Just finished planting up this planter and I’m going for a Mediterranean-style look. Would love some honest opinions, does it look finished or do you think it needs something else added?
Also looking for advice on what to put on the soil to help stop weeds. I was thinking cream or white stones/gravel to fit the Mediterranean vibe, but I’m worried they’ll end up sinking into the soil or becoming a pain to maintain later. Would mulch be the better option instead? Interested to hear anything else that worked form you or could work!
by Mental-Flan265
17 Comments
That fence lets down the entire vibe 😬 And no, don’t use gravel or stones. Premium bark chips will be much more effective and trouble free.
Anything else added plant-wise would be squished once stuff starts growing, this looks to be the perfect plant to space ratio. If you wanted to fill the gaps until the plants are bigger, I’d get some terracotta/earthenware urns to place between the plants, some big rockery stones and large shell or two. It looks lovely!
Definitely don’t add any more plants! Looks done and in a few seasons time you might need to pull a couple out depending on how well those hebes love the spot and what variety of lavender you have.
(Beautiful planting combination btw I’m in love, it’s going to look phenomenal if they all love the spot!)
These plants love sharp drainage so wouldn’t stress about using stones to mulch.
I would add a thin layer just to make it look smart while it grows in/to keep the pests off but I wouldn’t worry about doing it thickly as I would for a true mulch, at least until I know I’m not going to need moving anything. I’d go for a grit in terms of size of the stones and wouldn’t worry about colour because in a couple seasons you aren’t really going to have much bare soil on show if they do grow in well.
Bit random, but, how have you mounted the stuff to your concrete fence posts? They look drilled. I have the same but I haven’t plucked up the courage to drill into them yet for fear of cracking them.
This looks great but will certainly fill out so you don’t need anymore plants as some are quite close. I second the comment on the bark instead of stones, it looks better and more natural and is great at surpressing weeds. I love the Lilac, theyll get quite big and bushy though so will mean the plants under will be in a lot of shade eventually.
I think it looks great. The plant spacing looks good to me as they will grow and fill the gaps.
I would add some horticultural grit or gravel to the top, as you suggested. We did it with our olive tree (in a large pot) and it looks great. Some weeds still appear but not too many. If you want to minimise the weeds, you could add a layer of cardboard and then put the gravel on top of that. The gravel doesn’t sink into the soil though so you could just add the gravel on top of the soil.
I actually quite like the fence. It has a silvery grey quality to it that is appealing to me. Personal preference though.
This is so thoughtfully laid out and lovely. Well done!
Do you have a watering solution – drip feeder or micro irrigation?
I think it looks great. Personally I wouldnt add a weed suppressant as it’s not a large area. Just weed it occasionally.
I think it looks great. You might have to remind yourself it’s all going to grow in and fill up nicely, it will just need some time and patience. I think I’d just go with mulch and give it at least a year to mature. I like a weathered fence so I can’t say much about the colour as I don’t mind it – I’m over grey houses but natures grey fence is fine with me.
Maybe paint the larch lap fencing a colour or various colours
If you have a hedgehogs agree with neighbours to cut a hole in the fence to allow safe passage
If you can’t paint the fence, I’d grow some climbers up there to hide it (passion flower, evergreen clematis, star jasmin). The lilacs will create ground shade once grown so keep a look out for your ground planting getting leggy (keep well pruned). I would use bark nuggets instead of stones – better for the soil.
Bougainvillea trained along the fence will finish this off and hide the fence
Silly question, how do you roughly build something like this? Assuming block work and render?
I’ve got a very similar planter bed , and have added some jasmine to climb along the fence behind.
I think this looks great. Calm, uncluttered and very well balanced. The lilac standards were a smart choice because they add height and seasonal colour without making the space feel boxed in.
I also like the restraint. A lot of people try to cram too many plants into narrow beds, but this has enough breathing space for each plant to stand out properly. The Japanese maple finishes it off nicely.
On your question about weed control, obviously any of your suggestions will do the job quite well. It’s really a matter of personal taste. I rather like the idea of cream or white gravel type stones because they would complement the lovely raised planter. There would be a tendency for them to sink a little over time but I would then just add a few more. No harm done. Perhaps cream would blend and look better than white. I think mulch, though horticulturally it may be the best option, would not look so good in your setting.