[azk404]

Hello,
I finally have a garden of my own so starting to get to work on it and I have a couple questions to start.

1. I have a 150cm olive tree to put in a large pot and I'd like to add 1-2 other flowers around it for colour. I have some lavender which I read is fine but when it comes to other companion plants is it ok to add mostly any other flower as long as it has similar soil conditions and relatively pest free? Options I have are:
- Aubrieta Audrey Purple
- Kupferteppish Acaena
- Arabis Caucasica

2. I'll be starting a compost bin this year but realistically the only place it can go where it will get sun is on solid tiled ground. Can this still work and should I add my own beneficial bugs?

3. As for compost bits, flower/veg beds whats wood is best to use? Heat treated non chemical?

Cheers
A

[mrs bouquet]

I hve two olive trees one is abut 15 ft tall, the other like yours in a tub.  I do not underplant because of the watering and soil conditions etc.    Perhaps you could try succulents   Good luck,  Mrs Bouquet

[Yorkie]

If you have an alternative location for the compost bin which is more shaded but not on tiled ground, I'd probably go with that.

As for the wood for the compost bin or edged beds, I'd look for something that is pressure treated.  Or just pallets for the compost bin.

[Subversive_plot]

I won't venture a guess on question #1, but for the compost bin, I would agree that a better location would be somewhere shaded.  You can use pressure treated (but avoid pressure treated that contains arsenic  ) or pallets (pallets are also sometimes treated with chemicals too).  An alternative to that is cedar.  There is also decking material that is made from recycled plastic, if that is available (can be expensive though). My compost bins are made of sheets of brown-colored plastic lattice which I have formed into cylindrical bins (lattice recycled from another project).

[jezza]

Hello the olive tree I'd leave open,compost bins can be made of 4 posts and wire netting let's air in,depending were you are in the country theres Brent scaffold boards in East Yorkshire that sell reject boards9 inch ×13 foot   I use to get them for £6 each but price has probably gone up   jezza