The gravel bed with drought-resistant perennials in the centre of the new garden section draws the eye into the garden
From the very beginning, we wanted large and small beds of perennials to characterise the new part of the garden. The new, central gravel bed with drought-resistant perennials should play an important role in this. Its size alone, at around 60 square metres, should attract attention from the street.
Soon after completing the work on the new fence and marking it out in April 2024, we started preparing the ground for the new, large perennial bed. In many hours of work, especially in the evenings, we removed the turf, loosened the soil, removed roots and weeds and finally filled it with 6 tonnes of gravel with fine particles. By mid-May, the bed was ready and we waited for the perennials to be delivered and for the weather to be suitable. On Wednesday 29 May 2024, the time had come. The plants were delivered a few days earlier and the weather was favourable. With the help of another gardening enthusiast and, above all, a gardening expert from Wagrain, we started laying out and planting the perennials, which took almost the whole day.
The first pictures were taken on the day the plants were planted:
Almost 300 perennials and three evergreen yews (Taxus x media Hillii) were planted in the 50 square metre bed. We chose 22 different perennials for the planting. The yews, Panicum virgatum ‘Strictum’ and Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ give structure to the bed. Verbascum nigrum ‘Album’, Echinops ritro, Monarda fistulosa ‘Schneewittchen’, Achillea Millefolium-Hybride ‘Terracotta’ and Artemisia ludoviciana var. albula ‘Silver Queen’ are the dominant perennials. Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, Salvia nemorosa ‘Adrian’ and Nepeta racemosa ‘Superba’ are the most important companions.
And this is what the bed looks like at the moment, at the beginning of August 2024:
