Kitchen & Vegetable gardens, Somerset.

Vegetable Gardens,

Example 1 Corsley, nr Frome, Somerset

Brief

To create a productive and attractive vegetable plot, in an established country garden setting.

I had been working at the gardens in Corsley for several years, re-developing and designing areas of this 5 acre garden, when the clients asked me to organise the vegetable garden. It had always been a vast expanse of soil traditionally worked with rows of vegetables, but the client wanted something more manageable and attractive.

I made a plan to divide the space into rectangular raised beds but to plant vegetables in arcs and circles, which cut through the straight lines. This added fun and spontaneity to the basic framework and could change yearly to accommodate crop rotation. Hazel sticks were used to grow runner beans and cut flowers and again the shapes and positions of these could be changed. The practical layout meant it was easy to mow the grass paths and kept the garden accessible all year.

Example 2

Part of a family garden, Bath.

To create a vegetable area that linked with the family garden based on curves rather than traditional straight lines.

Solution

I made the lawn area of the family garden circular, so that the vegetable garden beds could be formed from arcs that radiated from the lawn.

I used metal edges that could be bent into the desired shape and gravel paths which flowed easily into the curves.

The beds were a meter or so wide , which meant produce could be easily reached without having to step onto the soil. It also made digging and weeding the beds simpler.