The show gardens at Chelsea that incorporate a vegetable patch – whether it’s
an African back-yard or a nod to wartime Britain's Dig for Victory campaign
– are always among the most popular. Increasingly, it is not a thirst for
exotica or nostalgia that draws big crowds to such displays, but the growth
of the organic movement and a concern about the food miles behind the
out-of-season green beans found in every supermarket.
Something of the Blitz mentality is sweeping British gardens again – but, this
time, the movement to grow vegetables is voluntary. They have become as
fashionable in the garden as a ‘Patty’s Plum’ poppy. However, don’t race out
and dig up the roses to make room for radishes. Even in a small garden, you
can cram in vegetables that will look as decorative as many flowers, and
provide a crop. Create a traditional French potager, a garden in which
vegetables and fruit grow alongside flowers. It will look stunning, and the
only problem is the dilemma it creates: do you eat the veg or keep it as
ornamentation?
Pumpkins and squashes are perfect in this type of setting; their warm gold,
green, amber and yellow hues will bring mellow colour to a late-summer
garden. They can be left to scramble over bare ground, although they need a
lot of space and fertile, welldrained soil. Smaller-fruited varieties can be
trained to grow up wigwams and arches.
Both the flowers and pods of French and runner beans provide plenty of colour.
The beans come in hues from green and purple to yellow and, in the case of
Italian borlotti beans, even mottled pink.
Here are some ideas for decorative yet edible crops that can be sown now.
Plant them in a sunny spot, in fertile, welldrained soil, water well, and
they will provide garden glamour as well as great eating.
PUMPKINS AND SQUASHES
Summer squashes are harvested when young and tender; winter squashes ripen and
harden, so you can store them.
When to sow: start squashes from seed indoors now; otherwise, sow
outside later this month.
Varieties: summer squashes: ‘Butternut Squash’, rich flavour, torpedo
shape; ‘Jenner’ yellow courgette; ‘Custard White’, pattypan squash with
scalloped edges. Winter squash: ‘Turk’s Turban’, a green, white and orange,
turban-shaped pumpkin.
FRENCHBEANS
These beans come in climbing or dwarf varieties and, if you are planting for
decorative quality as well as taste, the climbers give more value for money,
as they reach at least 6ft high. Grow both in rows or wigwams of canes. As
with runner beans, they need plenty of moisture and fertile soil.
When to sow: in a greenhouse, using modular seed trays, in late May, to
be transferred outside in June; or direct into the ground in June. They crop
between late July and September.
Varieties: climbing: ‘Blauhilde’, purple-flowered and purple-beaned;
‘Neckargold’, yellow beans; ‘Lingua di Fuoco’, pretty pink and white
borlotti beans for drying. Dwarf: ‘Sonesta’, waxy yellow beans; ‘Purple
Teepee’, purple beans.
COMPANION PLANTS
Planting bright annual flowers alongside your vegetables will attract
beneficial insects such as hover flies, which drink their nectar and feed on
aphids and other insect pests.
Use edible varieties if you can – nasturtium flowers, for example, taste
slightly peppery and liven up green salads.
When to sow:now, in situ.
Varieties: French marigolds (calendula), California poppies
(eschscholzia) and nasturtiums.
FRUIT TREES
Training fruit trees into espaliers (horizontally trained branches), cordons
(single stems with short side spurs) and fans makes them attractive and
productive. Make sure that what you buy will not grow too big – ask the
nursery about this. If there are no suitable trees nearby to help with
pollination, buy a self-pollinating variety; there is an increasing number
of these on the market. When to plant:from November to March for bare-rooted
plants (those sold without earth around the roots). Trees grown in
containers can be planted at any time.
Varieties: ‘Bramley’, ‘Blenheim Orange’ and ‘Egremont Russet’ apples.
SALAD LEAVES
There are many varieties of leaf that taste great and make pretty edging.
Protect from slugs and cover with fleece in colder weather.
When to sow: now, direct into the ground. Sow at two-week intervals and
lettuce should last until October. For winter salads, start sowing in July.
Varieties: summer: ‘Salad Bowl’, oak-leafed lettuce in different hues;
‘Bergamo’, bright-green, crinkly leaves; ‘Emilia’ spinach; French sorrel.
Winter: ‘Rialto’ radicchio; rocket; mizuna.
RUNNER BEANS
A good thing about runner beans is that a few plants go a long way, and the
bright-red, white, or bicoloured flowers look extremely pretty.
They need support, so grow them in rows, or on wigwams of bamboo or hazel
sticks, and they will provide height and colour in the border. They need
lots of moisture, so mulch well to stop the soil drying out. When to sow:in
modular trays (so you don’t disturb the roots), inside in late May; outside
in June. They will crop from late July to September.
Varieties: the stringless ‘Lady Di’ or ‘Polestar’. ‘Painted Lady’ has
pretty flowers.
CHARD
Chard is a versatile plant: the young leaves taste great raw in salads, and
the developed plant’s larger leaves and decorative stalks are delicious
cooked, although they lose their vivid colour.
When to sow: crops sown in July will last into winter. If you want
early-summer leaves, plant next March. Chard is best started inside, in
modular trays, to avoid slug attacks. When the plants fill the modules,
plant out, keeping the ground clear to minimise damage from such garden
pests.
Varieties: ‘Rainbow Chard’ comes in a variety of hues – red, yellow,
white and pink.
LEEKS
Leeks are handy to have in the garden, as they are a useful alternative to
onions and some varieties will crop throughout winter. Their strap-like
leaves look elegant in a frosty garden and their flowerheads, if left to go
to seed, are Sputnik-like edifices. Plant out when seedling stems are
pencil-thick, in holes made with a garden tool called a dibber (or a
pencil), and don’t fill the holes in with earth, as the leeks need room to
expand. When to sow:now, from seed, inside in modular trays; plant out at 10
weeks old and harvest from September.
Varieties: ‘Porvite’, ‘Tornado’ and ‘Goliath’ will give autumn
cropping, and should last from September until Christmas. ‘Atlanta’ and ‘St
Victor’ carry on until spring.
