hi :) lots of help needed for young beginners!

Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my post.
Me and my partner are relatively new to gardening. We have a new house, and as usual they are so tightly packed that our garden is quite overlooked. We have put trelis up right the way round the garden and are planning to make a raised bed at the back.
So if i start there... We are planning to use the same sleepers as we have else where in our garden to make the bed. Im not sure how high we would need to go, our garden is sloped (hence the beds, trying to make use of unused sloped space) my partner seems to think 2 sleepers high will be enough, with 1 half under the ground. Do we have to put some kind of base down first or can we put sleeper straight into the ground? Also im not sure if the compost will come slightly over the fence, so what would be the best thing to use to protect it from rot etc?? How do the sleepers have to be laid? Can we just put them next to each other or do they have to overlap?
Unfortunately even though our garden gets ALOT of sun, because the bed would be infront of the fence it would be quite shaded I think. Im hoping for some advice as to what shrubs, small trees etc would be suitable. We would like things that are fairly easy to maintain, small trees for height (privacy) and also colour. We also have the two fan trelis so ideas of climbing plants for them would also be appreciated. I have attached photos so I hope they come out ok.
To give you an idea we will start the bed from the edge of the sleeper (bottom left of picture) and it will follow the garden round to the edge of the shed (top right of picture) so it will almost be the same shape as the shaded area in the photo!! The photos were taken at 11.40am to give you an idea of the position of the sun the rest of the day (maybe...)
I hope this all makes sense. We really are quite clueless, but dont have the money to pay for professionals! So we are trying our best, but were keen to learn and love gardening
Thanks in advance for all your help and advice
Emily

 

Thank you Marley I will look those up and make a note of them. We have other climbers in our garden Jasmine and chocolate vine I think, they both die off in the winter, I didn't know you could get evergreen climbers!

 

Hi

Dont worry too much about the sleepers - if they are genuinely retired from the railway, then they are treated not to rot.

Offsetting them in a brick type pattern will build strength into the structure.

There are scores of photos here: Hundreds of inspiring photos and projects using railway sleepers and other landscaping materials

This link shows quite detailed construction. I cant speak to his sense of aesthetics though!
http://www.railwaysleeper.com/Railway sleepers - Vegetable raised beds.htm

 

Bump bump bump!

 

Hi

I live in a modern house garden too. When we moved in 2004 it was literally rubble and soil! Still find lumps of mortar if I dig down!

The thing I find about it, is that it is very dry through the summer - I think modern houses tend to have a lot of drainage built in underneath. So the soil can be parched in summer even in the shade. So start by digging in lots of manure to retain some moisture.

Dry shade can be difficult. But we have had success with fatsia, acers, ivy, smaller plants like bergenia and a fern that likes dry shade is Dryopteris filix-mas. Our shady beds also are full! of foxgloves which give a gorgeous summer show and we have hellebores and woodruff too. The front of the beds get a bit more sun so where we get a hint of sunlight other plants can be grown, I bung a few sunflowers in each year right at the front because the kids love watching them grow.

I have 2 clematis at the front in partial shade - just remember to keep them well watered. Mine do OK but they're in pots which limits their potential a lot.

Enjoy discovering what works! And what doesn't is just a learning curve. Acers do make lovely small trees, I am currently planning another from my front shady bed.

Kate