Hi,
My husband has made a 4 by 6 raised bed out of treated 2x10's, to raise up some from the extremely salty dirt/fill we have. This is one of several raised beds we have planned. I need suggestions for what to plant and wheret. In the left rear corner, I've planted a duranta (came in a one-gallon). I have a small triangle palm to plant in the bed as well. (Other palms will be in other spots in the yard.) The other plants I am considering so far are porterweed, Mexican heather, rosemary (prostrate or regular), and Texas lantana.. I had figured that the triangle palm (which will not be very big to start with.; think the place I'm buying from has it in a 5-gallon pot) would go on the righthand side. But might it work in the middle, not fighting the duranta too much since the palm's fronds point upward? The bed is about 2 feet from the side of the yard, marked by a rope fence. I don't know what exactly will go behind it, but the 4x6 bed will probably be surrounded by another bed,not raised, edged with regular black edging. Would it look stupid to have porterweed behind the bed, between it and the rope fence?
I try to pay attention to the spread/spacing data given, but that left me with just the duranta, the palm and one other plant. Surely I could plant more than that? Suggestions? I am a novice.
my 4 by 6 raised bed
Deck, I don't know anything about what will grow in your area. But I know that when I've filled my own beds, I really FILLED them. That meant that a couple of years later I had to start moving things out and finding somewhere else to put them.
Whether or not you want to do that is strictly up to you. I don't mind because it means my beds are full in the meantime, and we enjoy that. And, I'm one of those people who can't just sit and ENJOY. I do some of that, but mostly I WANT to be puttering around and moving things and digging things and all that stuff. So I never expect any of my beds to be finished. But you may have a different goal.
I think I'm not a sit-and-enjoy type, but since my husband has to do most of the physical aspects of gardening due to my own limitations, I think I'm going to have to learn to sit and enjoy. As for what plants will work for us, I have been researching like crazy. The plants I mentioned *should* work fine, but I'll need to expand my list, I think. I appreciate your thoughts on this and welcome other thoughts and ideas, particularly on how much to plant, or looks/textures/heights I should be thinking of.
Well, I can't offer much about specific plants because I'm a long way from any salt and sand (unfortunately!). We just have hard clay around here, and a lot colder weather, so it's a whole different ballgame.
That said, I love planning new flower beds, even someone else's. LOL!
It sounds to me as if you already have good contrasting textures. The bright green, more rounded leaves of Mexican heather will contrast well with your blue-green rosemary and your more elongated palm. What about height? I'm not familiar with your palm. If it doesn't get taller than 2-3 feet, you could add a hardy hibiscus, or a small flowering tree of some kind, to add more height and serve as another anchor.
One thing I always admire in beds with palms is the use of rocks. A semi-large rock always provides a great contrast to palms--texture, size and color. Plus, of course, they don't require water or fertilizer. :)
You have a lot of different greens--what about something with purple or burgundy foliage? Right now I can only think of annuals, but maybe someone will jump in with a suggestion for your zone.
As for flower color, you've got duranta (blue?), rosemary (blue), and Mexican heather (purple). The lantana will add orange/yellow (?). You didn't say what color porterweed you want, but there are blue & red varieties. So how about a nice clump of something white, or pale pink? Maybe something low-growing to fill in around the other things. I was picturing sweet alyssum, but there might be other things that would grow better in your area. If you like larger flowers, dwarf Shasta daisies fill that purpose for me.
One plant I added a few years ago that I really like is the Texas yellow primrose. It has a lacy texture and the flowers are a paler yellow than the other yellows in my garden. It's a hardy native, so it doesn't require much care, and it doesn't take over the bed. It grows about 12 inches high. Very pretty in front of the medium-height blues.
All of the salvias are great in a bed like this. I like them all, but right now my favorites are the coral ones. Another native is yarrow. Both of these plants do well in most of Texas, come in a wide variety of colors, and require almost no care. They'll both get tall their first year, though, and the yarrow floppy, so you'd probably want something in front.
Well, that was fun! Hope it gives you some ideas.
You may want to go with something other than Lantana for your yellow and orange. My lantana is cut down to 6" sticks every late winter. By late fall, it has grown into a 4' X 4' shrub. It is a butterfly attractor, though. A more attractive shrub is a firebush. It attracts loads of yellow sulfur butterflies and hummingbirds. Here, it is cut down to the ground by frost. In your area it should fare much better.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/cemap/firebush/firebush.html
As the bed is 4 x 6, do you think both Lantana and Hamellia will dwarf everything else?
As said, I am not familiar with plants that will do well in your area ~ will have to do some research. In a bed that size, I would stay with three colors ~ otherwise looking too busy. I think the greens, purples and either a yellow or brilliant orange would be delightful...
Deck, we have vacationed in your area on Mustang Island for the last 2 years. didn't get to come this year but have been checking with gessiegail for which nurserys are the best. Of course, I can't find my list now but if you d-mail her, I know she can help. She lives in Taft not far from Port Arthur and I know that is your next door neighbor. Everytime we have been there I have wanted to stop at the nurserys we see on the side of the highway. Beautiful plants. They can help you and would be glad to do so. Good luck.
LouC
Wow, thanks y'all. I will definitely investigate your suggestions, pbtxlady. I really appreciate your detailed ideas! I think hamelia is too big for that bed, for sure. Maybe the lantana is too big. The duranta has gorgeous yellow-orange berries, so I'm definitely going for that color, as well as the blueish purple. Porterweed in blue is what I was thinking. I recently thought about using bulbine. The palm grows to 20-30 feet but will start at 4-5 feet. A rock might well work nicely.. I've actually met gessiegail, so maybe I can get her input too. LouC, I gave you lots of info on garden centers via messages a couple of months ago; too bad you didn't get your trip in this year.
You sure did. There has been a lot of water over my bridge since then and I do well to remember my name. hahahaha