Gardening: Get your Veggie Garden on!
Veggie gardens provide a healthy, fun, exhilarating activity for the entire family. There's something incredible about caring and tending to home grown food and herbs. There are many ways to design your canvas of nutrients and now is the time to make it happen before the heat completely takes over!
Think out of the Box - Your veggie garden doesn't have to be boring! It can carry out a ton of color and personality depending on how you mold and shape it. It doesn't just have to be an isolated area of rows!
The PERFECT spot hunt - The key to success with the design of your vegetable garden is to make sure you have the right spot with the position of shade / sun. Most vegetables do best with full sun -- at least eight hours of direct light a day. Something else to keep in mind is the power of compost. Your veggies will sky rocket if you add some into the ground prior to planting! Also -- keep the location convenient and close to the kitchen if possible so that you can jet out for some fresh harvest pickings of herbs or veggies to incorporate in your cooking!
Create a welcoming entrance - Garden gates, iron pieces and potted flowers / lavender are all ideas for a grand entrance into your harvest haven. Another amazing idea is to build a wooden arch an infuse creeping fig, ivy, trumpet vine or morning glory into the arch way for added color!
Bring on the Flowers - Feast your eyes on a bed of flowers to beautify the surrounding area of your garden. There are no rules, so mix in flowers with your vegetables! You can pick any type of flowers you wish, OR you can be strategic. Pick flowers that help your growing veggies with beneficial insects. Something else that's fun are edible flowers. You can pick the veggies, then decorate the plate with the edible flowers. We love!
Raised Beds to the Rescue - The benefits that come with raised beds are delicious! They are especially handy with soil control. For example, if the soil in your outdoor space is primarily clay based... this can be avoided by the addition of the raised beds where you can manually create the soil. NOTE: Build them 3-4 feet wide for easy access on every side.
Mulch it up - Mulch is versatile. Just an inch or two of mulch helps your soil hold moisture during hot, dry weather. It also stops most weeds from sprouting. Mulch is both functional while beautifying an area. Create a whimsical path with pavers that lead up to your garden. This will help with avoiding muddy feet, while adding an element of design!
Pretty in red leaf lettuce - For that splash of color in your garden, don't just turn to flowers to do the job! There are a ton of veggies, fruits and herbs that can rainbow your outdoor space with a bright and vibrant vibe. Here are some ideas: Red leaf lettuce, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, red cabbage, peppers, chives, parsley, colored carrots and citrus!
