How to create a vegetable garden that will be more beautiful than a flower bed: 10 clever but simple techniques

Tricky gardening techniques aren’t actually that complicated: some solutions lie on the surface. One of them is to plant flowers next to vegetables. This will not only make the garden beautiful – some neighbors can be very useful: calendula can repel the Colorado potato beetle from potatoes, marigolds will protect the pumpkin from nematodes attacking its roots, and nasturtium will not allow whiteflies and the cabbage whites spoil the cucumbers.

Another simple gardening tip for your vegetable garden is to grow spectacular edible herbs in it. For example, chives are good not only in salads, but also in landscaping: during flowering, they are covered with beautiful pink, white or tender purple pom-poms. Jerusalem artichoke flowers resemble small sunflowers, multi-tiered onions will surprise all guests with their airy bulbous bulbs, and rhubarb looks great thanks to the combination of green leaves and red stems.

Most people perceive a vegetable garden as boring rows of plants that are not fenced at all or demarcated by a fine mesh. Break all stereotypes – install, for example, a spectacular white gate at the entrance to the garden, plant climbing roses next to it or paint the fence in a bright color – and the flower beds will make a completely different impression.

There’s a simple rule when it comes to design: repetition is the key to unity. For example, repeating the colors of textile accessories or decorative objects in the same style can connect rooms with very different interiors. The same rule works with a vegetable garden: add a “red thread” of flowers, and thanks to this contrasting line, the beds will no longer look like a random collection of plants.

This is a very unusual tip: the plants in a “flower” vegetable garden do not necessarily have to grow… in a vegetable garden! Use pots so that herbs or berries become the very theme that unites the country space into a single whole – for example, an alternation of containers with green and dark red salads will look great.

There are simple techniques for creating a beautiful vegetable garden, not only spectacular but also functional, and one of them is mulching. Mulch is useful – it helps the soil retain moisture in hot weather, prevents weeds from germinating, and prevents the spread of soil-borne leaf diseases. However, it can also be a decorative element if you use pine needles or natural pine shavings.

Flowers aren’t the only way to add a pop of color to your garden. Many vegetables are capable of this: try, for example, planting not only regular tomatoes, but also yellow ones, and add orange to the traditional red pepper.

Of course, not with a song – that only works in cartoons. However, there are other ways to please birds: for example, titmouses will appreciate houses, wagtails will appreciate baths and drinkers, and tree sparrows, capable of destroying hundreds of parasites, will appreciate a feeder containing millet or wheat.

Pathways are another answer to the question of how to make a garden attractive. They are not only practical and help you walk through mud and move heavy loads in a wheelbarrow, but also allow you to create an impressive landscape design.

Also read: 5 main mistakes summer visitors make: we make them every spring!

Who said that garden sculptures have no place in the garden? Don’t be afraid to use whatever decorative elements you like in your flower beds, from garden gnomes to fountains. You spend a lot of time in the garden, so why not get aesthetic pleasure from it?

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