I have a tiny strip of north-facing garden along the front of my house, but have made use of it so I no longer buy packs of herbs in the supermarket that inevitably collapse into a brown mush long before they are all used up. Even living in the North of England you can create a small edible garden that looks after itself.
01 Dig over whatever soil you have or buy some large pots and fill them with compost.
02 Try planting from seed; you just need small seed trays that you can put on a sunny windowsill. Plant the seeds according to the packet instructions, into damp soil and wait. It can be incredibly rewarding.
03 Alternatively, you can buy plants from a garden centre. I have bought quite a few unusual herbs from National Trust properties, including hyssop and salad burnet.
04 Plant them out in early spring, when frosts have passed. I have planted mine quite densely, which removes the need for any weeding once they are established.
05 Plant hardy herbs, such as rosemary, lavender, thyme, tarragon, sage and mint. I plant nasturtium seeds direct into the ground in early spring and they trail around the other plants with bright splashes of orange and red. Marigolds, cornflowers and pansies all add colour and are edible too.
06 Put in some sweet pea seedlings if you have anywhere you can grow things upwards, a fence perhaps: they smell and look beautiful.
07 You can attach vertical planters to a fence to grow strawberries, squash or courgettes. French or runner beans will grow up a fence or against three canes in a pot. Even a couple of plants will give you a lot of produce.
08 A big pot of compost sowed with mixed salad seeds is a great addition to your kitchen garden. It saves you buying salad that will go off before you finish it. Rocket, lambs lettuce, watercress, spinach, little gem and frisée will all improve your salad bowls no end. Carrots, beetroot or potatoes will all grow in a pot about 30cm deep, and take very little looking after.
