Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions are embarrassingly simple.
—Bill Mollinson
THE VISION OF CREATION is exciting and challenging. This is where the journey begins with a new opportunity to develop a piece of land. It is like painting with the palate, only the canvas is three-dimensional and alive. The imagination can flow with passionate ideas that explode onto paper. The mind gets filled with colorful flowers, favorite fruits, the heavenly scents of lavender, and all that.
But wait. Am I doing it right? There are so many things to consider. Where is the best place to put it all? There are many right ways to lay out the most beautiful plans, and many more wrong ways to go about it that lead to costly learning experiences. One thing is for sure. There is no possible way not to make mistakes.
That is how we often learn and each endeavor comes with its own lessons. What are your objectives? How do your wants fit into what the land wants? Each piece of land is suitable for growing something amazing, but how do you fit it into what you want to grow. Each given area has a flow. How do you flow with it? It is like any relationship. There are compromises that make the transitions easier and it all takes time. It is good to have a one-year, two- or three-year plan. It helps also to work with what is already there. Gardens require ample sun, water, and soil. The most efficient way to trap the sun’s energy is with plants.
Energy is cycled back into the soil in the following pattern: sun energy → plants → food → green manure → compost → soil, and back to plants. Is there enough water to support the growing you are doing? Rain cannot be relied on; you will need another source. Soil often needs to be nurtured back into a healthy state. It may also need remediation and this takes time. Make sure not to inhibit nutrient cycles. Nutrients like carbon and nitrogen, water, oxygen, and gases released from the soil flow in cycles. Plastic over soil prevents it from breathing. If you have stagnant water, then you have a drainage issue. When everything can flow in cycles, life flows freely. This is important for the overall health of the soil. Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Conquering nature is one of humanity’s great mistakes. Having a harmonious relationship with the natural environment around you is the key from the beginning. Most importantly, how do you make it healthier so it provides for you the way you want it to, long term, which is a more sustainable approach? Look at the whole picture. To get an overall perspective, you may need an aerial view from a tree or hill.
Making keen observations is a subtle task. It takes time to enter into an intimate relationship with a piece of land. Sitting quietly at the edge of a field can offer insight into how the various species function in their environment. It is a good investment of time to make useful observations that will pay off later. Notice how the slope of the terrain impacts the growth of the plants living there. Look for corridors in the openings in the woods along the edge of the field. It would be good to spend the night out in the field to see who shows up. It is also useful to observe how the field wakes up before sunrise.
First, it is important to do an assessment of the existing plants. If native plants exist, try to work with them by incorporating your ideas into the already existing landscape. Perception in the garden is a developed sense. The art of listening, smelling, and sensing the energy of the plants requires being open to your surroundings.
Research what conditions these plants grow in so that you can better understand what is best suited for the given area. The slopes are important for water and air flow. Bottom areas are always colder and wetter. Cold air contains more moisture and falls to the bottom; these areas will frost first and last and stay cooler. This is the law of convection. It helps to measure temperatures in these microclimates.
Divide areas up by the species that exist there. Bottom fields should be different than the high spots. A taller, denser ecosystem stays cooler during the day and retains heat at night. Look at the spot after a good rain to examine drainage problems. The sun’s orientation is very important. Ideally, it is best for beds to run north and south for sun exposure on both sides. But east to west beds can use the sun differently, with small plants at the front sweeping to large ones in the back. You design it to look like a family portrait with the tall ones as backdrops sloping down to the small ones in the front.
Observe what trees are along the perimeter of the field you plan to work in. If you have oaks or nut trees, for instance, you will have squirrels. Black walnuts put a toxic acid into the soil to keep anything from growing around them and competing for nutrients. The ecosystem around a field exists well into the woods surrounding it. This is where the animals and insects come from that will visit your garden at night. Understanding who is there will be the first step in how to exist with them, like the invasive plants, which can often be nonnatives. This is an indication of an imbalance. Getting rid of them would be a long-term goal.
Always start with a pencil, paper, and a big eraser so you can make a lot of changes. It is easier to make changes on paper and a lot less costly. A landscape design is an expression of oneself, like in any art form it reflects one’s personality. What do you want to convey? Design is as much about personality as it is about needs. A garden should invite you in.
