Edible Gardening

Ornamental Vegetable Garden
Eileen Bradford, Master Gardener


My goal for this project was to design and install a garden that marries aesthetic design with crop production. I wanted to include vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers and ornamentals.














How did I get the idea?
From the work Donna D and I did on the Edible Garden series…I fell in love with the
ornamental vegetable garden….so, in the fall I began by
designing the layout, removing turf, tilling and adding manure.
The only machinery I used was a tiller to break up the new growing area. I added 20 feet in length and 1 foot in width to my existing vegetable garden. The new garden needed to be squared off and centered on the site so the paths would be centered in the garden. The new garden is 42 feet long and 44 feet wide.



What plants do you have?
Perennial vegetables -artichoke, rhubarb, horseradish, chives
Fruit – Blueberries, raspberries, peaches dwarf, alpine strawberries, ever bearing strawberries, grapes
Cool season – lettuce, onion, Swiss chard, carrots, collards, ornamental kale
Warm season – Beans, cucumbers (lemon cucumbers and pickling) corn, squash (winter), potatoes, tomatoes, Malabar spinach, watermelon, okra
Herbs- Sage, various thymes, basil (several varieties), lavender, catmint, catnip, chamomile, mint, rue, lemon grass
Flowers and Ornamentals ( to bring in benefici al and pollinators – grasses, yarrow, honeysuckle, geranium (scented and tiny monster), sunflowers, marigolds, petunia, Echinacea, dusty miller, Joe Pye weed, zinnias, rudbeckia, knock out rose, impatience and more




Hard scrape paths – Paths can be made of brick, stone, gravel, straw, wood chips, or grass. Vegetable gardens are tended constantly, and it is important that the size of the beds and paths are practical and comfortable. Some paths need to accommodate a wheelbarrow or garden cart. Also add seating or dining areas where you can relax and enjoy your hard work. I have two such places.


The paths were the biggest expense of the project. I selected concrete blocks from one of the box store and used bricks….if I had lots of money I would have used all brick. I came up with the pattern you see in the photos. The cost was about $12.00 for two square ft. not including cement. I did hire help for this part of the project. I have people that help me every spring and fall and they have experience with masonry so we worked together on the paths and the raised bed in the center. This was an expensive project and it was a tremendous amount of work.
If you remember we had a lot of rain in the spring and I did not begin to plant till the very end of May .


In early April I thought to myself “what was I thinking starting a huge project like this “…now I am very happy with the results but there is still more to do….but not now.
Some design considerations to pass along to my Master Gardener friends...




Once you have established a vision for your garden, consider cohesive elements such as symmetry, balance, and repetition. Shapes, patterns, colors, textures, architectural features or particular plants can be repeated to unify a design. You may want to read up on basic garden design principles.
Attention to color and texture is just as important in the vegetable garden as it is in the herbaceous border. Color harmonies and complements can easily be achieved with the use of heirloom vegetables and a vast array of cottage-garden flowers.


Finally, create focal points and vertical accents for visual interest. Trellises, teepees, A-frames, pea-stales or well placed pots and urns blend effortlessly into many designs. Think beyond the basics and decorate your garden with features that are fun and fanciful as well as beautiful.
If this seems too ambitious, a simpler design can be created in your garden. Sit down with tracing paper, graph paper, ruler, compass and eraser, and sketch a design…..beware that is how I started. The point of growing is to have fun and enjoy eating what you have grown. This is what I am doing now!




References:

Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy...published by Sierra Book Club books
Designing the New Kitchen Garden by Jennifer R. Bartley..published byTimber Press, Inc.
The Ornamental Vegetable Garden by Diana Anthony...published by Warwich Publishing