Planting a flower bed in a patio

[Rapscallion]

Hi all,

I have a new patio in our garden and have a bed i would like to sue for flowers.
I have never bought any flowers so have no clue as to what to buy or what could grow in the spot! I hope to get some annuals that i can plant out this weekend to give some quick colour, and possible some perennials that can give it a bit of 'structure'.
What plants would you recommend i could get that could give some quick colour?

The garden / patio faces SE so gets plenty of sun, but i would say the left hand side goes into shade earlier in the day.


PS, i have put a question in 'The Herb Bed'' forum asking about herbs for the bottom bed.

[nickdub]

In order to make the most of the space I would start with something with a bit of height towards the back. I like to get the most for my money, so usually go with lovely flowers which also have a good scent - how about a rose to begin with ? May be try your local garden center, as you will be able to see/smell them in flower at this time of year.

[Rapscallion]

Hi Nick, let me take a look in our local garden centre.
I was thinking i would be mostly getting annuals initially until i get i firmer idea of how i want the bed looking long term.
Having said that i do have two rose plants in pots that aren't doing so well so could put those in the bed as an interim solution.

[veggiechicken]

Hi Raps
If you have a young child, are the rose thorns going to be a problem.
There are plenyt of bedding plants and fuchsias on sale at the moment if you wnt a quick fix.

[nickdub]

Hi Nick, let me take a look in our local garden centre.
I was thinking i would be mostly getting annuals initially until i get i firmer idea of how i want the bed looking long term.
Having said that i do have two rose plants in pots that aren't doing so well so could put those in the bed as an interim solution.

I'd definitely recommend getting the roses planted in the bed - they do much better in the ground and benefit most form heavy doses of barnyard manure in the Autumn - if you can get an idea of the eventual height of things you're putting in as that helps with placement. Annuals are a wonderful way to quickly cheer up a space and give the neighborhood insects something to go at.

If you like them nasturtiums can be fun, particularly for kids, as they grow quickly and you can also eat the flowers and/or seeds in salads.

[Rapscallion]

I do have two young boys - one aim of this bed is to keep the boys from the edge, but maybe a thorny bush isn't such a good idea there...

[Rapscallion]

PS, regarding height, as i want to be able to see the garden thought that i would like to keep the height of plants to 30 to 45cm, and not too dense if on the taller side of that. I could have some tall / narrow plants such as giant chives they wouldn't block much of the view of the garden so i could keep an eye on the boys....

[nickdub]

PS, regarding height, as i want to be able to see the garden thought that i would like to keep the height of plants to 30 to 45cm, and not too dense if on the taller side of that. I could have some tall / narrow plants such as giant chives they wouldn't block much of the view of the garden so i could keep an eye on the boys....

That criteria will dictate what you should pent then - if you fancy something like a perennial for a warm spot, then I always think Heleniums are under-rated

[HoneyChild]

There are probably many suggestions but I like cistus (aka rock rose). I bought a plant for £2 out of Morrisons. It has a pretty rose flowers but no thorns. In fact the leaves are soft, furry and everygreen. Mine has just started flowering and should continue flowering through next month as well.

[rary]

Personally I think you will have to buy potted plants now l, and would go for dahlias and lilies for height and marigolds and begonias for ground cover, I think going for annuals is now a bit late, though your area might he a lot different from mine, and as HoneyChild has pointed out you can get them at the supermarkets which are a lot cheaper than gardencenters.
By the way how high is 30to_45cm. in inches?

[Babru]

I like to have something out every month of the year or as near as possible. The trick is to visit your garden centre every month or two and buy something in flower at that time, then you should get a spread of colour over every season, rather than everything being over in a couple of months.

I find Morrisons a great place for cheap, quality perennial plants, that will come back every year.

[robbra]

Rary,
I have this problem too. 30cm is 12", I remember as it's the size of an LP. Seed packets, sow at 1.5cm. I also hate celsius/centigrade and have all my weather pages set in farenheit, I know 75f but have no idea what 20c is(looked it up 68f).
Weather forecasters on about 5cm rainfall, next they'll decimalise time with 100 minutes to the hour and 10 hours a day.
All being forced on us by the media etc.
Rob (the curmudgeon)

[rary]

^^^^I can work with litres, but have problems with kg. and cm. and temp. I should ask what is an LP but would just 've kidding, my mother told me about them