In China, they follow the concept of feng shui. It involves movement of energy that flows in and out, without obstructions. Entrances consist of beautiful invitations with wide borders that funnel you in and sweep you through its corridors and on to another perspective of a garden that is rich and radiant with life exploding out from all areas. There is a central focus, or often several, such as a tree or a tall group of plants. Use plants that will lead up to this point, for example, a row of lavender on each side of a wide path or a bed of flowers with a small tree located at the end of the bed. There is definition but not like a manicured landscape. Allow plants to be a bit unruly to demonstrate a balance between a cultivated garden and one that also embraces nature. Nature is always the predominant leader. Try not to obstruct its flow.
Healthy plants want to grow freely and so give them room for this by understanding their needs for space. It is also good to fill up areas where plants have open voids. Basic landscape design involves form and formation. Form is the shape. Each plant has its own shape. Formation is the arrangement of these shapes. Some plants are more vertical; they work well as foundation plants to define end corners and so on. They can work well with horizontal ones that are oval or columnar. Use ground covers and spreading plants for the base to fill in the puzzle. Define corners with tall plants, which soften edges and borders along the front of beds. Use this with a consistent row of short plants. This gives it a defining edge.
There are many plants that complement each other. As you lay out the garden, you can get a feel for this. Follow your instincts and invite comments from others. Paths need to be easy to navigate. Try to avoid straight lines. Paths should sweep along like a dance. Use a more rounded pattern, but not to the point that you get lost or create a maze. Creating a circular design by using beds to form an arch can help define an area. An inner circle may resemble the outer perimeter of the garden. This can be used to form a clear definition as you transition from one area to another.
Design beds that are contoured with the slope of the land using space efficiently to allow you to get the most out of your design. Create shade for the benefit of your plants. This will protect them from heat and wind. A hedgerow can also serve as a windbreak. Windbreaks can be suited for different situations, and it is good if they serve more than one purpose. Elderberry (Sambucus) or Rosa rugosa is useful as a light windbreak but will not hold up against strong winds. Quince (Cydonia oblonga) or thornless blackberry work better for more challenging areas. These also provide a good fruit for you and wildlife. A windbreak needs to be pruned to encourage solid growth and just not top growth. A double windbreak can be used in a serious situation. Many types of brambles like blackberry are sturdier for strong winds. It will have to be maintained to prevent it from spreading.
Keep in mind that if you wish to trap the energy of, say, the wind, it is only to release it gradually. That is why plants work better than a wall where heat is released gradually. Ground covers and low-growing plants open up the atmosphere more easily. This provides air circulation above the landscape. There are places to trap air at beginnings and midway, yet allowing for air flow is very important.
One basic principle is to allow for the flow of air and moisture. The movement and fluidity enhances a healthy environment. Open up for sunlight to penetrate around and through plants. This is especially true for perennials. Trees are much healthier if opened up to allow air and sunlight in. Make sure to allow breathing room around plants and create the living mulch to protect the soil and the moist gas it gives off. Living mulch is what takes place when the plants are mature and leaves just overlap a little to create a canopy. This protects the soil, keeps out weeds, and helps develop the microenvironment just above the soil.
Keeping good air movement around plants is important. This can be advantageous on a wet year. Plants that are prone to diseases need more air flow. Use cut grasses as light mulch around young transplants to protect the soil but still allow it to breathe. They will decompose by the time the plants mature and develop a canopy over the bed. Seeing earthworms near the surface of the soil after a gentle rain is a good sign of porosity and fertility. Chances are the field you are working in is rounded also. Work with this shape. Contours along hillsides help ease the drop of elevation. Cover crops like white clover can be established in paths if there is not too much competition.
One farm I know leaves a path just wide enough for a lawn mower. The clover is spread onto the bed with the lawn mower’s spray. This can work in a place with low-growing seeds. Work with existing shapes of the trees around you. Work with irregular shapes by adding continuity for balance. When there are too many straight lines, break up the continuity. Move away from horizontal straight lines at the tops of plants. Plant the same plants into small groupings in a traditional landscape design pattern.
