My first ‘real’ veggie garden was a work of art dedicated to my daughter.
She was 3 and I wanted it to be Magical. A place where the Fairies loved to play.
I was lucky to have room to make it large - about 20’ x 30’ but it wasn't the size that made it cool, it was the layout.
I threw out the concept of rows altogether, infact, I dismissed all the rules. (I was never one for rules anyway)
There were no straight lines!
Leslie’s garden foundation was a long winding path that started in one corner and snaked its way through the vegetables and flowers to a Teepee of scarlet runner beans where she could sit and have a snack.
The path would make a turn at a zucchini bush, tunnel through a patch of sweet corn and under an arbour of cucumbers and nasturtiums.
The route was defined and bordered by bush beans, lettuce, dill and broccoli and had stones to step through fragrant thyme and oregano.
I made corners and walls with joyful sunflowers and trellised peas and interspersed the whole thing with tomatoes in cages and patches of carrots and beets.
Never once, while you were in it, could you see the garden in its entirety.
It was a time before cell phones and widespread internet and I regret never having taken a photo. But I can still visiualize how it looked and remember the fun Les and I had in it.
The bounty harvested that season was more than just veggies but the experiences had and memories it made for us.
In the end, that ‘crazy’ garden I created really wasn’t any harder to plant or maintain than if I had stuck to conformity but the reward was ten-fold!
Point is, have fun with it! Change your perspective and get down to 3-year old levels.
Even by incorporating one element
the path, t-pee, a block of wood to sit on, a tunnel or stepping stones, you add dimension and magic to your space.
For tips on selecting seeds and planting out, check out my other posts “Growing your Own Garden PART #1 and PART #2