EN wrote:
Good snowy afternoon

I wonder if anyone could come up with some creative ideas for
anything we could do with a round bed in the middle of the lawn.
It's about 2 metres across, raised about 2 brick height (though it's
actually surrounded by dry stones). In previous years I've stuck a
shrub in the middle with various odd things around but nothing seems
to quite work - or even survive!. The main problem I think, is that
it's in a part of the garden that's about 1000ft above sea level,
very exposed to wind and sun from every direction, Pennines. And a
long way from the water supply so it gets very dry in the summer.

I've dug in some nice new soil taken from somewhere else, and a big
bag of rotted cow manure, and - well, now what? We did think of
just getting rid of it and seeding over, but it's potentially a nice
little feature next to a footpath that goes through that part of the
garden, and could look nice for ramblers. There are a few old bulbs,
probably daffs, struggling through but that's all.

Sounds as though you could usefully start with your boundaries rather
than the bed in the middle. How about a good wind-break? Geoffrey Smith,
in a similar situation, says he couldn't garden without his Leylandii
hedge to create a micro-climate. I'm sure you could put together
something more interesting and natural-looking than Mr Leyland's
uinfortunate discovery: if this interests you, try Buckingham Nurseries'
website,
http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/guide-h-js.html

Even in the short term, Buckingham's site suggests trees for particular
situations, and has some ideas for a windy position. To my surprise,
they mention Philadelphus as wind-resistant; but it would look a bit
feeble on its own in the winter. If you don't insist on height, heaths
and heathers will do in such a position. If you can make it look
natural, a dirty great chunk of the local stone will flourish in the
middle: they're generally free of pests and diseases, don't seem to mind
an exposed site, and never need pruning. If the pocket is deep enough, a
statue?

--
Mike.