Landscaping the site: decorative vegetable garden in landscape design. Landscape design of a summer cottage with a vegetable garden Techniques for decorating a plot with trees and shrubs

Decorative vegetable gardens are becoming increasingly popular today. Many gardeners want their vegetable beds to not only produce a good harvest, but also provide aesthetic pleasure

THEY SAY EVERY SUMMER RESIDENT PASSES THREE STAGES OF HIS DEVELOPMENT - PLANTING POTATOES, NOT PLANTING POTATOES, PLANTING POTATOES AGAIN. This comic statement, I believe, also extends to the garden: many gardeners have gone from complete denial and decisive eradication of vegetable beds, replacing them with lawns and flower beds, until the rods of parsley are returned to the rods ...

True, this is happening on a completely different level. Today we are no longer interested in the record number of vegetables grown, but in their quality, diversity and appearance of the crop and the garden as a whole.

Setting up a decorative garden

They arrange a vegetable garden according to the same principles of landscape design as other parts of the garden. Strict straight beds are essentially raised beds, but other geometric shapes are also possible (circle flower beds, including those divided into sectors, triangles, squares, modules). Mixed plantings in beds - why not mixborders? And how beautiful they will be depends on the selection of plants and their varieties (color, size, shape), and on a harmonious color combination.

Many elements of landscape architecture are also appropriate in the garden - ponds (a barrel for watering can be skillfully painted; a birdbath, a well, a pump, a sink for washing), sculpture (scarecrows, birdhouses, bird feeders), small architecture (benches, pergolas, sheds, tool houses and other outbuildings, trellises, fences, fences, compost heaps, high beds framed by stone, brick, wood).

It is also worth taking care of the surface - wide paths on which it is convenient not only to walk, but also to transport carts with soil, grass, and crops.

And of course, one cannot imagine a beautiful garden without all kinds of accessories - gardening tools, wheelbarrows, watering cans, buckets, wicker baskets, clay pots for bleaching vegetables, beautiful containers with heat-loving plants (laurel, rosemary, basil).

Game of accessories

You can endlessly play with accessories, giving your garden additional meaning.

Name the vegetable garden “My Grandmother’s Garden” - and fill it with vintage items (old tools, galvanized buckets and watering cans, a simple wooden bench), planting vegetables characteristic of a Russian garden (carrots, turnips, Nezhin cucumbers, dill umbrellas) and decorating with marigolds, dahlias and sunflowers .

Decoration of the garden called “Russian America”“can be gifts from the New World - potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, pumpkins, beans, Jerusalem artichokes, amaranths, marigolds and, of course, those same dahlias. A low white fence or fence similar to a cattle pen will help to emphasize the overseas origin.

« French vegetable garden» - classic beds, borders. And among the vegetables, in addition to the traditional lettuces and leeks, there are fluffy asparagus and sprawling fancy artichokes.

Spirit Provence Lavender, rosemary, and lemon trees in containers will help give your garden a boost. Twisted arches, patterned trellises and benches; Containers and watering cans, not lacking in elegance, will complete the look.

Fans of oriental aesthetics can create a garden with a Japanese accent by planting elegant multi-colored salads (mizuna and mibunu), vegetable chrysanthemum (on sale you can find seeds of the varieties 'Kikubari', 'Mirage', 'Debut', 'Patterned', 'Amber' ), which also blooms quite nicely; a variety of daikons, leaf and lettuce turnips, ‘Samurai’ burdock and multi-colored perilla (‘Dewdrop’, ‘Mulatto’, ‘Red Mint’, ‘Japanese parsley’), which the Japanese call “shiso” or “suza”. Such a garden can be decorated with a bamboo fence and a shishi-odoshi water beater, designed to scare away birds and animals.

Decorative leafy vegetables

Today you can find seeds of various lettuces with interesting foliage on sale. For example, corn, or field lettuce, it has a very small rosette with green glossy foliage, and it is great as a border plant in any garden bed. And the tall asparagus salad ‘Svetlana’ with long lanceolate leaves and thick stems will decorate the center of the garden bed, as will the very beautiful common chicory ‘Arrows of Cupid’, its wavy leaves resemble those of dandelions with red veins.