Keep in mind that plants are round and do not need to be planted like square pegs. Plants fill in best in staggered patterns. Colors that complement each other allows for the painting of this landscape. Yellows move into oranges that move into reds well. Purples become blue and so on. Hedgerows and herbs can be used as herbaceous borders that are attractive and practical. For instance, a wide corridor can be edged with a small row of herbs like sage or prostate rosemary. Alyssum, yarrow, or lemon balm could also be used to provide habitat for beneficial insects.
Hedgerows also act as a filter to catch what is moving across a field in the air, by water, or on four legs. They encourage biological diversity. Hedgerows can be made up of a variety of plants or staggered plantings in a continuous line. A creative design for a hedgerow is one that serves multiple purposes. It can serve as a windbreak. It can also be edible for humans and wildlife. Here is a short list of possibilities: elderberry (Sambucus), gooseberry (Ribes grossularia) or currants, quince (Cydonia oblonga), rose hips (Rosa rugosa), blackberry (Rubus), pineapple guava (fejoa), rosemary, green tea plant (Camellia sinsensis), aronia berry (Malus floribunda) or chokeberry, lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis), serviceberry (Amelanchier). Work with the topography. You can also use tall growth as a catchment to trap air flow as it moves downhill. In the case of a hedgerow, they are planted in tight space. Otherwise, being practical is a dimension of design that is going to lead to its success. Maintenance needs to be considered as you can minimize your work by choosing plants that fill in a space well but don’t compete for that space and are best suited for the area as they mature.
A watering system developed early will keep watering plans organized, followed with the use of mulch and living mulch. Keeping plants together that have the same water and sun needs is also important. Consider how the plant will look when mature. When I was working in the city parks in California in the 1970s, it was easy to observe ivy planted under shrubs. It may have been job security. How will neighboring plants blend together? How will they benefit each other, both physically and with nutritional needs? The existing balance or lack thereof needs to be assessed.
Manifesting changes is a step-by-step process of careful planning and execution. Permaculture is a whole system that takes the entire environment into account. It ties together all the components to allow them to work together. It involves the use of ecosystem concepts and places plants into zones. An ecosystem is a structure of management of the natural laws. Everything is there to learn from. It can be seen as a small-scale existence nestled in a larger-scale system or web of life. The idea is to imitate patterns of nature. Take into account the functionality of each thing.
When planning, try to use plants that are multifunctional. For instance, planting clover or vetch under fruit trees provides a good cover for the soil. It builds the soil and provides nitrogen, and the flowers attract bees. Chives can also be very beneficial. It helps as a preventative for fruit scab, attracts beneficial insects and discourages harmful ones, and is a culinary herb.
A good place to start is with your base. Start with the place where you wake up and put your feet on the ground. This is the center of your universe. It should be a close walk to the area that needs the most attention, like annuals, vegetables, and those you use and work with most, a salad garden or herbs for the kitchen. As you branch out, move toward perennials or plants that are less demanding as the zones expand.
Try to maintain diversity all throughout the growing areas. The idea of planting only one plant creates a monoculture. All of one plant attracts all of one pest. A forest is very diverse, consisting of a community referred to as an ecosystem. It has a large host of families, ages, and sizes that compete and exist together. Try to emulate this in your design. The perimeter of the field where the garden is going to be is where small fruit and other shrubs can grow, and then fruit trees are lined around the field as you graduate into the existing woods. Areas that are protected from the wind can be used for tall plants that might be susceptible to wind damage. Shaded areas can be a zone for plants that benefit or tolerate shade, especially for afternoon shade. Areas of elevation need to be considered. Plants that benefit from higher spots usually need more drainage and in bottom areas you will often find plants that prefer wet soils. It will be beneficial to follow this pattern so the plants can take advantage of this when the summers are dry. Because of temperatures and moisture, needs for drainage should be considered.
Having a pond is a valuable biological resource. It is often the missing element on smaller lands. When creating one, remember to have a source of water and a place for runoff. This way it will not be stagnant. The best ponds taper into a depth of a foot or more. Using plants around the edge attract a wide variety of insects. Rocks can be used as landings for bees, dragonflies, and the like.
