Raised bed ideas wanted

Prefect_1998

Hi. First time poster. I have a raised bed and I am looking for some ideas. I would like to have a semi tropical looking area and wI'll put a large stature of some sort but it's the plants and flowers I have no idea. The area at the back of the shed on the left gets very little direct sun. I was thinking some ferns maybe. Some colour would be nice.

On one end of the raised area I have herbs and the other end I have some small fruit trees.

I have zero gardening experience and and struggling with this. I think I know what I want but I am not sure if it's fea Sible.

Any help or advice would be fantastic

pwurple

Tropical will work well in a shaded area. You have an unrendered block wall there I assume you want to hide? So go tall, go big, and go green. Looks relatively sheltered too.

At the back corner, go for a tracycarpus fortunii. Looks like a palm tree... but it is frost hardy here.
Fatsia japonica has huge leaves, pop it in there in front of it. And beside that, go with a big phormium, these have huge strappy leaves (any colour you fancy). Give both plenty of space.


All along the edges, go for ferns, loads of them. mix them all up, any your local garden center has.

And then fill in the gaps behind those ferns with bedding or annuals each year, in hot colors like yellow, orange, red, hot pink. Cosmos, dahlia, begonia, petunia, Gazania etc. couple of trays of those, scattering of fertilizer and you are sorted.

You could go with the hardy banana as well... Musa Basjoo. And there are hardy orchids too, but these might be for you in a few years, once the structure shapes up.

Things to not plant... which might come up when you googled ask at a garden center.
Horsetail. They are beyond invasive.
Crocosmia, as above.
Dicksonia... tree fern, very expensive and needs minding, wrapping in blankets for winter.
Hosta. These are just slug food. Your raised bed is not raised high enough to dissuade slugs.

Bamboo... can be invasive also, but might suit you. On the fence on that.

Prefect_1998

Wow thanks a million. Yes i have a huge 25mt un rendered wal to hide this is just the 1/3 od the garden i can do this year.

I was thinking also to have it sloped...But I think bigger specimens at the back perhaps.. I will start googlin the names you have posted.

I saw some phenix chanarasis in gargen centre and though they would look great but not sure how big they will get

pwurple wrote: »

Tropical will work well in a shaded area. You have an unrendered block wall there I assume you want to hide? So go tall, go big, and go green. Looks relatively sheltered too.

At the back corner, go for a tracycarpus fortunii. Looks like a palm tree... but it is frost hardy here.
Fatsia japonica has huge leaves, pop it in there in front of it. And beside that, go with a big phormium, these have huge strappy leaves (any colour you fancy). Give both plenty of space.


All along the edges, go for ferns, loads of them. mix them all up, any your local garden center has.

And then fill in the gaps behind those ferns with bedding or annuals each year, in hot colors like yellow, orange, red, hot pink. Cosmos, dahlia, begonia, petunia, Gazania etc. couple of trays of those, scattering of fertilizer and you are sorted.

You could go with the hardy banana as well... Musa Basjoo. And there are hardy orchids too, but these might be for you in a few years, once the structure shapes up.

Things to not plant... which might come up when you googled ask at a garden center.
Horsetail. They are beyond invasive.
Crocosmia, as above.
Dicksonia... tree fern, very expensive and needs minding, wrapping in blankets for winter.
Hosta. These are just slug food. Your raised bed is not raised high enough to dissuade slugs.

Bamboo... can be invasive also, but might suit you. On the fence on that.

pwurple

Yes, Phoenix are fab looking, but I lost two to hard frosts. How cold does it get there?

Prefect_1998

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, Phoenix are fab looking, but I lost two to hard frosts. How cold does it get there?

Not to bad we did have snow this year but it was not as bad as other places. Its dublin 11 so not million miles from sea

I got some ferns and some cordaline today. Might get some dwarf bamboo to cover the wall

Prefect_1998

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, Phoenix are fab looking, but I lost two to hard frosts. How cold does it get there?

What about
LIVISTONA ROTUNDIFOLIA ?

Prefect_1998

hi guys so i got some plants etc, and the center piece that i want to surround, still very unsure about the layout.

i have added a pic

Prefect_1998

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, Phoenix are fab looking, but I lost two to hard frosts. How cold does it get there?

where is the best place to get a specimen of a Tree...

looksee

I'd be inclined to bring the head towards the front corner and put ferns either side of it/a bit behind. Put the big fern (in the red pot on the angle of the timber on the right wall, if that is the shadier wall, and the two Phoenix on the other wall - but not too close (how big do they get?) one to the angle of the wall and one to the left. Then put the two phormiums (?) in the middle of the bed.To get a tropical look you would need some low growing green between them, or gravel, or a mixture. I think I would go for a mixture - think ajugas, sedums, maybe a prostrate ceanothus for colour.

Prefect_1998

looksee wrote: »

I'd be inclined to bring the head towards the front corner and put ferns either side of it/a bit behind. Put the big fern (in the red pot on the angle of the timber on the right wall, if that is the shadier wall, and the two Phoenix on the other wall - but not too close (how big do they get?) one to the angle of the wall and one to the left. Then put the two phormiums (?) in the middle of the bed.To get a tropical look you would need some low growing green between them, or gravel, or a mixture. I think I would go for a mixture - think ajugas, sedums, maybe a prostrate ceanothus for colour.

I have changed out the head. Its too small will be lost. I am getting a good few more germs and some grasses. I want to have a second row of colour if posible then big row of palms etc.. I might draw it out in cad.

Prefect_1998

latest photo added, i need to really get some more plants this weekend

Shedite27

Looking to do something similar with a raised bed.

@danielle_door any chance of an updated pic to see what it looks like 2 years later?

@pwurple I love the tracycarpus fortunii and thinking of getting some for the garden. Any diea what type of radius I need to allow for them? Both while planting and when they get fully grown?