advice on aesthetics

percyplant

I really want to start growing my own veggies in my very small garden. I have herbs dotted amongst the flowers, but I dont want to turn my garden into an allotment. I am considering planting up some veg in containers but am reluctant as I think they might spoil the look of the garden. Anyone got any tips on camouflage for veg containers on my patio.

angelavdavis

Vegetable gardens don't have to look like allotments!

Why don't you look at growing a potager garden and mix the veg into the flower borders? It will help fight pests and diseases as many flowers are good companions to veg. Examples are:

• Grow runner beans over trellis alongside your clematis.
• Plant carrots amongst marigolds - the smell of the marigolds tricks the carrot fly and the feathery foliage of the carrots looks good too.
• Plant Beetroot, chard and lettuces among other plants - their leaves add colour to the border. There are really colourful varieties of chard called "bright lights" which are multi-coloured and edible.
• Grow tumbler tomatoes in your hanging baskets with your fuschias and lobelia!

Here is one online I found:
http://www.littlemartins.com/TheGarden/ThePotager.php

I grow my vegetables in raised beds as I have a tree-root problem. The lines of veg look really decorative plus you have the flowers of plants like the peas at the moment that are quite pretty.

Plum_Pie

I've planted cut-and-come salad in a square black zinc planter on my 'patio'. It will have 3 rows in it eventually (successional planting to provide constant salad, theoretically. I'm going to try and do the same with rocket in the winter.) It looks quite modern and geometric I suppose. I live in an 19th C house, which some idiot pebble-dashed in the 70s, in a city and I like cottagey plants, so I'm not really going for a coherent 'look' re my outside space!

Angela, that is a very, very useful post and if I could thank you twice I would!

*10ft o' concrete

percyplant

thanks to Angela. I have a clematis as it happens and was worried that beans or peas would not grow there too. I'm going to try this. thanks for the website link too