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Veggie landscaping is a beautiful and practical possibility

| May 24, 2020 1:00 AM

Gardening for some is a practical – often lifelong – necessity, designed to support a family’s food needs. Many people depend on the veggie harvest for their main sustenance, canning, freezing, drying or storing various crops to feed them through the seasons and over the winter. It was once a way of life mainly before the big supermarkets came into existence and I – like most folks during and after the ‘30’s depression – spent lots of spare time hoeing, digging spuds and picking cherries in their turns and pretty much enjoying it.

Over the years, however, the gardening scene has changed, with many people adding flowers, shrubs, statuary, birdbaths and artsy planting pots for a more lived-in atmosphere that made the garden more of an extension to the house. This is a happy and lovely thing, but also, not for everyone.

There are many who would love to have ornamentals but don’t have the space and really need a veggies-only garden. Often, there’s only the strip alongside the driveway or entry walk or bit of lawn alongside the house. The answer is, of course, “ornamental” veggies.

For a narrow length strip, think about beautiful yellow or green pod bush beans, Japanese eggplant, bell or hot (and colorful) peppers, rainbow chard (planted in clumps), strawberries, fennel, parsley, rosemary, thyme, chives, green onions,( for drama, consider the exotic Egyptian “walking onion” with its elegant twisted stems all bearing a tiny “bouquet” of baby onions ready for planting). Broadcast your carrot and beet seeds instead of planting them in a row. Instead of head lettuce, consider a mesclun mix in red, bright, dark and lime green, and for scent and pollinators, plant mints galore. While peppermint and spearmint are basic, other cultivars beckon: orange, lemon, chocolate (sensational!) and catmint too, for both your iced tea and your kitty’s pleasure.

Coles (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi) can all be utilized to advantage with their cousins, bok choy. Napa cabbage, etc. tucked artfully here and there as attractive focal points.

Alongside the house, larger plants can work, such as dwarf blueberry bushes, rhubarb, culinary sage with its grainy-soft scented leaves and lovely purple pinnacled flowers is a given as well.

Clumps of dill add a light, feathery touch as does Bronze or culinary fennel (both of which are anti-social and must be placed in pretty pots. If the site offers a southern exposure, here’s the place for tomato plants.

Use bush types or consider mounting strong hanging pot-holders on the wall for red, yellow or orange grape or cherry tomatoes.

Another handy vertical solution is to mount a lattice on the wall for cucumbers, climbing peas or beans (consider scarlet runner beans!). Our illustration – which is probably too large for a very small site (but could perhaps be utilized over a back porch door) provides an idea for the lattice mount with its wealth of vining gourds and squashes.

Don’t let lack of ground deter you from the efficacy of a needed food garden. Forget rows and layout and utilize every inch of space for a chock-full veggie mélange that’s as pretty – and more practical than many ornamental creations. You can go out each day and pick your supper from salad to main dish – something you couldn’t do in a rose garden!