Green Fingered, Fresh Eating Gardener

Transform Your Garden into an Edible Oasis

Our gardens, a place for lovely flowers and an abundance of different shades of greenery. If you’re like me, the garden in the morning is calming to look out upon and in the evening is that quiet place where you can gather your thoughts for the day. But what about making it edible too?

I am not suggesting digging it all up and replanting it to make it like the local allotment site down the road (although that is perfectly acceptable and is a growing trend – visit Green City Acres to learn more).

Rather look at your garden in a different light. The roses are stunning in their bright yellows and reds, lavender waves in the wind attracting the bees, and the contrasting leaves of the hostas make everything pop! Could we then add between the spaces a little fruit and veg?

Imagine growing blackberries up the fence and having a lovely crop of fresh berries with your cereal in the morning. Or strawberries for a dessert in the evening, where you can wander out and pick them straight from the plant.

There are purple cabbages, bright red tomatoes, green courgettes, and yellow peppers… The colours of our fruit and veg are vibrant and attractive. With that much variety, you could spruce up your garden’s appearance and know that you are going to get something delicious out of it in the end too.

The bees will love you for all the different varieties you will be offering them to. Think about the diet of different pollens and nectars for them to gorge on.

Of course, you’ll have insects who want a small piece of your delicious garden. That is where permaculture thinking comes in — the idea of planting companion plants next to other plants to attract insects away from foods you are trying to grow.

You can be creative with the way you also place your plants. Who says they have to be at ground level? Place them on different levels and see how your garden explodes into different colours with the seasons.

There may be a small space in your garden today that you might want to start with, perhaps a windowsill box or even an entranceway container. Look at the vegetables that can be planted in the season you are in and get them growing.

You don’t need to plant up the whole garden in a day! A farmer doesn’t plant all his fields in a day and then sit back. He selects the fields to attend to, prepares the soil, then plants and nurtures. That’s could be your role now.

How much more exciting and enjoyable than watching TV for another night of rubbish! You get the colour show, the satisfaction of growing your own food, the massive health benefits from the exercise and eating healthy food, and the joy of having it all just outside your back door!

This also begins discussions with neighbours who may follow your example and with whom you can trade fresh veg during the season. You can meet up with other local garden farmers and discuss ways of improving your crops.

New friends, outings, and lots more—all for a bit of planting in a garden that is just sitting there already!

If you do start one, let us know on the Market Nosh Facebook page.

NOTE of Caution: If you are planting edible plants in the garden, DO NOT use pesticides on or near your plants. They suck them up and you eat them.