The collection of garden ornamental leaves will be supplemented by spicy herbs with variegated and carved leaves: mint, sage, chervil ( ‘Lacy’, ‘Caprice’, ‘Curly’), which has delicate green lacy leaves that, after flowering, acquire a beautiful bronze color. Rue leaves have an unusual shape and a bluish tint. Curly parsley bushes are good; it is indispensable as a border plant in a mixed bed, as it holds its shape well, and its corrugated leaves grow quickly after cutting. The glossy leaves and petioles of beets are spectacular. True, there are unusual varieties, for example the pink ‘Chioggia’, its cuttings are also pinkish, the yellow one is bright yellow, the white one is white, so even a bed with banal beets can look very elegant.

A separate song needs to be sung about the beauty of leaf, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese, Japanese and other cabbages. Let’s just pay attention to the spectacular variety ‘Black Tuscany’: shaped like a palm tree with bubbly leaves, it will decorate the garden until it snows (or until you eat it).

Beautifully flowering vegetables

These are many previously named plants (vegetable chrysanthemums, cauliflower and broccoli, pumpkin crops, katran, amaranth, representatives of the umbelliferous and legume families), and fairly well-known vegetables, the flowers of which are worth looking at with a fresh look, without prejudice (even the inflorescences of potatoes and carrots they look pretty cute).

These are sunflowers and Jerusalem artichokes, blooming in inflorescences in the fall,

Among the new products, you can try sowing Spilanthes horticulturalis ‘Samba’ - an ornamental, salad and medicinal creeping plant. It has very funny inflorescences that resemble an eyeball.

Beautiful fruits

Of course, it is for them that we plant a vegetable garden. There are no ugly vegetables, but there are especially decorative ones, such as pumpkins, which are also used to decorate the house.

In the garden, bushes of small-fruited tomatoes look cheerful and cheerful; today their choice is incredibly wide - all the colors of the rainbow (except blue), reminiscent of rudbeckia flowers. And how good are the flowering perennial onions - chives, slime, victorious, fragrant, oblique, Altai and others! Their balls and inflorescences are worthy not only of a vegetable garden, but also of a flower garden.

Seeds of white-fruited cucumbers have appeared on sale. They are not only tasty and original - they are more noticeable in green foliage

Or maybe you will like the flowers of scorzonera and oat root, because they belong to the Asteraceae family... And of course, one cannot help but pay attention to the blue, pink, white flowers of borage, pink inflorescences of oregano and many other spicy plants.

variegated, two-color, different shapes (round, pear-shaped, teardrop-shaped). Small-fruited plants are good not only for their sweet taste and decorative effect, but also because their bushes do not require pinching and are cold-resistant.

Hot peppers are no less beautiful and resilient. You can choose tall and short varieties, with multi-colored (red, yellow, orange, purple) fruits.

Gardeners in southern latitudes have an even greater choice, including any tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Tapeworms in the garden

As in an ornamental garden, a vegetable garden needs a soloist - a monumental plant that is beautiful throughout the season.

Rhubarb, a powerful, perennial plant, claims to be the soloist. Its flowering cannot be called spectacular, but its beautiful red petioles (pink to crimson depending on the variety) and large wavy green leaves can be admired from spring to autumn.

The katran (‘Accord’. ‘Picadrome’), which is also called Tatar or eastern horseradish, can compete in power and size. This is really a variety of horseradish, but, unlike the evil and insidious aggressor we are used to, this one keeps itself within limits, the compact katran bush does not scatter, and even in the second or third year after sowing the seeds it blooms - the white cloud of its inflorescences is decorative.

The fluffy, cold-resistant perennial asparagus (‘Argentelskaya’, ‘Tsarskaya’, ‘Waldau’) is also good - previously this tall, up to 160 cm, plant could often be found in front gardens and old dachas, where it was grown for decorative purposes. If you sow a few seeds, then at first you will be able to admire its greenery, and after three or four years there will be enough shoots to both “eat” and “admire”.

ON A NOTE

The fashion for umbrella plants in natural-style flower beds is in full swing.

And there’s even more of a place for them in the garden – perennial lovage, biennial angelica, annual fennel and dill. They can be a highlight in the garden, and serve as a green screen or third-party plants.

