Growing vertically
Make sure you get the most from your garden
As our gardens flourish into their all-singing, all-dancing summer abundance, now’s a good time to think about how to maximise space in your plot. Growing vertically is a good way to get the most from your garden, allotment or windowsill, and the more plants we tuck into our gardens, the better for our environment. It’s great news for us plantaholic gardeners!
Extending growing spaces upwards in our modern, eversmaller gardens allows gardeners to break out from the confines of their plot and grow a healthy amount of edible crops, too. This idea is an interesting blueprint for the future of food production, as the world attempts to feed an ever-increasing population using diminishing fertile land.
Try growing in a pallet: covering the bottom, back and sides with landscape fabric to prevent soil and plant coming loose and dropping out. Arrange your plants where you want them, then fill around their bases with compost. Leave the pallet flat for a week or two to encourage the roots to get comfortable, then turn it carefully on to its end and into its final position. Salads are great grown this way, interspersed with herbs and some bright edible flowers such as nasturtiums.
Put your trellises and walls to good use, too, with climbing plants, such as clematis, roses, wisteria and honeysuckle, and enlist recycled baskets or pots as mini hanging gardens.