efficient kitchen design ideas
[music] hello! many of us grow our fruits, vegetables and flowers in a garden that's, well, smaller than we'd like. if your horticultural ambitions are bigger than your plot there are a number of clever design techniques you can use to fully utilize every last scrap of space at your disposal. in this video we'll show you how to plan a small garden so you can create your own garden paradise
in even a tiny space. all gardens - even small ones - usually have lots of vertical space, so make the most of it. you can attach planters to walls or fences, or secure mesh or trellising to encourage climbers to reach for the skies. even walls shaded at the base may still have plenty of sunlight for climbing plants, setting up the perfect combination for many perennial plants
of cool moist roots and sunny leaves. naturally climbing or sprawling plants that can be trained to grow upwards include delicious kiwi fruits, grapevines, and a whole host of climbing beans, peas squashes, and vining tomatoes. make sure supports are sturdy enough to hold the plants up - a squash in full fruit, for example, can be very heavy. many tree fruits such as apples, pears and peaches
can be trained into particular shapes to hug walls or fences. single-stemmed cordons, espaliers with their parallel branches, or radiating fans look beautiful while making incredibly efficient use of ground space. while most of these fruits will prefer a wall that catches plenty of direct sunlight, there are still fruits that will thrive on shadier walls including sour cherries, varieties of gooseberry
and red and white currant . underplant your fruit with flowers and herbs to make use of all the space available. our garden planner includes a range of plants suitable for vertical growing. take this cordon apple for example. let's select it and drop it into place against this fence. the shaded area shows exactly how much space it needs so it's easy to add further cordons at the correct spacing
while making the most of the fence space you have available. the traditional approach is to set aside a dedicated area for growing vegetables, fruits and herbs, but in the smallest gardens that simply isn't possible. try growing edible and ornamental plants together - the results can be stunning! in fact, there are many benefits to this approach. planting flowers and vegetables together makes it harder for pests to hone in on a specific crop
while an abundance of blooms ensures there are always beneficial insects on hand to pollinate flowering vegetables such as squash and of course every type of fruit, from blackberries to pears. select edibles with both good looks and taste. contrast different leaf textures or colors, for example billowing green curly kale with red cabbage, or lettuce in green and red. choose varieties with interesting flowers
(pretty climbing beans for example) or unusual but handsome looks such as bulb or florence fennel, or a variety of chard with colorful stems. include edible flowers like nasturtium and calendula, or flowers such as alyssum that are known to attract pest-eating predators like hoverflies. you can use the garden planner to find out the best flowers to include with specific crops using the companion planting feature.
simply select the crops you wish to match, then click the companion planting button. the selection bar now shows suitable companions, including flowers. hmm...let's try some zinnias with these salad leaves. it'll look great, and attract butterflies. as well as mixing up different types of plant together, you can proactively plan to maximize your garden's overall productivity. one way to do this is to select only high-yielding
or high-value crops. tomatoes will give lots of fruits over the summer, while chard can be cut repeatedly over a long period to give several harvests from the same plant. runner beans and zucchini are notoriously prolific, while radishes are so quick-growing you can sow, grow and pick several generations of roots in a single growing season, or plant them in between slow-growing crops and harvest them early.
you could give some space over to square foot gardening, a method of growing that enables crops to be grown at a far higher density by using a high-nutrient, moisture-retentive soil mixture. use the garden planner to work out exactly how many vegetables you can grow in this way. just click on the sfg button to switch to square foot gardening mode. now when you pick up and drop in a crop, the software automatically calculates how many plants
you can grow in each square foot. containers with potting soil tailored to suit the plants grown within them will also yield a surprising range of harvests. choose compact varieties suitable for growing this way and arrange them to maximize their visual impact. add further interest by selecting pots in pretty colors, glazes and designs, or upcycle everyday objects to create unusual yet eye-catching containers.
and don't forget hanging baskets, which can be positioned to catch valuable sunlight. you'll want your garden to be somewhere beautiful to relax too, so include seating within your plan. make a seat or bench as rustic or sleek as you desire and surround it with aromatic herbs or fragrant flowers to enjoy. in a small garden every surface counts, so opt for attractive paths and handsome hard surfacing.
the garden planner includes a range of options - paths in, for example, stone or a brick herringbone pattern, or paving in all manner of textures and colors. you can add vertical interest to your plan with an arbor, arch or pergola perhaps cloaked with climbers such as melons or beans to create a spectacular focal point to your garden. any garden - even the smallest garden - can look just great, and i hope this video has given you
a few ideas to try out on your own. of course, if you've got other tips for planning a small garden we'd love to hear about them, so do drop us a comment below. we've got lots of other design solutions for gardens of all shapes and sizes over the coming months, so if you haven't yet subscribed to our video channel now's the time to do so, so you don't miss out! i'll catch you next time.