THE FASHION FOR VEGETABLE GARDENS, WHICH HAS GROWED OLD BRITAIN IN RECENT YEARS, FINDS MORE AND MORE FANS IN THIS COUNTRY. PLANTING AND GROWING GARDEN PLANTS FOR YOUR OWN TABLE HAS BECOME A PRESTIGIOUS ACTIVITY HERE. GARDEN TRADITIONS, WHICH WERE FORGOTTEN FOR A LONG TIME DUE TO THE LACK OF ECONOMIC NEED - EVERYTHING CAN BE BUYED IN THE SUPERMARKET - ARE RETURNING WITH TRIUMPH

Things have gotten to the point where flower beds are being given over to vegetable crops. Marigolds and sunflowers are sown next to zucchini and potatoes; fragrant tobacco is adjacent to various onions and beans; Basil, spinach and chard decorate the tomato plantings. Calendula and nasturtium share beds with corn and cabbage. Graceful dill umbrellas sway in the wind, rivaling cosmos in beauty.

In gardens and parks

This picture can be seen not only in private gardens. For example, in London's Holland Park, instead of traditional flower beds where annual flowers usually grow, garden plants triumphed last summer. In rectangular bosquets, reminiscent of the existence of a once formal garden, framed by clipped boxwood, among verbena and fragrant tobacco, dahlias 'Jolly Fellows', snapdragons and decorative sunflowers, dill, curly parsley, chard, spinach, basil and others looked very organic spices.

History of mixed plantings

For British traditions, mixed plantings are far from new.

In the 19th century, in small cottage gardens, where literally every inch of land was saved, vegetables and berries were always planted mixed with herbs and flowers. Nasturtiums and old-fashioned dahlias, along with delphiniums and lupins, speedwells, sage and physalis, stood side by side with root vegetables, cabbage and pumpkins.

The benefits were combined with the artless beauty of annuals. Once sown, they self-sowed every year - this is how bright informal borders arose, the natural charm of village front gardens.

Weeds were not sown in densely planted beds; flowering plants attracted pollinating insects, which significantly increased the yield; many flowering annuals (nasturtium, calendula, pyrethrum) repel pests and improve the health of plantings.

ON A NOTE

You should not sow perennial crops such as sorrel, lovage, mint, lemon balm or rhubarb in a mixed border. In the future, their presence will prevent free planting of annuals.

It is better to have a separate place for them.

Flower and vegetable beds

Nowadays, even in a purely ornamental garden, where, as a matter of principle, there is no vegetable garden or potato planting, you can find a place for greens and some vegetable crops.

Do not deny yourself the pleasure of picking a bouquet of dill, a few sprigs of basil or a head of lettuce for lunch. We are not talking about planting large-sized garden plants such as pumpkins, zucchini or squash; they are too spreading and require a separate place. It is enough to sow curly parsley and dill, basil and cilantro among the annual flowers, and fashionable chard will make the composition even more colorful.

The huge variety and stunning decorativeness of lettuce varieties, as well as their unsurpassed early ripening, make it possible to change the display several times a season, experimenting with shape and color.

And planting a few potatoes lying around in a flower garden will give, you won’t believe it, a wonderful decorative effect. After all, you can look at our second bread differently. From an aesthetic point of view, the potato bush is very beautiful, especially in the flowering phase, because it is not without reason that ladies in crinolines made boutonnieres from its flowers.

Tomatoes look just as decorative in a mixed flower garden.

Floral base

Previously, in order to save land, ornamental plants were sown and planted in the spaces between garden crops, playing a secondary role. In ours with fruits of some exotic color - yellow, orange, purple. And the cherry tomato bushes, as if studded with beads of bright berries, will attract attention no less.

Living in harmony with nature means not only building houses from eco-friendly materials, living away from the bustle of the city and not polluting the environment. This also means eating environmentally friendly products. What products can you be 100% confident in? That's right, in those that they grew themselves. In this article from the site we will talk about what an ornamental vegetable garden is and why it can be arranged even in a very modern dacha.

Decorative vegetable garden in landscape design photo

Decorative vegetable garden: the feasibility of its use

Recently, growing your own fruits and vegetables in your summer cottage has become a popular and even fashionable trend. And this is not unreasonable, since you know for sure that you did not poison your vegetables with nitrates, did not use growth enhancers, and even if you used drugs to protect plants from pests, then these were probably organic products that were safe for humans.

The most important requirements for a modern ornamental garden are that it requires minimal care, and also brings not only aesthetic pleasure, but also practical benefits in the form of ripe and juicy fruits.

After such insight, it’s time to start studying the structure of an ornamental vegetable garden, consider its types and design options. But first, you can watch the video, which presents various options for an ornamental vegetable garden.

Planning a decorative vegetable garden: how to do it right

You need to start planning your garden by choosing the right location. In order for cultivated plants to produce an excellent harvest and not get sick, they need good living conditions.