Elsewhere in the garden, groupings of plants that have mutual needs and are symbiotic in nature are useful. How do the plants interrelate? Plants themselves have interesting patterns, like the head of a sunflower or the shape of all flowers. They are elegant in their simplicity. These patterns are useful in providing water runoff or helping with pollination by wind. Use these patterns to design your own plantings. This is sometimes referred to as a mandala garden. A mandala is a circular or semicircular layout around a center. Using herb circles as the center is both esthetic and practical. Surround that with intensive plantings of vegetables, herbs, and flowers in an integrated approach. Along the parameters plant shrubs and trees.
Leave room for a few weeds. Much of what we call “weeds” grow in areas with similar soil and water needs. These plants catch and store energy that can be used by the gardener if cut when they are young and used as green manure or mulch. Some have deep roots that cultivate the soil. Others attract butterflies and desirable insects. Remediation is important because most areas are in need of some help from previous damage.
Observe weaknesses in the system. Erosion is an obvious one. Damage to the existing wild plants is a sign of poor health of the soil beneath. The weak soil of the given area produces plants that are being targeted by insects and diseases that are attracted to weak plants. By designing the area efficiently, you can minimize weeds, help store water in the soil, and maximize use of the area you are planting in. Plants can be used to help catch water. You will find the area with tall lush grass to house the earthworms.
If there is a creek or running water on the land, it is important to protect that area with riparian buffers of plants that prevent erosion from overflow during heavy rains. Native grasses work well for this. Along areas with a gentle flow one could introduce watercress. Along areas that flow even less would be a good area to introduce Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae. This could be collected in small amounts as a nitrogen source for beds. Unless a stream begins on the land, there is always the issue of contamination from the land above. It can be difficult to own one’s watershed. Bioremediation can be done with plants like Azolla (duckweed fern). It is another plant source for making biofertilizer. This plant also removes chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, and lead. Water is an important part of balancing the biology of a piece of land.
Another concept to consider is polyculture plantings. This concept uses understory plants to utilize and protect the area beneath the ones above and using space efficiently. Growing tall plants with shorter plants under them is efficient and compatible. An example of this would be to plant dwarf or semidwarf fruit trees with slightly more space than usually needed. Halfway between you can plant a smaller shrub, like a blueberry bush. The base of the tree could provide space for flowers like larkspur or Echinacea, which would be beneficial for the tree above. At the base of the blueberry, calendula or clover are well suited. This way you are filling in the areas along horizontal levels and vertical ones and working with compatible plant communities that exist well together. Growing mints under some of the fruit trees can be used to discourage ants that will climb the trees and do damage. Tansy is also useful in discouraging ants. Wormwood (Artemesia) will discourage caterpillars.
It helps to group plant communities together that have similar needs for water, sun, and soil pH. In agroforestry, it is useful to try to introduce plants that will grow on the forest floor or that use the existing trees as a trellis and also use plants that will enhance those that are already there. Observe and emulate nature. Muscadine grapes climbing on the trees is one of nature’s examples. Coffee is a good example of an agroforestry crop. It is also important to minimize impact. Estimate just how big an area you need. What are your food needs? It does not take that much room to provide for your needs if done efficiently. Doing a lot with a little is a good philosophy to follow. It is easy to get ambitious and later get overwhelmed. I am often asked, “How big of a garden should I do?” How big of a garden can you do well? Don’t lose sight of what is important, doing quality work and having fun doing it. That’s what brings quality results.
Design should involve a multitude of factors. The creative challenge is the desire to express yourself fully by resigning to the passion that is in you and to enhance the beauty that is already there. It requires perspective from many different angles and a thorough examination of your ultimate vision for what it will be. There are many stages of development, which can take years to accomplish. There is an organic growth of development and style that is gradual and ever changing.
This is combined with appropriate technology, which is the creative art of using what you have and utilizing available resources to their fullest. In the 1970s, I was able to visit and get involved with the Integral Urban House located on 5th Street in Berkeley, California. This is where I was first introduced to edible design concepts. I also met Bill and Helga Olkowski and was later introduced to the practices of integrated pest management.
There was an apple tree in the backyard with a bench under it. Around the bench was a planting of creeping thyme. It was a beautiful setting to sit and enjoy the many features of this house, like solar design, rainwater harvesting, and much more. It was a creative use of land that was also esthetically pleasing. I wondered why all yards weren’t designed this way. I later realized that most people do not want to get out of their one-dimensional thinking. This place has since inspired several other urban homesteads. Some incorporate chickens, rabbits, beehives, and even fish.
