Hi there. I have a friend that wants me to design a 'container garden' for their raised bed they have already built out of railroad ties. There are 2 sections that are triangular beds approx. 8' wide and 4.5' deep. I would assume they'd want the traditional 'thriller, filler and spiller' for this garden...however, I am concerned about the plants coming in contact with the creosote. I had originally hoped they could grow some climbing vines on it to hide the ugly thing...but was told they would not make it. The wall was already there so they recently added onto it to make their yard more level and here we are stuck trying to landscape it!

Any suggestions for how/what type of plantings to use in this raised bed? This section of the garden has quite a bit of shade.

Will the shrubs that are already planted on the top of the walled area be ok?

Thank you!