What would you grow on this patch?

[stirling]

Hello,
I'm still a bit of a novice in terms of gardening but I can now finally grow nice plants in pots and containers.

I do have this empty patch of actual garden soil and considered a vegetable patch - I'm under the assumption (please correct me if I'm wrong!) that home grown veg would lead to better health in the long run.

It's a sunny spot and on a bit of a slope but can be levelled off.

Veg or flowers.? I tried to grow seedlings last year for pretty flowers like lobelia etc but they all died, so I'm not too keen to go down that route.
What would you do?
Thank you

It's about 2.5 m wide so not that big

Home grown veg does taste much better, but you’ll never grow enouGh there to make a huge difference health wise.

It looks a bit dry and heavy, start buy digging in a load of compost. Lobelia like lot of water so I’m guessing why that didn’t work last year.

If you want veg, you could try some chard which just keeps on coming so is good value and maybe some beans, you will need to dig in plenty of compost though they like it fertile.

Do you want easy maintenance or do you want to have to tend it through the year?

If you want flowers cosmos are quite easy to grow, you could try echinacea which will come back.

How about fruit? Maybe some raspberries or strawberries?

Looks very dry, is it like that most of the time? If it is always that dry you can dig in loads of manure/compost to loosen the soil but it will still be dry so you’d need to water veg frequently. If you want lower maintenance I’d maybe dig in some compost then bung in some helenium, achillea, grasses, and perovskia (I have those in a baked spot and they love it).

Thanks everyone, yes it's really dry as is the rest of the soil in the garden. Hence my success with pots and containers!

SockFluffInTheBath I'll look up your suggestions. Low maintenance is a very appealing thing to me. I can't see myself ever spending much of my spare time gardening. Billybagpuss like the idea of chard, but also echinacea...

If it is dry and sunny, then herbs such as thyme and rosemary will do well there.

Why do you think everything died? it's perhaps better to figure that out before investing in growing veg etc. They are usually not especially low maintenance

thanks again ..might give veg a miss

I can't see myself ever spending much of my spare time gardening

Ah well we've all been there. Gardening kinda gets you though. 5 or 6 years ago I was strictly a periodic mow 'n' slash kind of a girl, with a few desultory pots.

Now I'm patrolling my borders for slugs, my house is overrun with trays of seedlings, and I can't be trusted alone in garden centres with a bank card. So watch yourself

If you want something super easy, I'd dig it over, get all those weeds out, and then chuck a load of nigella or poppy seed down. But easy grow generally means easy seed, once you have them, you'll never be rid without hard work if you change your mind.

Alternatively, put in some shrubs. Potentilla fruticans might like it there, as might spiraea. Potentilla is much longer flowering though.

@MrsBertBibby

I can't see myself ever spending much of my spare time gardening

Ah well we've all been there. Gardening kinda gets you though. 5 or 6 years ago I was strictly a periodic mow 'n' slash kind of a girl, with a few desultory pots.

Now I'm patrolling my borders for slugs, my house is overrun with trays of seedlings, and I can't be trusted alone in garden centres with a bank card. So watch yourself

Oh wow I have found my garden twin!

Maybe start by growing fresh herbs that you can add to your cooking? Bushy plants like Bay Leaves and Rosemary plus mint etc. are very easy to grow and keep alive.

Another vote for a herb bed - rosemary, thyme, sage, mint and marjoram are all very easy to grow and several of those are Mediterranean so will like a dry spot anyway.

I'd be tempted to either decrease the height of the soil in the bed, or increase the height of the edging in front. I suspect part of your dry soil problem is probably caused by rain running off because the soil is higher than the edging.

Mint is a right thug, and should never be expected to share a bed, as it will overrun everything else. Keep mint in a pot.

But oregano marjoram and chives are easy peas, and the bees will love you for them.

I'd put a raised bed in. And grow lettuce, herbs - or put in rasberries or strawberries.

If you soil is not great you need to add manure and mulch and similar.

Improve the soil, watch a few you tube videos and grow easy stuff to start with.

I would put red currants along the back. They survive neglect

Then herbs in front. But most herbs spread so careful and often easier to pot herbs and dig pot into ground to contain.
Rosemary is ok, chives grow very easily, mint needs containing, thyme ok in ground, oregano spreads so contain.

You could fill any gaps with some low colourful rockery type alpine plants. Easy maintenance

Wow such great advice on here. So many options. Thank you all. MrsBertBibby I did smile at your post