A vegetable garden does not have to be rows of monotonous green. It can be every bit as pleasing on the eye as any other style of garden. An area measuring 20ft by 20ft can produce a good range of crop varieties a stone’s throw from your kitchen.
Stepping out in to your garden to pick fresh vegetables, salad leaves, herbs and fruits for your meals is one of life’s pleasures. When landscaping an outdoor space, a vegetable garden can be beautiful, practical and provide for low maintenance gardening.
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
Let’s Get Started
Making raised beds part of your landscaping helps towards an attractive plot to grow your vegetables. Most vegetables need 6 to 8 hours sun each day, so once you have picked the best spot, it’s best to design your raised beds on paper before creating the plot.
Your beds do not have to be a traditional design as intriguing shapes can add to the aesthetics. Keep them between 3- to 4-foot-wide in order to easily reach all areas of the bed and provide enough room between each one for your pathways. Raised beds can make gardening easier too by reducing some of the need to bend.
By adding flowers in between vegetables you can add splashes of colour. Some flowers like those of the daisy family can attract insects which kill crop pests. Add in edible flowers too, plus herbs like chives which are not only great when added to salads but provide lovely purple flowers. Of course, another benefit of having flowers among your crops and garden borders is to attract important pollinators such as bees.
Choosing Your Crops
You may occasionally experiment with new varieties of vegetable types. Planting a couple of varieties of a crop type can benefit potential harvest. If you plant just one variety of tomato, for example, and for some reason it fails one year, you do not have another variety planted to fall back on.
Yet in choosing your crops to grow you can also look at colourful varieties to help make the plot more attractive still. Swiss chard has lovely coloured stalks while varieties of tomatoes and peppers have different shades of pretty colours.
Garden Accessories
Once your raised beds are up and running some accessories can help add to the beauty of the vegetable garden. You can consider putting up an entrance such as an arch to draw the eye in and make the area feel even more special.
If you have patio areas you can grow additional edible crops in containers, making sure those containers are colourful or an unusual design. Placing ornaments around your vegetable plot can also catch the eye and provide character to the space.
Just because you want to enjoy the delights of hand-picked crops right outside your kitchen does not mean you have to forego a beautiful garden.
Our landscape team at Glorious Gardens is happy to discuss these ideas in planning your garden. If you’re considering a “re-do” of your outdoor space, we invite you to call us. We will brainstorm to find the right blend of elements to suit your tastes, your budget and your space.
