Lovely-to-look-at Kitchen Gardens
We’ve seen an upsurge in growing all things edible, but can you combine practical crops with a seriously good-looking garden? Oh yes...
Over the past few years, many of us have become more interested in where our food comes from. Combine this with the increased interest in home cooking and gardening, and it seems lots of us are keen to grow at least some food in our gardens and on our balconies. Whether you’re thinking of just growing a few herbs or want to become more self-sufficient and cultivate hard-to-buy or expensive fruit and vegetables, now’s the time to start designing and planning for next year’s growing season.
Kitchen gardens don’t have to be boring piles of compost and rows of cabbages – they can be fun and stylish centres of attention. Here are some ideas to get your thought processes going.
Kitchen gardens don’t have to be boring piles of compost and rows of cabbages – they can be fun and stylish centres of attention. Here are some ideas to get your thought processes going.
Soften with stylish curves
If you have the space, you can make a real feature of your vegetable beds by setting them out in a radial pattern between paths. All these beds are easy to access from both sides and allow easy progression of sowing through the growing season. Edged in cobbles, they will always be easy to maintain.
How about finishing off the pattern of circles with a lollipop bay tree right in the centre?
If you have the space, you can make a real feature of your vegetable beds by setting them out in a radial pattern between paths. All these beds are easy to access from both sides and allow easy progression of sowing through the growing season. Edged in cobbles, they will always be easy to maintain.
How about finishing off the pattern of circles with a lollipop bay tree right in the centre?
Celebrate garden storage
Don’t forget that you can make essential storage a feature, too. You could have an ordinary shed – but you could also get an extra-special posh shed like this.
With some extra thought and decorating panache, you can make your own stylish storage space that encourages you to keep tools tidy and ready to hand whenever you get a spare 10 minutes in the garden.
Don’t forget that you can make essential storage a feature, too. You could have an ordinary shed – but you could also get an extra-special posh shed like this.
With some extra thought and decorating panache, you can make your own stylish storage space that encourages you to keep tools tidy and ready to hand whenever you get a spare 10 minutes in the garden.
Go up the wall
Vertical gardening has been all the rage over the past few years, but it’s usually just for ornamentals. However, there’s no reason why you can’t use this space and planting method for herbs and salad leaves.
This clever system uses angled shelves to point the plants in the direction of the sun – and you could install a simple irrigation system to make watering a doddle.
Vertical gardening has been all the rage over the past few years, but it’s usually just for ornamentals. However, there’s no reason why you can’t use this space and planting method for herbs and salad leaves.
This clever system uses angled shelves to point the plants in the direction of the sun – and you could install a simple irrigation system to make watering a doddle.
Reclaim and reuse
There are lots of steel planters available, but we like this idea for reusing old corrugated steel for a contemporary look.
One of the advantages of steel is that it warms the soil, so quite often you can get your plants growing earlier than in traditional timber raised beds. But make sure you don’t locate them where it gets too hot in the summer or you’ll bake the roots. You can ring the changes by painting the steel.
Try using simple hazel stakes draped with netting to form tepees over the beds to keep the birds away.
Explore more upcycling project ideas for your garden
There are lots of steel planters available, but we like this idea for reusing old corrugated steel for a contemporary look.
One of the advantages of steel is that it warms the soil, so quite often you can get your plants growing earlier than in traditional timber raised beds. But make sure you don’t locate them where it gets too hot in the summer or you’ll bake the roots. You can ring the changes by painting the steel.
Try using simple hazel stakes draped with netting to form tepees over the beds to keep the birds away.
Explore more upcycling project ideas for your garden
Give ‘square foot gardening’ a go
One of the most successful ways of growing food in small spaces is to use the square foot method. Each bed is divided into 1 sq ft plots to take different salad and vegetable crops, and by regular sowing you can enjoy year-round produce.
There are loads of different things you can grow and you only need a very small space to achieve big yields. For more information, check out some of the books available on this method of growing.
Tour a tiny urban garden bursting with fruit and veg
One of the most successful ways of growing food in small spaces is to use the square foot method. Each bed is divided into 1 sq ft plots to take different salad and vegetable crops, and by regular sowing you can enjoy year-round produce.
There are loads of different things you can grow and you only need a very small space to achieve big yields. For more information, check out some of the books available on this method of growing.
Tour a tiny urban garden bursting with fruit and veg
Sit back and enjoy
It’s not all about hard work with a vegetable patch. We love this small kitchen garden, because the owners have made space to sit back and enjoy the sun and the fruits of their labour.