Edible landscaping is a creative way to work a combination of food and esthetics into an area of existing structures or landscapes. Edible landscapes incorporate food, ornamentals, and herbs in a colorful display. It is a little more decorative, emphasizing looks that also include production. Many plants lend themselves to this use: purple kale and kohlrabi, romanesco broccoli, savoy and red cabbage, rhubarb or rainbow chard. Lettuces are good edging along beds with a wide range of colors to choose from. Herbs are easy to work into a display. Garlic chives provide a very nice flower in the fall. There are many variegated herbs, purple basils, or sages that complement flower beds very well. Rosemary is a good foundation plant. I met a woman who grew her own dye herbs mixed into the flower beds.
Many plants are also used medicinally and give a beautiful display in landscapes. Then there are many edible flowers such as nasturtiums, daylilies, hibiscus, anise hyssop, bee balm, borage, and angelica to name a few. I have known people to grow their own saffron, which is a beautiful crocus. All fruit trees produce beautiful flowers in the spring. Blueberries can be used as a hedge very effectively. They can be seen through, which is sometimes desirable. This is a psychological barrier. There are other berries that cut out visibility if so desired. Jerusalem artichokes provide a nice backdrop of yellow daisies and are a good food staple. Asparagus and rose hips (Rosa rugosa) are also good background plants. Many berries and kiwis or grapes can be used to climb over arbors or fences. Cucumbers and even luffa sponge vines with their bright yellow flowers work well on fences. Strawberries work well as a ground cover in the front of a flower bed. Onions and garlic can be tucked in around flowers and serve to help keep insects away from those that are harder to grow. Purple bush beans blend in well. The use of a mixture of scarlet runner beans and grapes can be used to keep sun off a greenhouse in the summer.
It really depends on the imagination of the gardener. If you have a use for an edible plant it can be incorporated into the design. In the tropics, there is a large selection of plants to choose from. Katuk (Sauropus andogynus) can be used as a hedge. Its leaves make a nice salad. Chaya (Cnidoscolus acronitifolius) adapts to corners as a foundation plant. Jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus) and Malabar spinach (Ballella alba) work well as ground covers. Vanilla bean (Planifolia ochidaceae) is a wonderful orchid vine grown on a structure or another plant. Keep the trellis no taller than you can reach. It flowers and sets bean once it starts growing horizontally. Callaloo (Amaranthus cruentus) is a great green for hot climates. Its relatives are amaranth, a nutritious grain, and the troublesome pigweed (Amaranthus palmeri). Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a wonderful lush landscape plant. Its root is commonly found in dishes around tropical parts of the world. Other plants include culantro (Eryngium foetidum), a close relative of cilantro, and New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia), which works well with purple beans. Winged beans (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) can be used on a trellis as a backdrop.
Back in North America, succession plantings are part of the plan when using annuals. Leafy greens can be replaced with summer flowers or herbs. You can have timed plantings for year-round effect. For instance, a full season design idea could start with a bed of tulips, followed by purple beans and daylilies in the summer, and then red Russian kale for the fall with an edging of pansies. In the South, one can utilize three seasons and some use of the winter. It gets too hot in the summer for the cool weather plants that are used in the spring. As summer plants die back, it is time to replant the cool plants again to carry you into winter. Sprouts, such as sunflower, can be used when in transition between plantings for a week or two until the next transplants are ready. Be aware of toxins in the soil. If your house has a history of being sprayed, or there may be paint chips around the house buried in the soil, it would be wise not to eat anything along this area. Check it out first.
Land recovery and restoration is an involved process that takes time. If you are working with depleted soil, where even weeds have a hard time growing, it might be good to plant a cover crop there first and work it in before any serious planting. Legumes are the most practical way to put nitrogen into the soil. White clover lends itself to marginal areas. Compost has many features that can remedy very poor soils. If you have limited resources, and things are really bad, you can take horse manure and spread it on a piece of land, till it in, and it will sprout whatever the horse has eaten. This can be used on ground where even weeds have a hard time. Ideally, it is good to feed the horse grains you want to grow. This is for places in need of vegetation. Erosion requires plants that will hold the soil in place.