As for the size of the ornamental garden, here you need to start from the needs of your family - if it is large, then you need a lot of fruit and berry crops; if the family is small, then there is no need to plant a hundred tomato seedlings or dozens of currant bushes.

If you are not sure that you want to garden in your summer cottage and are just looking at the idea of ​​​​a beautiful vegetable garden, then start small - organize a space of about 2 square meters for planting greens (dill, parsley, cilantro, lettuce, green onions, basil are always needed on the farm). They take up little space and care for these cultivated plants is minimal. So this can be a successful start on your path to becoming an experienced summer gardener.

Forms of decorative vegetable garden photo

Decorative vegetable garden in landscape design: varieties

In order to transform a banal garden into a decorative one, landscape designers come up with all sorts of options that are suitable for almost all owners of country houses without exception. All of them are worthy of attention, so let’s start studying them immediately.

Raspberry, currant, gooseberry, and felt cherry bushes do not have to be arranged in beds; they can be grown along the perimeter of the summer cottage on the sunny side. These are ideal plants for a decorative garden, not only in terms of yield, but also for zoning the area, since with their help it is easy to separate one part of the garden from another.

The only caveat is that these bushes should not be planted near. Without a doubt, all children love to enjoy fresh fruits and berries. But in the midst of play, some children may want to hide in bushes with lush greenery, and these plants are known to have thorny stems and can injure children.

As for the place of the decorative vegetable garden in landscape design, it rarely occupies a dominant position on the site. Often distant zones are reserved for it, but variegated flower beds and flowers are still brought to the foreground.

In conclusion, about the decorative vegetable garden, I would like to say a few words about planting options. It is better not to use traditional linear beds here, giving preference to island planting, and each “island” can be limited by a hedge in the form of dill, parsley, and lettuce. And the basic rule, which says “tall plants in the background, short ones in the foreground,” has also not been canceled, so it should be adhered to.

The decorative garden differs from the traditional one by the main principle: it is not only tasty, but also beautiful! Modern space planning has long had a clearly defined trend - a combination of functional and decorative.

Where to buy ready-made boxes for raised beds?

Since the materials from which boxes for beds are made are exposed to quite aggressive environmental influences, the requirements for them must be increased. Otherwise, such a bed will either not last long or will itself become a source of harmful substances that pollute the soil and the crop being grown. In addition, the choice of material is limited by aesthetic requirements - after all, that is why it is a decorative garden, to be beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

2. Boxes made of decorative concrete products that perfectly imitate the texture and color of natural wood.		Price, BYN excluding VAT, pcs.
	1. Concrete paving slabs “Antiqued board”, 600/200 mm	5,6
	2. Concrete paving slabs “Old Board”, 800/200 mm.	7,68
	3. Small concrete column (straight or angular) 100/100/500 mm.	32
	4. Large concrete post (straight or angular) 100/100/1000 mm.	42

Completed work:

Principles of constructing an ornamental garden.

Making an original decorative garden with your own hands is not so difficult: you just need to know the basic principles, look for a few ideas, and use your personal imagination. Let’s make a reservation right away: we will not classify ornamental gardens into French, English and the like, as many designers try to do. Rule number 1: the concept of landscape space must be uniform. Those. If your suburban area is decorated in a “country” style, try to keep the design of your beds in the same style.

Setting up an ornamental vegetable garden is best done from raised beds, which have very significant advantages:

1. They have clearly defined geometric shapes and smooth, regular boundaries, which allows you to create interesting compositions for the decorative garden as a whole.
2. The paths between the beds can be paved, after which they do not need to be weeded; they are comfortable and dry to walk on in any weather.
3. Raised beds are easier to care for, weed, and harvest.
4. They don't need to be dug up.
5. They produce a more abundant harvest.
6. The device uses balanced fertile soil or, so you can absolutely not depend on soil imperfections.
7. The soil remains constantly loose and does not trample down.
8. The soil warms up better, seedlings can be planted earlier, and seedlings can be easily protected from night frosts.
9. When constructing the beds, guaranteed drainage is provided.
10. A raised bed can be easily protected from moles and mice.

How to make a raised bed with your own hands.

