Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello, I need advise please on my raised Bed , it is full of very stoney topsoil & compost mix, Delphiniums & Irises grow well in it but once they go over it is quite bare , I want to plant a drought tolerant & windproof plants in it , as we are on top of a hill the wind is quite bad & added to that it only gets Sun from 11am onwards in the day, what would you suggest I grow please ? I do want colour as it is outside our bedroom window, Thanks Connie

Good afternoon, Connie, I think I would be sowing some hardy annuals….cornflowers, calendula, antirrhinum, nasturtium and there are many, many more…keep them dead headed and they will flower all summer.
Hope that helps a little.

If you want perennial flowers to keep the colour going later in the year you could try Geranium Roxanne, Rudbeckia Goldsturm and a Sedum say Autumn Joy.

Also, dwarf nepeta, lavender and cottage pinks….

You might have to extend your raised bed, Connie….

Think over a period of time I,d also try and remove some of the bigger stones if you have a nearby council tip you can take them to.. I don't know who,s responsible for mowing your lawn, but adding some grass cuttings and other rotted down material if you,re able to have room for a small compost heap will enable you to Improve the well-being of your plant and if it,s windy help retain more moisture in the soil.

Thankyou for all your replies, have considered annuals but would prefer perennials, I thought maybe some Dahlias( as I love them) would be nice, but worried about wind damage, also think I do need to remove some of the gravel in the bed & top dress it this Autumn

If you are worried about wind damage, try the shorter dahlia varieties, as the taller ones fall over without much encouragement. Agapanthus are also pretty resilient. Good luck!

Thanks everyone