A feast for the eyes
Why hide veg away when it can be a truly delicious addition to your borders?
WHEN I was a nipper in rural Northamptonshire, my parents had a large vegetable patch that was deliberately tucked away behind a tall conifer hedge. There was a good reason for this extreme segregation. At the time, veggies were considered functional things that would spoil the look of the garden.
Our attitude towards edibles has changed a lot over the years, thanks largely to a number of high-profile chefs making growing your own food trendy.
Nevertheless, some still think that crops are best relegated to the bottom of the garden or confined to allotments, where they’re grown in a regimental fashion.
Yet edibles don’t have to be the poor relation. All you need to do is choose vegetables, fruit and herbs that have attractive leaves, stems, flowers or fruit, or boast architectural good looks, and they won’t appear out of place alongside perennials, shrubs or other ornamental plants in the garden. It’s possible to use them to turn any space into a pretty, but productive edible garden. A few key plants can be squeezed into an average bed or border, while if you have more room you can create a potager, a fusion of edibles and flowers. Even a tiny plot can accommodate a collection of attractive crops arranged in containers.
Bare patches of soil between perennials and other ornamentals are perfect for plugging with attractive edibles. Angelica, globe artichokes, cardoon and feathery bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’) are perfect at the back of displays due to their height and architectural form. Sweetcorn is usually found in allotments, but it makes a great alternative to miscanthus and other tall grasses in beds and borders. For the biggest impact, and to help with pollination, plant in swathes or small groups, setting 18in apart. Each will produce one to two cobs by late summer.
Leafy salads are one of the best crops to grow in empty spaces at the front of schemes. Try small groups of showy lettuces, such as frilly ‘Lollo Rosso’, red-tinged ‘Yugoslavian Red’ or bronze ‘Dixter’. Another option is to sow some mixed salad leaves, mustard or rocket, which will provide pickings within 21 days.
Of course, not everyone has a sun-kissed bed or border where the majority of edibles will flourish. If you have a shadier site, dot with alpine strawberries or Swiss chard. Several herbs will do well, including chives, coriander and parsley. Mint will thrive, but sink pots into the ground to prevent invasive runners taking over.
A classic French potager is the ultimate ornamental kitchen garden. They consist of a series of beds edged with lavender, dwarf box hedging or hard landscaping materials, filled with vegetables, herbs and fruit. These are mixed with plants boasting edible flowers, such as nasturtiums, violas and day lilies.
The aim with a potager is to be creative, designing patterns with your chosen crops to make the most eye-catching beds possible. Trailing and compact species can be planted around the edges, with taller plants behind and vertical interest added by growing climbing crops on wooden obelisks.
If you’ve got only a patio, deck or courtyard, give it a lift with a group of crops in pots.
IF YOU’VE GOT A GAP, JUST POP IN SOME LOVELY LOLLO ROSSO