On steep slopes, a first aid remedy is to take used sticks made into a woven fence, add a thick layer of mulch to stop run off, and then plant with a ground cover. This can be done every four or five feet down a slope. Ultimately, a combination of shallow and deep-rooted plants works well. Start at the top and work down. Terraces might need to be put in place. Hedgerows are another possibility for less dramatic areas. Often the soil is very imbalanced and is in need of not only nutrients but also proper pH and more life in the soil. Sand, hard clay, or rocky soils do not support plants without some form of humus. A living farm or garden needs life in the soil to support it. Diversity and the use of native plants help to do this. It might be necessary to start small. Depleted soil is often the result of over-grazing, overcutting, or other misuse of the land. Over time, land restores itself, but this could take years. Any attempt to put life back into the land is rewarded with positive results. There is a great need to do this work all over the planet and not nearly enough workers doing it.
In tropical clear-cuts, which can be seen all over developing countries, we developed a system with many stages. The first stage involves planting fast trees like leucaena as a nitrogen-fixing tree along with hardwoods, some nut bearing. Then planting easy trees and shrubs. Mulberry, passionfruit, and acerola can be grown fairly easily. Beans can be interplanted to enrich the soil. As the large trees grow, bananas and palm heart are introduced. Eventually, coffee, breadnut, and bread fruit can be established for semi-long-term use. As tall trees become established, fruiting vines can be trained to grow on them and bananas are planted as understory plants with semishade. Reclaiming land is an art and a science that has wonderful rewards.
The science of companion planting is a valuable tool. The most important part about developing a garden is doing what works best for the plants you wish to grow. Using plants that are compatible in a given area is an intriguing science. This is how plants connect and disconnect in the plant world. There are several components to companion planting. It is best to try to integrate more than one of them to get optimum or dual use for your plantings. Physical companions are those that provide an immediate and practical use. An example of this is using a plant to trellis another. Sunflowers make a nice place for cucumbers to climb onto. Corn lends itself for pole beans or field peas to climb. Pole beans can also climb onto okra. The next part of physical or spatial planning is to fill in empty spaces to avoid providing room for weeds and to use space efficiently. This is a very important part of the French intensive method. Most leafy greens like lettuce or spinach have spreading and horizontal roots, similar to how they grow above the ground. Root crops grow in an opposite direction, mostly vertical. Plant lettuce with the usual spacing, which is about six inches, in staggered rows. Then plant carrots or radishes very close to them. They will grow without competing for space. It is kind of like Jack Sprat and his wife. They only need one seat on the bus. They fit well together.
Beets and small Chinese greens work well together. Turnips and spinach, cabbage and daikon radish are also good choices. Radishes mature quickly before the greens cover the space around them. Another example is to plant turnips between cabbages. The cabbages require one-foot spacing. The turnips are ready for harvest as the cabbage leaves begin to close up the space. Here you basically get two crops out of the same space. Other spatial combinations are tomatoes, which are generally trellised above the ground, and herbs. All that space on the bed under staked plants is a great place for small herbs that enjoy the shade, like chives or parsley. Peppers and eggplant work for this also.
The next component of companion planting is biological. Biological uses are those that work along chemical lines to either ward off insects that are undesirable or to attract insects that are desirable. This is the most popular aspect that most people think of when companion planting is mentioned. Plants that provide a strong deterrent are easy to find with your nose, but using them correctly is more of a science. Marigolds and nasturtiums repel aphids, leafhoppers, and thrips. Rue (Ruta graveolus) repels Japanese beetles. Geraniums sometimes work for squash bugs. Garlic will deter a wide range of insects. Ants do not like tansy.
There are also plants that attract wanted insects into an area of the garden. These are usually host plants for predatory insects that feed on the ones that feed on your plants. Borage is a useful plant around tomatoes. It is a host for the braconid wasp. This wasp will parasitize tomato hornworms. If you have ever seen tomato hornworms on your tomatoes, you know the damage they can do. If you have ever seen one with what appears to be rice crispy on its back that is the pupae of the braconid wasp. The wasp stings the worm and plants its eggs into the worm; the eggs parasitize the worm until they are ready to hatch and emerge as more wasps. Do not disturb this. At this point the worm dies and your plants thrive. Many of the umbellifers, like Queen Anne’s lace, dill, yarrow, and angelica attract many predators. They need these plants to live in. Yarrow and alyssum are good candidates also. They attract lacewings and pirate insects. As another example of the dual purpose of companion planting, sunflowers provide a place for the cucumber to climb on and offer shade. But they do something else: sunflowers are a host to ladybugs, which clean the cucumber plants of aphids.
