Plant suggestions for patio border / bed

3 years ago

Hi all, We have a patio at the back of our house with a small border / bed (approx 4m x 0.5m). I am looking for some ideas for a planting plan. At the moment the bed is empty as i have been putting in annuals for the past couple of years but quite like the idea of some perennials to keep some interest throughout the year.

Beyond the border the garden is approx 1m lower than the patio, so i dont want a lot of high plants, except on one side where the bed borders the boundary fence. I have a rough plan sketched below (border 1 is the bed in question, border 2 is at the lower level and has rosemary, sage, lavender, oregano and thyme)

I have also listed the plants available at our local stores as the garden centres are closed...

lobelia trailing sapphire

Petunia red

petunia milliflora

lobelia bush dark blue

marigold antigua orange

alyssum mixed

dahlia mixed

verbena bush apricot

peony (large) miss america, gilbert barthelot, bunker hill, ruby plena

tulip - green wave, sorbet, sweet rosie

aqualega

herbaceous - achillea, delphinium.

hollyhocks (tall, 6ft)

aqualega

bedding plants

antirrhinum mixed, yellow, pink

marigold antigua orange

african marigold yellow vanilla

alyssum - purple, mixed, white

dahlia

petunia

lobelia trailing - sapphire, white, blue, mixed

petunia - white, red, salmon, yellow, blue veined, veined mixed

lobelia bush - string of pearls, white, rose

picobella

dahlia tubers - spartacus,

wisteria, large,

erysuimum - stars and stripes

dwarf tulips

waxflower chamelaucium uncinatum

primula denticulata (drumstick primula) **

honeysuckle (climber)

ranunculus **

white daffs

Bougainvillea

cosmos

celosia

lithadora

platycoden

phlox

fuchsia

cotinus (large)

osteospermum **

large hydrangea

MORE LARGE SHRUBS

pyracantha coccinea (hedge, shrub)

Callistemon

viburnum tinus

skimmia japonica

leptospermum kea

ceanothus blue mound

cotoneaster congestus nana

piaris japonica little heat green

potentilla pink beauty, klondike,

pittosporum tenuifolium tom thumb

euonymus emerald gaiety

deutzia rosea

sambucus racemosa sutherland gold

deutzia hybrida, mont rose

buddleja blue chip

spiraea japonica shirobana

Azalea evergreen red

viburnum globosum jermyns globe

cysts silver pink

geranium

allium ostara

Euonymus japonicus 'White Spire' (PBR)

Jasmin 7.99

Anemone 2.99

Ivy leaf geranium velvet, artic rose **

aubretia purple, blue, red (ideal for rockeries, borders)

arum lily

polyanthus *

lewisia *

primulas

fritaleria

Fuchsia tubs *

Lisianthus *

passion flower

azaleas

lithadora

begonias

dianthus *

Buxus

peony (slow growing)

….

saxifraga

ceanothus

Bay trees

azaleas

eucalyptus

doronicum

broom

armeria thrift

pinks

campanula*

arenaria

forsythia

kalenchoes

arabis

senetti

hedera

armeria marittima

sweet william

platycode

Convolvulus cneorum (evergreen shrub)

erica

heather

andromeda

dahlia

celosia

erysimum

osteospurum

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Comments (4)

Sonia
3 years ago
Impressive list! There is a saying “Right Plant Right Place” so if the site is sunny or in shade will dictate what will grow there. Your last plant Osteospermum comes in lots of gorgeous colours and flower for a long time. They need sunshine. Eunoymous are good all rounders that grow anywhere and are evergreen. I particularly like hardy Geraniums (not the bedding plants) which have flowers in blues, pinks and mauves. Hemerocallis have lily like leaves in yellows and oranges. Crocosmia are a bit taller with strappy leaves and red or orange flowers. Of course there are many more plants but these are all pretty easy to grow.
rachelmidlands
3 years ago
Was also going to say that is an impressive list. Much more than I can get hold of 🙂 and I agree that it depends on how much sun or shade the border gets. Which direction does the back of the house face?

Had a good look through the list and a lot are seasonal bedding plants such as the lobelia, petunia, marigolds and so on which can still be useful to fill areas whilst the perennials settle in. I’ve compiled a shortlist of what I think could work well assuming it gets a fair amount of sun but even then in my experience choosing plants can be hit and miss. Some may take well while others may not.

