Tag Archives: Vegetables

Side Gardens

 

Lattice trellis with rose obelisks and underplanting

Lattice trellis with rose obelisks and underplanting

A corner plot provides a great opportunity to develop a side access into a useful and attractive side garden which links the front and back gardens.  We included a new screened boundary in our design for this side garden in Mill Hill and light paving to give a bright aspect for sitting out.

 

 

Mill Hill Garden

Boundary Hedging and Fences

The side garden is next to a residential road and has a protected hawthorn hedge inside mesh fencing along its boundary. The hedge has been pruned and supplemented with new hawthorns for greater density.  It is on a raised bank with retaining sleepers and a new lattice trellis fence on the inside provides extra privacy.

Planting Design for Screening and Interest 

Obelisk with Rosa 'Golden Showers'

Obelisk with Rosa ‘Golden Showers’

Variegated Euonymus ‘Silver Queen’ , cone shaped Box plants and rose obelisks planted with Rosa ‘Golden Showers’ will grow to provide good coverage against the lattice screen.

 

 

 

 

Heucheras, geraniums and Stipa

Lively plant combination of heucheras and geraniums

These shrubs are interplanted with Heuchera ‘Lime Marmalade’, Geranium ‘Max Frei’, Stipa tenuissima and thymes. The scheme is cheerful and provides a long period of interest.

 

 

 

 

Patio and Pathway

Pathway to shed, gaTe and veg area

Limestone paving to shed, veg area and gate

We chose Vintage Limestone as a robust and light paving. The side garden is wide enough to have a patio area on to the lawn at the rear of the property.   The sunny end even has space to grow some vegetables and herbs. Beside the vegetable area is a useful shed and attractive gate and railings which match the front of the property.

 

Vegetable Gardens

The pleasure of growing vegetables

Diverse selection  of fruit and vegetables

Vegetable and Fruit Display at City Harvest Festival

Vegetable gardens combined with ornamental planting are both practical and attractive. There needn’t be  a large amount of vegetables just enough to manage and to enjoy the better flavour of home produce.   Children love growing food they like to eat and it can be the start of a passion for gardening in later life. 

Leaf and Acre enjoyed the day at the City Harvest Festival at Capel Manor and awarded prizes of a new garden design and planting design to the lucky winners of our competition. The vegetable displays showed just how much pleasure there is in harvesting a                                               huge range of produce from gardens and allotments.

 

Making the most of space in a small garden

Veg Terrace-Sept 6The patio garden here is the upper part of a long and narrow garden. It benefits from lots of sun.  The design maximises the area for growing vegetables. It includes a mini-greenhouse and modular wall planter. The arch is clothed in a thornless blackberry and leads the way to the lower lawn area with dwarf apple trees. The beds include lavenders, thyme and flowers intermingled with the vegetables and have roses and jasmine on trellis behind them.

 

Including climbers and flowering plants

American pillar rose and agastache

Agastache and roses make a lovely backdrop to a vegetable border

Climbers such as roses and jasmine look good behind a vegetable border in the garden. Agastache, salvias, rosemary, lavender and thymes are easily combined and bring floral interest before the vegetables mature.

 

 

 

 Protection from pests

Frame with netting to protect vulnerable crops from birds.

Attractive frame with netting to protect vulnerable crops from birds.

Unfortunately, pests often have to be considered to get the best yield from our crops.  This netted area still looks attractive and keeps the pigeons from taking fruit or trampling young crops.  Fine gravel and copper impregnated strip also deters the slugs.

 

 

 

Design solutions

There are many design solutions for vegetable gardens including raised vegetable planters with seating, and arches and pergolas with grapes, fruit, peas and beans.  You may have seen the magnificent examples on a grand scale at the recent ‘Incredibles’ exhibition at Kew Gardens.  Here the formal borders were even planted with colourful vegetables.