Raised beds can be divided into box beds and container beds. They differ in height: the first have a height above ground level of up to 0.8 - 1 m, the second - 15 - 20 cm. Both are filled only with organic matter. One of the significant differences is that in hot weather, a low bed needs to be watered more often, because... a thin layer of organic matter quickly loses moisture, including nutrients. A thick layer of mulch () helps to retain moisture in the beds. The basic principles of constructing raised beds are as follows:

• The beds are made narrow (no more than 1 - 1.3 m) so that they are easy to weed;
• They are deepened into the ground if the area is dry and raised above the ground if the area is flooded with groundwater;
• The paths between the beds are carefully weeded or laid with paving material;
• The beds are filled with organic matter and then mulched.

What is a recessed box bed?

• Mark the future ornamental garden (we will describe the rules for marking below).
• In the intended place where the raised bed will be, remove the fertile soil to a depth of 40 cm. Place it carefully to the side; it will later be useful as a top layer. Attention! You can deepen the bed if the groundwater is low.
• Make a raised bed box. There are a lot of options for making boxes - from cheap budget ones to original designer ones made from expensive materials. We will also tell you in more detail how and what to make the box from in the next section. The height of the box above the ground can be 40 - 100 cm. The maximum width of the bed is no more than 130 cm. Make a raised bed of the optimal size for yourself, for your height - not very wide, so that it is convenient to weed, not very low, so as not to bend over too much .
• The inner walls of the box must be lined with moisture-proofing materials (film or special geotextiles).
• Now we fill the box with layers of organic matter from the bottom up (see picture above). Each layer is compacted, moistened (watered abundantly), covered with earth and:

8 - plastic or metal;

7 - drainage from large twigs and branches of plants;

6 - paper, thin cardboard or geotextile, so as not to silt up the drainage and extend its service life. Another purpose of paper is to prevent weeds from germinating. You cannot use glossy paper;

5 - bark and sawdust;

4, 3 - unrotted plant waste, foliage;

2 - rotted compost;

1 - fertile soil (garden soil).

The top layer needs to be made thick so that the roots have enough space so that they do not grow into the bottom layer, which is still overheated.

What is a raised container bed?

It is not as high above ground level as the box, but it is filled according to the same principle, only with organic matter. A rodent and mole net, tree branches, wood chips or shavings are placed at the bottom. Then a layer of unrotted organic matter (grass, leaves). It can be watered with special fertilizer to speed up the process of overheating. Next is a layer of humus and earth. The last one is a layer of finished compost and fertile soil, which should be at least 15 - 20 cm. It is not recommended to mix the last two.

Such a bed does not need to be dug up or loosened. In the spring, a layer of ready-made compost is added as the soil in which the plants are planted “subsides.” When the seedlings grow, the soil is mulched with a thick layer of straw or bark. The raised bed has natural “bioheating”, it is not afraid of heavy rains, and it does not dry out during drought. Arches with film or translucent materials can be easily installed on the box if there is a need to protect the seedlings from cold weather. For climbing plants, stationary supports are made that are attached to the box.

Making a box for a raised bed.

Currently, the variety of materials allows us to produce both inexpensive, budget options for raised beds, as well as original ones for elite garden plots. In any case, you need to remember that the design must be optimal and meet the goals set, and more specifically, serve as a convenient platform for growing vegetables and other crops.

What materials cannot be used:

• Metal (including pieces of metal tiles or corrugated sheets) - it rusts, heats up in the sun, overheats the soil, thereby creating unfavorable conditions for plant growth;
• Slate, old tires, wood treated with an antiseptic, and other non-ecological materials that release harmful substances into the soil.
• Fragile materials, unstable to weather conditions and also to soil pressure on the walls of the box from the inside.
• Old, unsightly, second-hand building materials that can easily ruin the overall appearance of the site.
• It is not advisable to use metal structures for trellises and supports for climbing plants. Metal heating up in the sun damages the plant.

The material for the decorative garden should be selected in accordance with the general landscape concept of your site:

