you have year round colour or greenery? These are our beds and I am unsure what to put in them and what to plant where, how many plants I need and how far apart to plant things etc. The inside measurements are 23 inch by 86 inch.

I have just purchased some Alium bulbs, lilac and purple tulips and would love some heather (love a lilac purple colour) but no idea what else for year round colour and greenery.

I’ve only had the raised borders since last October. What I have planted would not give all year colour, existing plants will die back and stay dormant until May. I planted alliums which will provide the borders colour from February to May.

If you want all year colour, evergreen shrubs is probably the way to go but I didn’t want this as I find such shrubs gets bushy, wouldn’t look right in raised borders as opposed to being in the ground and I want summer colour. I’ve been digging up and moving stuff around since I’ve had the borders as some plants worked whereas others haven’t. I had loads of tall verbena but because the borders are raised, they just flopped over especially during the weight of rain.

Decide if you want a limited colour pallette or a cottage garden look.
Nasturtiums, trailing geraniums, cosmos, campanula, aquilegia are usually reliable. Or plant up with alpines (good drainage and gritty compost mix) and scented plants such as lavender and herbs. Or plant a veg bed. If you go around a garden centre you can see what is currently flowering , then do same a few weeks along so you get staggered colour. Some will be annuals which you can grow from seed to plant next year, others perennials which come back. Spring Bulbs will be available in next few weeks to plant by October/November.

I love hellebores as they flower through Winter plus Winter pansies are pretty hardy . Some nice bulbs for next spring ?

I think I want some greenery and summer flowers colour. But still
no idea what to buy, where to put it etc.

You can get dwarf conifers with different shaded foliage. Grasses are also good for colour and movement.