Another component of companion planting is botanical. Botanical methods involve how plants exude chemicals into the soil to alter their surroundings. For instance, mustard emits oils that are toxic to some insects and diseases, and in this way they are helpful to beans growing nearby. Marigolds are toxic to nematodes, so are African black oats. To some degree, rye can also be effective in this manner. Castor beans give off a substance that is toxic to gophers and moles and keeps them at bay. Elderberries are reported to work also. Mint and pennyroyal release oils into the soil as a deterrent to carrot worms.
Nutritional companions are important for providing nutrients into the soil for other plants to absorb. Buckwheat is believed to help activate the release of calcium in the soil. Legumes fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in their roots. As roots break off or when turned into the soil, they provide essential nitrogen. This is especially true for cover crops like clover and vetch. Plants with long roots like lamb’s-quarter and dock can cultivate the soil and help nutrients move to the surface to become more available to shallow-rooted plants. Alfalfa can have twenty-five-foot roots and is a great plant to have along the side of a bed for this purpose. Frost is also a great cultivator. Yet plants do it continually during the growing season. Some plants help enhance the flavor of the plants around them. Carrots like tomatoes as well as peas. I have always grown basil around tomatoes. I cannot say for sure that it works, but I always harvest the most amazing taste with both. The relationships and disrelationships between plants vary from place to place and season to season because other factors, like climate, are also very influential.
Therefore, designing a garden is an ongoing experiment that offers many insights to the magic of your garden. When planning a layout, it helps to separate plants into groups. Beds are divided up as follows (but keep in mind, I never like to devote a bed to only one type of plant). For the overall garden, 25 percent in perennials is a good goal. This saves a lot of labor in cultivation. These beds need a lot of attention for weeding, topdressing, and culling plants that need replacing.
Because of market demands combined with personal needs, it is hard to give equal percentage to different types of plant crops. Planting around 15 to 17 percent in legumes (peas, beans, etc.) works well. And an equal amount to leafy crops works well for balancing. Root crops get slightly more with at least 17 percent. For instance, a collection of garlic, onions, and sweet potatoes are smart food for the winter. Fruit vegetables should have about 20 percent of the space because of big crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons. Flowers for market receive about 20 percent. This represents two-thirds of the overall growing area laid out into beds. The other third is in established fruit trees, grape vines, and wildflower areas. Wildflowers are another element for creating biological balance. A field of hay can be approximately four times larger. This provides material for composting and could provide feed for animals.
In the South, there are three seasons to grow in without protection. Spring and fall are similar with leaf and root crops being primary plantings. Summer is mostly fruiting and seed vegetables, along with flowers and herbs. Winter does work well for roots and leafy vegetables if you use a cloche or coldframe. Coldframes can be designed to fit over beds, or you can use hoops covered with plastic and cloth for nights dropping into the mid-twenties. They are needed for the extreme winter temperatures. Of course, these need to be uncovered when the sun comes out. Plants do not like extreme temperature fluctuations. Spinach, kale, collards, and parsley hold up well down to the low twenties. Mature roots like carrots and Jerusalem artichokes that are entirely underground are stored well in the ground until they are needed.
There are many types of garden designs, each having a different objective. They should all have elements that work for esthetics, production, practicality, and maintenance designed into them. Entrances are an important part of welcoming people into a garden. A pergola of post and timbers to support kiwi vines or grapes planted on the corners provides a nice entrance. It becomes a canopy that could have a shaded bench inside. Keep in mind that if you use kiwis you need one male plant to pollinate the females. Another idea is a gazebo planted with different colored roses. Cherry or other trees with beautiful flowers create a nice entrance. Develop a mini-meadow of wild flowers as part of an entrance.