1. The most common and inexpensive for our geographical latitudes is wood. For a raised bed, you can use edged sanded boards or logs, which can be easily laid in crowns in the form of a well. For a country-style area, wicker boxes made of branches are well suited. The advantages are obvious - inexpensive, clean environment, attractive appearance. However, untreated wood will not last long, this is a clear disadvantage.
2. Natural rubble stone. Not a very expensive option if there is enough natural material in the surrounding area. But labor intensive. The stones are fastened together with a sand-cement mixture and form a fairly strong, durable structure.
3. Brick (or paving stones). More expensive material, requires masonry skills. But as a result, you will get a durable, quite attractive design. The color of the brick (or paving stones) should be in harmony either with the facades of your house or with the paving of the paths on the site. A shallow strip foundation is made as a base for the wall of the box. Then the brick is laid using various dressing options. The inside walls of the box are insulated from moisture with film or geotextile. Outside (if the raised bed is not built on a concrete or paved area), make a blind area at least as wide as the length of the brick. The blind area gives the structure a more presentable and neat appearance, especially on those sides where it needs to be mowed, because... the presence of a blind area eliminates inaccessibility for.
4. (flagstone). It looks very presentable if the raised beds are made on a platform paved with the same stone. This is a fairly expensive, elite option for setting up an ornamental garden, but it is also very effective. The walls of the bed box can be made in two ways: poured out of concrete using formwork and lined with stone on the outside, or laid out a wall of flagstone, fastening the stones together with a sand-cement mixture.
5. Plastic. Durable and affordable material. When purchasing plastic, be sure to make sure it is environmentally friendly in your area.

Bench for raised bed.

The benefits of raised beds are undeniable. Perhaps one of the main ones is to facilitate the work process when growing crops. A special bench will complement the list of advantages and will allow you to do many jobs while sitting. The design is very light, simple and mobile. It is hung on the side of the box and, as necessary, moves along the bed or hangs on its other edge.

As you can see in the photo, we need a seat, two external limiters in the form of corners, and an internal limiter in the form of a rail. Between them there is a distance equal to the thickness of the box. The limiters are attached to the seat with self-tapping screws. The bench must be sanded and coated with a special wood treatment compound or varnish.

Organizing space for a decorative vegetable garden.

The decorative vegetable garden is one of the modern inventions in landscape design. If your landscape on the site is impeccable, and you fit such a vegetable garden into the overall concept, you can easily surprise your neighbors with an original, unexpected approach to growing delicious vegetables, while enjoying an absolutely landscaped and decorative view of cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs and root vegetables. At the same time, the yield of such a vegetable garden, thanks to properly arranged raised beds, will be pleasantly surprising.

There are basic rules for setting up a decorative vegetable garden in raised beds, in fact, as for any vegetable garden in general:

• You must choose a place that is sunny, well-lit, and protected from drafts.
• The garden needs to be watered. Therefore, accessibility to a watering source is necessary. Garden plants do not like cold water, so this may be some kind of reservoir with water heated in the sun.
• Fertile soil is important for a garden. In our case, sandy and clayey areas are not dangerous, because... Raised beds with the basics of organic farming will help provide favorable conditions for plant growth regardless of the underlying soil composition.

Design solutions.

If you are not a designer, don't worry. A little imagination, and your vegetable garden will be no worse than the pictures presented in this article. The most common solution is a parterre composition of raised beds. Those. each bed will have a certain geometric shape around the perimeter (rectangle, square, triangle, circle, circle segment). All of them are generally put together, like a mosaic, into one overall composition. Do not forget that you need to leave a distance between the beds for passages so that it is convenient to care for them. Usually 40 - 50 cm is enough.

1. To begin with, such a composition is drawn on the plan in accordance with the scale and size of the area where the vegetable garden will be located. It is convenient to use a sheet of paper with a square and a scale: 1 square = 1 meter.
2. The height of the bed is selected in accordance with the practicality of care and the style of the composition.

Next, the vegetable garden is marked out on the site in accordance with the plan. A tape measure, pegs and twine are used for marking. With the help of this simple device, it is easy to correctly reproduce on the ground all the geometric shapes of future beds, including not only rectangles, but also a circle and segments of a circle. In this case, the peg is installed in the center of the circle, and a string with a length equal to the radius acts as a compass.

After the marking is completed, work is carried out in the following order:

1. According to the markings, boxes of raised beds are made. The paths between the beds are paving (either their blind area or backfill) and also, if necessary, the outer walls of the box are lined.
2. The beds are filled with organic matter in the sequence that we described above.
3. Now you need to think about what will be grown in the garden, and install supports for climbing plants in the selected beds.
4. For seedlings or heat-loving crops, a structure made of film or translucent materials is provided. It can be stationary or removable. In any case, this design is conveniently installed on top of the box and perfectly serves as a greenhouse. Its main advantage is that you do not need to go into a stuffy greenhouse to care for the plants.

The structure for the film does not have to be made in the form of wooden frames. Small diameter plastic pipes are very suitable for these purposes. They bend easily when heated and are attached to the box, sliding onto wooden bushings.