Primula and polyanthus might prefer a shadier position but it’s my experience that they’ll grow anywhere.

Osteopermum, nice plant but better if you’re down south, mine died off in a sharp frost.

Peony (slow growing). Risky but a nice plant if it takes well.

Platycodon (Bellflowers or campanula), some can grow very tall but some are alpine variety so choose wisely.

Lithodora, Cistus (silver pink), Aubretia, Lewisia, Saxifraga, Armeria Thrift, Arenaria, Arabis,

Senetti are all rock/alpine plants I think and should do well in that border and won’t grow to high. They‘re quite often used in basket and container arrangements. The Cistus (or rock rose) is one of my favourite plants.

Two others that struck my interest are Deutzia Rosea which looks like it stays compact and Andromeda. I’m assuming it’s Andromeda polifolia ‘compacta’ (bog rosemary). Looks lovely and one for my own list. 😊

If you want some taller shrubs/ plants do a little more research as there some good options there.

Hope this helps. x
rapscalli thanked rachelmidlands
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What a nice design, I especially like the small border next to the patio, looks like a flowing stream almost. Will you be taking up the gravel/slate chips in order to plant things or planting through it? If keeping gravel then I imagine there is a weed membrane beneath so you’ll need to cut holes so plants can access the soil beneath. I’m no expert but for plants there are lots of choices. When choosing look on labels or web info for their eventual height and spread, sun aspect (wether it likes full sun/shade etc.), soil conditions, hardiness, and so on. So in your garden, areas 1 & 6 are north facing so I imagine it would get very little sun so plants like fatsia japonica, hostas, ferns, bergenia, which perfer shade would do well. There’s many more. There a website appropriately called Plants for Shade with lots of ideas. Area 2 & 3 by the back fence are you thinking a dense shrub to completely cover the fence or a sort of hedge higher up with ground cover underneath. If the latter have a look at standard or pleached trees/shrubs (I call them lollipop trees). I find red robin a little loose and airy but the red tips are nice. This site has some good ideas for standards: https://www.paramountplants.co.uk/clear-stem-trees.html For ground cover or front plants, lots to choose from. Hardy geraniums are a good all rounder, dies back in winter and needs a trim but otherwise no bother. Area 4. Both choices are lovely and there are lots of acer varieties. I do like the look of the Viburnum Mariesii tho....I’d go for that. Area 5. Buxux can sometimes suffer with box blight. There‘s alternatives like ilex crenata and certain varieties of pittosporum and eunonymous which could work. Personally I’d go for something a little less formal. Maybe something that forms neat little mounds. Alpine plants and small sedums perhaps. Too many to name but I have a saxifrage ‘Peter pan‘ which is a clumpy evergreen and thrift which does well in a confined sunny space. Small ornamental grasses would also work well. I noticed in your other post asking what plants for around the water feature. Besides the shade loving plants mentioned how about canna lillies in tall pots. They’re quite tender and need a good amount of TLC but a stunning statement. Would also compliment the bamboo (in separate containers) if you wanted it. If you like the tropical look this might give you some ideas as well: https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/plants-for-a-jungle-style-border/ Sorry for waffling on. Hope this helps. canna lily
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rapscalli
Original Author
3 years ago
thanks for the reply. It is a sunny spot, south east facing.

For the plants you have suggested, how many would I need for. 4m X 0.5m border?,
rachelmidlands
3 years ago
Difficult to say as I’m the kind of gardener that shoves things in and hope they grow 🤣. Also depends on the individual plants because some grow bigger than others. Always best to do a little research on each plants eventual height and spread and growth habit. The osteospermum or peony for example (if it’s the type I’m thinking of) would probably take about 50+ sq cm. The alpine plants would probably look better in groups of three but expect them to spread at least twice their width in the first year or so. Personally I would try to go for group planting with the smaller plants rather than alternating different plants as I think this looks more natural but you can always ask your local garden nursery for more advice.

Couple of pics of my garden. 1st is rock rose (forget the proper name but it’s pink), not in flower yet, the flowers you see are creeping phlox. 2nd is aubretia. Notice how they tumble over the wall to maximise the amount of sun they get. That’s kinda why I think they’ll look great on your raised border.
rapscalli thanked rachelmidlands

Plant suggestions for patio border / bed

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Sonia

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