There are many types of concept gardens that provide a large range of possibilities. Learning gardens can be very creative and fun, especially children’s gardens. The most creative is the edible playground garden. It is designed for learning and having fun. Having fun is an important component to learning. This garden can make use of many recycled materials. It can be done inexpensively and is limited only by the imagination. Sidewalk reinforcement wire can be recycled from construction jobs. A cucumber tunnel could be made with the wire. Bamboo can be used to set up two teepees, one for cherry tomatoes and one for pole beans. Growing bamboo is not recommended as it is too invasive. It is better to find someone trying to control their patch and help them by doing a harvest. A large area can be used to create a sunflower maze. A swing set can be used to support vines like grapes or kiwis. Set up parallel wavy walls with wire to support small melons. It’s a wall o’ melons or beans. Make a hutch shaped like an igloo from various branches and bamboo for scarlet runner beans or any other vines. Finally, build an entrance that consists of two parallel boxes. They are joined at the top with a piece of lattice for sugar snaps with bedding plants like lettuce, radish, nasturtium, and so on.
Let the children plant it so they have a sense of ownership. In most cases, if they plant it they will eat it, and take great pride in it. Children are easily receptive to creating and connecting with nature.
Another very rewarding garden concept is a barrier-free garden for people with disabilities. These gardens are quite simple to make. You can construct tables with boxes that have sides that are maybe six inches high. Drill holes in the table for drainage and fill the box with soil. The height is measured to accommodate wheelchair access. Set up blocks and stands for five gallon buckets, large pots, and bushel baskets with soil for larger plants like tomato, pepper, eggplant, bush squash, and so forth. Make sure there are holes in all containers for drainage. Many types of containers can be used; you could even use an old toilet for bush cucumbers or squash. There are many plant varieties suited for container gardens, making it easy to work with. Allow the participants to bring their own containers to plant in. This invites creative recycling into the mix. We have used old boots, furniture, and all sorts of food containers. One garden I visited provided a suitcase of cucumbers. Maybe they were planning a trip and didn’t want to leave the cukes behind. These gardens fall under the description of horticulture therapy. They involve learning experientially.
To become embraced in natural surroundings allows one to breathe, relax, and be fully part of what you are doing. It can be a healing place as well as a learning environment. Being disconnected from other living things is unhealthy for all of us. Nature has a way of making us reconnect with life that is very healing. Horticultural therapy is a contemplative moment that can last for an entire bed that bridges space and time.
An herb garden is another concept garden that is easy to set up. Many herbs are easy to grow. They are often low maintenance and have low water needs. There are many that are shade tolerant. Gardens can be set up in the formation of wheels, spirals, semicircles, or whatever the imagination allows. Plants can be divided into categories, like medicinal and culinary, or by regions of origin. Medicinal herbs sometimes prefer wild environments to grow in. Herbs can be grouped as they relate to astrological symbols. Herbs are unique in that their beauty is simple and confined, yet hardy. This is an opportunity to design a beautiful landscape.
Cut flower gardens are usually thought of as being for a private residence. But this is not necessarily so, for the earth smiles with its flowers. They are food for the soul and need to be on display in public places to add a smile to each environment. This is where color schemes are part of the design. The mature size of the plant needs to be considered. There are many flowers that need staking once they start to bloom if you plan to use them as cut flowers. Cutting them or at least deadheading them encourages more blooms. Staking can consist of a piece of wire placed horizontally on stakes about three to four feet off the ground. This works well for cosmos, tall poppies, or Ammi majus. With gaillardia or venidiums, the wire needs to be much lower. Most people start with zinnias, marigolds, cleome, and celosia. Dahlias usually need individual staking. If wind is an issue, staking and/or windbreaks may need to be in place for them. There are many flowers that are easy to plant and grow. Larkspur, nigella, celosia, zinnias, and cleomes are easy to broadcast into a cultivated bed.
It is also important to take maintenance and hardiness into account. This is all about being creative and what the end results will look like. Most importantly, in all gardens try to keep a balance of creativity alongside function and practicality. For instance, alyssum along the edge of the bed will attract Stethorus beetles and tachinid flies. Flowers, of course, add color to a garden and draw the visitor in to investigate what else might be worth the visit. The placement of tall flowers in corners of gardens brings a bright addition and complements everything around it. It is always a combination of the art and science of what works in both realms, and doing it with passion provokes a quality of work.