An ornamental vegetable garden does not make knowledgeable people laugh when they hear these two words in a conversation. They know that this is a living garden, only more well-groomed. Each plant planted in an ornamental garden is registered and is important. The main point of a decorative vegetable garden is to combine a vegetable garden and a flower bed.

People arrange their suburban area in different ways. Some build a house and plow up the remaining part of the plot for a vegetable garden with ordinary beds and furrows for potatoes and vegetables. Others build a house, live in it, go to the city to work every day and arrange the site with a thoughtful style for the landscape area as a whole. Potatoes are not planted in such areas, but, if necessary, are bought from the retail chain.

A well-equipped decorative vegetable garden is being created to eat salads, vegetables and berries directly from the garden. The process of growing healthy vitamins under the window becomes not labor-intensive, but only enjoyable. And this is becoming a fashionable trend today in country life.

Decorative vegetable garden bed design

You need to arrange the beds in a well-lit, elevated area. The place should be protected from northern winds, with easily accessible water for irrigation. There may be some shade, but not for the whole day. A hedge around the garden is possible.

We need to abandon the stereotype of rectangular beds. Immediately get used to the idea that beds can have very different shapes: square, circle, ellipse, triangle, zigzag and other bizarre shapes.

Such beds are not arranged in rows, but are picturesquely placed throughout the entire dacha plot. The gaps between the beds can be of different widths.

Curly beds scattered across a mowed lawn or surrounded by passages sprinkled with sand or fine gravel look very good.

Vegetable beds can alternate with flower beds or berry and ornamental shrubs. On each bed you can plant either one type of vegetables or different types, creating fancy compositions.

A decorative effect is thoughtfully created in vegetable beds. At the same time, plants contrasting in height, color, shape and leaf structure are harmoniously combined. The main background often remains green and is only enlivened here and there by bright spots of color.

Such unpretentious and neutral flowers as calendula get along well with vegetables. Nasturtium can be combined with dill, peas, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, and beets.

To increase the yield of beans, peas, and cucumbers, borage (borage grass) is planted next to the beds. This is a honey plant that is actively visited by bees and bumblebees.

It is enough to have three or four borage plants in the garden to attract insects to pollinate vegetable crops. The photo below shows borage grass.

There is intolerance between some types of vegetables. For example, onions and garlic do not grow well next to peas and beans, but they grow well next to strawberries and carrots. Cucumbers go well with peas, beans, and garlic, but do not get along with potatoes.

Plants of the same family, parsley and carrots, should not be planted in the same bed, due to the risk of spreading pests and diseases.

In addition to compatibility, the time of sowing, ripening and harvesting is taken into account. Everything is thought out so that different types of vegetables in the garden simultaneously achieve the greatest decorative effect and are harvested at the same time.

If the vegetable plants are healthy, then they are beautiful, well developed and themselves simply and easily fit into the landscape design of the dacha.

You can arrange vegetables and plants in the garden according to different patterns. Can be planted in rows, groups or circles. The pattern can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Arrangement of plants and vegetables in the garden bed video

The arrangement of a decorative garden does not end there. It is important to choose a style. It will be reviewed in the next article.

Many people think that the appearance of a vegetable garden looks boring and uninteresting with its straight beds. But let me prove the opposite to you. Look at the photo of the original DIY vegetable garden.

In today's article we will talk about impressive ideas, decorating methods, recommendations for creating unique vegetable gardens and some instructive lessons.

Lazy beds - a modern option

Do you want to free yourself from boring and annoying gardening chores? You should immediately study the technology of creating modern beds, called lazy beds. They do not require constant weeding and provide you with time for a summer holiday.

In addition, this option of beds is convenient and helps to increase productivity.

Dacha residents are well acquainted with the processes of growing various plants, and the final result does not always live up to expectations and costs. Thus, seedlings may not take root and die, or may not produce a harvest. And lazy beds can help solve these problems.

The peculiarity of these beds is that the seedlings grow independently, and their productivity increases by several orders of magnitude. The secret of this technique is very simple: the beds should not be disturbed by weeding or loosening the soil; this is only possible during their preparatory period and during the planting period.

Undoubtedly, by regularly weeding the ground, you will eradicate all the weeds and loosen the soil, but because of this, the soil itself will begin to dry out and will not sufficiently moisten the plants.

Lazy beds are not difficult to make, you just need to do everything step by step:

First you should decide on the size of the sides, especially the height, which depends on their location. According to the selected dimensions, prepare boards for them, fasten them with self-tapping screws and wooden blocks at the corners of the sides. To do this, you should use clamps.

