Beans among the aquilegia are OK (From Worcester News)

Beans among the aquilegia are OK

10:05am Monday 15th March 2010 in

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FOR many years, vegetables were not considered an ornamental addition to the garden and veg plots were often hidden out of sight or at least as far away as possible from prized flowering beds and borders.

However, that is all changing, as many gardeners with limited space plant vegetables among border perennials, filling gaps with leafy lettuces, bronze fennel and wild strawberries rather than conventional bedding.

Vegetables can be easily combined in the flower garden, says BBC TV Gardeners’ World regular Alys Fowler and presenter of a forthcoming new BBC 2 series, The Edible Garden and author of an accompanying book.

In her own 20ft by 50ft garden in Birmingham, Fowler mixes veg with flowers throughout her borders, placing salvias next to tomatoes, broad beans and pink-flowering strawberries beside aquilegia and she makes bold statements with structural globe artichokes, rhubarb and courgettes.

She said: “Lettuces can be the most attractive leaves in the world,” citing varieties including Cos Freckles (green with crimson splotches), Mascara (dark red), Australian Yellow Leaf (bright green-yellow frilly leaves) and Grenoble Red as just a few of the varieties which are as ornamental as they are tasty.

She insists that even if you only have a tiny space on your patio for a couple of pots, or just a window box, you can grow veg alongside flowers without it looking like a dog’s dinner.

She said: “In a window box, you can grow veg which don’t have a long root run, such as lettuces, alongside violas, pansies, calendula, dwarf varieties of nasturtium and herbs such as thyme.”

And, it’s not just the veg that can be harvested. Pick off the flowers of violas and nasturtiums to make a colourful addition to salads.

Fowler said: “Edible flowers such as violas and pansies are cheap and will pretty much flower all through the season. Herb flowers, such as chives, sage or rosemary, can be added to oils and vinegars to offer a subtle flavour and enhance their appearance.”

Ideally, to combine veg with flowers in a limited space such as a container, make sure the container is at least eight inches deep, otherwise what little soil you have in there is going to dry out quickly, She said: “And in a really shallow windowbox you’ll need to water regularly and feed at least once a week with something like a liquid seaweed feed, because you are asking quite a lot of the plants. Lettuces, rocket and radishes are good for window boxes as they don’t need much root run, while basil or thyme are suitable for really sunny spots. Traditional strawberries also like a lot of sun.”

Even if you only have a tiny windowsill, alfalfa sprouts can be grown in a glass jar, or a slightly more elaborate container, in just a few days, making a delicious and healthy addition to salads and sandwiches – and looking pretty at the same time.

● The Edible Garden: How To Have Your Garden And Eat It is published by BBC Books, priced £18.99.