|
FrontRangeLiving.com -> Garden -> Flowers and Veggies
 Toward A New Garden: When veggies mix with flowers
Vegetable beds traditionally come in rows for a practical
reason. This timeless design is intended to weed and harvest as efficiently as
possible. But as suburban plots shrink so do wide open spaces for vegetable
gardens. That’s when it makes sense to look at vegetables in a different
light—as ornamental plants as well as practical food producers. We plan
flowerbeds to buffer a sidewalk, surround a building or line a path. Those
places may be the sunniest, or best drained. Why not locate vegetables where
they will be happiest, even if it’s among the bearded iris or roses?
I’ve discovered that eggplants grow vigorously in my
south-facing garden next to a blistering sidewalk. They love the heat and
exposure nestled among my drought-tolerant plants. Eggplants are among the most
ornamental of vegetable plants themselves, so their purple-tinged leaves and
lime green veins appear exotic tucked between Jupiter's beard and penstemons.
What eggplants won’t appreciate is the lean soil and lack of water--the
hallmarks of a drought-tolerant garden. But a generous handful of compost and
hand watering can make up for that shortfall. Since I need only a few plants to
provide plenty of perfect globes for ratatouille, tending to them is easy. No
other garden can guarantee such warmth throughout the day, which is of prime
importance to this finicky vegetable. My conclusion: find what is most important
to the vegetable you love and supply what may be lacking.
Lettuces are a study in contrasts. They prefer a bit of
shade in mid-summer and bolt quickly once summer arrives if left in the spring
bed. But plant new romaine seedlings in a shade garden alongside columbines and
Johnny-jump-ups in the heat of summer and they’ll happily extend the season
for you. Consider the lettuce bed for loose-leaf lettuces that are easiest when
the seeds are planted in neat rows. Add beautiful head lettuces here and there
among the shade perennials, and plant the head lettuces in seed trays rather
than directly seeded into the garden so that you can tuck in each plant wherever
you choose.
I’ve taken a closer look at planting an extra tomato vine
or pepper variety in other places throughout the front and back yards. Tomatoes
and peppers grow well with roses, requiring similar soil, water and fertilizer.
As they set fruit, ease away from water and both tomatoes and peppers develop
flavor. Tomatoes may vine up a climber rose. Peppers, like eggplants, have
beautiful leaves and fruit that mix well in a sea of flowers.
Even green beans, which never shine as individual plants,
can be an effective border along a pathway. They offer an additional boon by
adding nitrogen to the soil. Carrots, too, with their feathery-fringed leaves
decorate an ornamental border in front of perennials or annuals. Carrots will
need more water than beans so it’s best to match carrots to your delphiniums.
Beans could be companioned with bachelor buttons, or cosmos.
For many gardeners, it pays to rethink placing vegetables
in unexpected spots because it opens up the vegetable garden for plants that
take up room. The sprawling winter squash or melons, both top choices for
gourmet gardeners, often are deleted from the seed list. These larger and more
expansive vegetables may gobble up space, but are worthwhile. Let them trail
across a lawn, alongside a fence or wind around a tree.
Other fruits and vegetables can double as ornamentals, too.
Raspberries might be great as a hedge you’ve been intending to plant against
the garden wall. Small cherry tomato vines climb up a grapevine. Strawberries
make a fine groundcover. Once
you’ve moved the vegetables into the flowerbeds, it only makes sense to move
some of the flowers, especially annuals, into the vegetable beds. Pansies enjoy
the same rich, moist, semi shade characteristics that we save for spinach and
lettuces. Nasturtiums, always a favorite edible flower, will sprawl happily
among melons and winter squash or cucumbers. Sunflowers and corn mix well for
height. Marigolds are the classic accompaniment for tomatoes. Zinnias, cosmos
and calendula germinate quickly alongside your rows.
By this time, vegetables and ornamentals no longer require
rigid boundaries. Just keep one thing in mind. Many vegetables need to be
rotated each year so that pests and diseases don’t build up in the soil and
return the following year to lay waste to your eggplants or tomatoes. With this
system, it’s far easier to prevent disease build-up because you’ll be moving
the plants around. Make sure you don’t continue to plant eggplants and other
vegetables in the same family (tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, peppers).
Perennial vegetables and fruits escape this requirement, so leave your
strawberries and asparagus as long as you like. Experiment with your new garden
approach each year and before long, you’ll forget what it was like to banish
all the vegetables to only one area of the garden.
Toward a new garden: Planting vegetables among the flowers
Sunflower family (Asteraceae): lettuces, chicories,
calendulas, artichokes, celtuce, endives, marigolds, and tarragon
Flowers: violas with early lettuces, larkspur, poppies, forget-me-not,
sunflowers with artichokes
Cucumber or gourd family (Cucurbitaceae): melons and
winter squash, cucumbers, summer squash, pumpkins
Flowers: nasturtiums with sprawling squash, morning glories on trellis with
sprawling squash
Nightshade family (Solanaceae): peppers, eggplants,
potatoes, and tomatillos
Flowers: marigolds, zinnias
Goosefoot family: beets, chard, orach, spinach
Flowers: violas and pansies
Mint family (Lamiaceae): basil, mints, oregano,
rosemary, sages, summer savory, and thyme
Flowers: lavender
with oregano, rosemary, sages, thymes, cherry tomatoes with basil and mints
Lily family (Liliaceae): onions, shallots, garlic,
asparagus, chives, leeks,
Flowers: ornamental alliums
Mustard family (Brassicaceae): arugula, broccoli,
cabbages, cauliflower, collards, cresses, kale, kohlrabi, komatsuma, mizuna,
mustards, radishes, and turnips
Flowers: ornamental kale, cool weather bloomers like
pansies for broccoli, hot weather bloomers like zinnia for collards
Parsley family (Apiaceae): carrots, celeriac,
celery, chervil, coriander (cilantro), dill, fennel, lovage, parsley, and
parsnips
Flowers: Cosmos
Pea family (Fabaceae): beans, cowpeas, fava beans,
lima beans, peanuts, peas, runner beans, soybeans, sugar peas
Flowers: decorative beans like the scarlet runner bean
Fruits: grapes, strawberries, raspberries
Flowers: consider tiny spring bulbs for strawberries like snowdrops or
species tulips. Raspberries may be too vigorous to share space with flowers.
Clematis companions with grape vines.
|
