Stone vs. mulch. It’s the final piece of the garden design puzzle. After we’ve decided what to plant in the garden, what kind of support trellises we want to make or buy, and what kind of watering system we’re using next season, there’s still the question of what kind of edging is best for an […]
Category: Garden Design
In the articles below, learn everything you need to know about garden design. From garden spacing to raised beds, costs, and planning, everything is covered.
When you think of garden design, you might think the topic is limited to where you’re going to place new beds or whether you’ll use stone or mulch between them. But there’s so much more that goes into it.
Your garden design might start out as a dream scribbled in a notepad over the winter while you wait for the days to get longer and warmer, but there are so many more facets. For example, it’s all well and good to draw out your garden, but do you know how much it’s going to cost? Will you DIY, or will you get the help of a landscaper?
What about planning your garden beds? Will they be raised beds, or no? Tiered or vertical? Will you require a trellis or an arbor? Are you on a hill? And do you start by picking what you want to grow and design from there? Or should you plan how you want your garden to look and then choose what you want to grow to match?
When growing a food garden, it’s best to start by picking the foods you actually like to cook and eat and design around it. The rest of the answers to these questions you can find in the articles below, like how to space vegetables and herbs, whether vertical gardens are a good idea, and how to design a garden even if all you have is concrete.
In the articles below, we dive into all of these approaches to garden design, and you can learn more about it in our How to Grow a Vegetable Garden: 10 Things Every Gardener Need to Know Before Starting a Food Garden freebie. Enjoy!
Wooden pallets are used to transport just about everything in this world, from cosmetics and electronics to home goods and manufacturing materials. And thanks to the dawn of Pinterest and other DIY websites and TV shows, pallets have been getting a new life, by being upcycled into furniture pieces, fencing, and even garden structures.
I love how something so simple as a little seed, with some soil, sunshine, and water, can grow into a bountiful tomato plant or ears of corn or a dozen summer squash. I also know how frustrating it can be to watch your plants succumb to mystery diseases, get eaten by bugs or rabbits or skunks, or just wither and die because they aren’t getting the right nutrients. And that’s why I also love partner planting.
You don’t really need an excuse for planting in raised beds. They help you control the health of the soil, they define your space, and they can help deter some garden pests. My favorite benefit, though, is that raised beds are a lot easier to work with. Lower back, upper back, neck – you name it and planting in raised beds can make it better.
In the middle of the Boston Museum of Science there is a floor-to-ceiling living plant wall surrounding a 30-foot waterfall. If you’ve been fortunate enough to see this vertical planting system in person, you know how awe-inspiring it is. I’ll be the first to admit that I’d love to have a three-story tall garden as one of the walls of my home. I’m also not holding my breath. For most of us, that’s not a very practical or realistic future.