Having finished assembling the box for the garden bed, turn it over and install it in a predetermined place that is well lit.

Prepare holes, the depth of which should be 12-15 cm, so that the corner wooden blocks fit perfectly into them. Install the box securely. Use a level to make sure the bed is installed correctly.

On the inside, attach a PVC pipe to the sides so that you can later attach film or hoops with mesh to it. Lightly compact the bottom, cover it first with a metal mesh to protect against rodents, then with geotextile material.

Fill the box with soil and secure the watering hoses. Plant the harvested seedlings. If you need to cover the bed, secure the arcs for the film. The bed is ready!

Don't forget to provide a watering system. You don't have to buy an expensive one. It is recommended to water not often, but enough so that the plants are fully moistened before the next watering.

Gardening tools that are chosen correctly will help you save time and energy. In this regard, it is worth purchasing only high-quality tools to make the work easier and more comfortable. Store equipment in a designated storage area.

As the planting season begins, dig up the soil to prepare it for planting seedlings or seeds.

Having completed the planting process, do not disturb the soil; the mulch will do everything for you. Your job is to provide regular watering.

Note!

As you can see, this version of the beds is really for the lazy, but the most hardworking summer residents have taken note of it and put it into action.

Excellent productivity from raised beds

The construction of a frame structure and watering system for high beds is a very labor-intensive process, but then you will be completely satisfied with the yield and weather conditions.

The sun's rays have an excellent effect on high beds in terms of illumination and warming up the soil, as a result of which planting can begin in April.

Rodent protection in the form of a metal mesh is also placed at the bottom of the bed. With a frame width of 1.5 m, it will be easy for you to care for plants either from one side or the other. You can also make a two-lane bed and cover it with film on top, you will get a greenhouse version of the bed.

The harvest in such beds usually ripens early. Their only disadvantage is that they need to be watered frequently, since water is not retained in the soil.

Note!

Despite the labor-intensive nature of building beds, this is quickly compensated for by good results and a very attractive appearance.

Smart beds are the best

Smart or warm beds are not much different from lazy ones. The only difference is the use of fertilizers, which, as a rule, increase the volume of the crop with minimal effort.

The soil used in smart beds is not soil, but compost with sawdust, leaves, and straw, which further nourishes the plants. A layer of soil is poured on top of the compost and after one month planting begins.

The height of the beds is approximately 1 m. You can use stones, logs or bricks to fence them, which will make the garden more interesting. Don't forget to provide the beds with internal watering.

If you don’t mind the time and money for a large amount of fertilizer, then this method is for you. But we assure you that you will not be at a loss, and you will be pleased not only with gorgeous beds and the design of the garden in general, but also with early harvest.

Note!

Economy option for raised beds

Fencing beds with wattle fence is the most economical option in terms of finances. In addition, this design idea for a vegetable garden will perfectly decorate your plot. Such beds are suitable for growing both flowers and vegetables.

Step-by-step instructions for building a garden bed:

• Inside the fence, cover the ground with geotextile material or cardboard so that beneficial substances do not seep into the soil when watering. Although cardboard is not durable, it will eventually become organic matter.
• Top with garden weeds or freshly cut grass from the lawn.
• Cover everything with a layer of dry straw.
• Place compost or rotten leaves on top of the straw.
• At the end there is a layer of black soil.
• The best period for these beds is autumn, when the necessary components are abundant. To naturally warm the soil, it is worth taking care of a layer of manure, which will release heat when it flows.

A beautiful vegetable garden may well become a decoration of the landscape of the entire site. How to create a unique look for your garden with your own hands?

Use some tips:

• if necessary, use a trellis for climbing plants;
• use multi-colored and different shaped garden plants.
• frame the beds in an original way, this will not only increase the yield, but also improve the appearance.
• Decorate your garden with flowers, preferably perennial ones.
• divide the beds with beautiful paths or paths in the form of pebbles or pebbles.
• If you are counting on a large harvest, then English or French styles are for you.

Scarecrow

By building a scarecrow in your garden, you will not only scare away birds, but also decorate it.

And a scarecrow doesn’t necessarily have to be scary and unkempt. Your version of a scarecrow can be mischievous, fun and colorful.

It can be built not only in the form of a person, but also in various other images, using all kinds of available materials.

By installing such a guard in your garden, you don’t have to worry about the safety of your harvest!

DIY vegetable garden photo