They have also included some clever tricks, such as using small pavers interplanted with a low-growing ground cover, and have managed to plant a few ornamentals among the vegetables. Lots of interest and lots of relaxation.
It’s not all about hard work with a vegetable patch. We love this small kitchen garden, because the owners have made space to sit back and enjoy the sun and the fruits of their labour.
They have also included some clever tricks, such as using small pavers interplanted with a low-growing ground cover, and have managed to plant a few ornamentals among the vegetables. Lots of interest and lots of relaxation.
Smarten up with bold timber
We often think of timber as the poor man’s brickwork when it comes to raised beds, but just look at how smart these beds are. This is a large kitchen garden providing some big, square beds for most crops and long, low beds for regular sowing of salad crops. A smart timber picket fence completes the look.
We often think of timber as the poor man’s brickwork when it comes to raised beds, but just look at how smart these beds are. This is a large kitchen garden providing some big, square beds for most crops and long, low beds for regular sowing of salad crops. A smart timber picket fence completes the look.
Cut a path
We love this very simple system of getting access to beds using small timber ramps. They divide the beds up between different types of produce and you can move them each year to create new bed sizes as you need them.
This simple idea could be copied by using offcuts – or try using decking timber for added grip.
We love this very simple system of getting access to beds using small timber ramps. They divide the beds up between different types of produce and you can move them each year to create new bed sizes as you need them.
This simple idea could be copied by using offcuts – or try using decking timber for added grip.
Embrace informality
Lots of these ideas have very formal layouts, but sometimes you just want to relax in the garden and fill some space. This big bed allows lots of flexibility from year to year and the raised edge keeps it tidy.
Remember that food crops are hungry for nutrients and water, so you may want to be able to change the soil occasionally or add lots of good compost to the bed. A big bed makes this an easy task to accomplish.
Lots of these ideas have very formal layouts, but sometimes you just want to relax in the garden and fill some space. This big bed allows lots of flexibility from year to year and the raised edge keeps it tidy.
Remember that food crops are hungry for nutrients and water, so you may want to be able to change the soil occasionally or add lots of good compost to the bed. A big bed makes this an easy task to accomplish.
Channel a classic, formal layout
Most gardeners who grow vegetables hanker for a greenhouse, and while this is quite a grand example, even a small, off-the-shelf greenhouse will allow you to extend the planting seasons, sowing seed early or extending tomato cropping well into the autumn.
This one is right next to a great herb garden and the cold frames also give added flexibility. This is a space where many a gardener would be happy to spend a long summer’s day pottering around the borders or just enjoying a cup of tea.
Tour the rest of this edible garden, located on a windswept Peak District plot
Most gardeners who grow vegetables hanker for a greenhouse, and while this is quite a grand example, even a small, off-the-shelf greenhouse will allow you to extend the planting seasons, sowing seed early or extending tomato cropping well into the autumn.
This one is right next to a great herb garden and the cold frames also give added flexibility. This is a space where many a gardener would be happy to spend a long summer’s day pottering around the borders or just enjoying a cup of tea.
Tour the rest of this edible garden, located on a windswept Peak District plot
Make it easy-access and pest-free
Growing salad crops is all about easy access and keeping the slugs and snails off your produce. These timber beds work on different levels alongside a deck and narrow path, so there isn’t too much bending down, either to grow or to pick your lettuce. You could make the same style of planters with old pallet timber – just use the same dimensions and you’ll be recycling and getting great planters in one.
We like the simple bamboo tepees tied at the top to provide support for beans on the boundary. A copper strip around the top of the beds could be attached to stop snails and slugs getting into the beds.
TELL US…
What edibles do you grow in your garden – or which are you keen to try growing? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Growing salad crops is all about easy access and keeping the slugs and snails off your produce. These timber beds work on different levels alongside a deck and narrow path, so there isn’t too much bending down, either to grow or to pick your lettuce. You could make the same style of planters with old pallet timber – just use the same dimensions and you’ll be recycling and getting great planters in one.
We like the simple bamboo tepees tied at the top to provide support for beans on the boundary. A copper strip around the top of the beds could be attached to stop snails and slugs getting into the beds.
TELL US…
What edibles do you grow in your garden – or which are you keen to try growing? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
We designed this traditional kitchen garden on a south-facing
terrace between the front of the house and a lower, family garden.
It’s in the perfect location, right where it gets lots of light and under the kitchen window, so that when the owners are thinking of ideas for meals, they can see exactly what’s growing. It’s a traditional layout, but covers everything from soft fruits to winter veg, plus a few herb patches, all working together to give year-round produce.