Suggestions for sunny flower bed

Hello,

I am a complete beginner as a gardner. I have a very sunny raised flower bed (6ft by 10ft) that needs some suggestions please. At present it has some lobia, but all the pansies and viola I planted in spring have died off.

I would like some colour through September and the coming autumn months. Also I would like to know when it would be best to plant blubs, because come spring time I would love to see a mass of daffodils, blue bells and lily of the vally?

I've just finished off digging out the dead plants, not sure if that was a good move or not as wondered if they might just die back and then spring into life next year? The plan was to put some fresh peat and prepare the soil before planting again, so again advise would be much appreciated please?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks Sally

 

Do you want perennials that come back year after year, Sally, or do you want annuals that will die after one season?

I'm not well up on annuals, but you have a good choice of perennials. There's a huge range of asters, for example. I love heleniums and there are some phlox paniculata varieties that are late flowerers. Crocosmia is just getting into its stride here in Cumbria, and of course there are dahlias, but I tend to treat them as annuals as I've had very little success trying to overwinter the corms. Japanese anemones are also great autumn flowers. I'm sure you'll get lots of other suggestions too. If you want to plant perennials you're a bit late to have them flowering well this year, but they'd be great for next year.

As for bulbs, the garden centres are starting to be full of them, so now is the time (or maybe just a bit later - what does everyone else think?)

 

Hi Sally,

Bluebells wont spread much in full sun, they need the shade of a woodland in the summer. Although daffs & snowdrops are also woodland flowers they seem to thrive a little better.

Cowslips & primroses are welcome spring harbingers, grassland flowers will do ok in the sun, snakeshead fritilary would be good.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/329.shtml

I'll stop there because i'd start to go thru a complete list of native grassland plants & bore the t**s off everybody :dh:

 

Welcome to the forum Sally.
Some good suggestions there from Lorna.
Also for a raised sunny bed things which do well over a long period and well into the autumn are Lavender and Perovskia (Russian sage). Both are still available in flower in the garden centres. Mine have been flowering for months and still doing it.

I agree with Ziggy about the Bluebells and Lily of the Valley is the same. They are both woodland plants and like it damp and shady under trees. If you really want to have them you could try them in containers on the shady side of the house.

The garden centres all have their new bulb supplies in now and you can plant any time from here on in.
You might also want to plant some wallflower. The garden centres have them now. Some of them will give you some colour now and a great show in the spring.
I hope your bed works out the way you want it.

 

hello Sally - far too many choices ahead of you but please be cautious with bluebells and especially lily of the valley which I have in abundance since they spread themselves all over and soon can become a nuisance.
Lots of good garden centres around and some can offer a wide choice of perennial and annual plants. As already said the spring bulbs are in the centres now as well as some winter pansies, etc.
Enjoy planning your garden and seeing it in flower.