Garden 13

Did you come in 2021/2?  Compare the garden now - established borders of flowers and a kitchen garden that will have fruit and vegetables ready for lunch.

When  my wife and I moved to Chinnor in November 2020 our garden was grass at the back and gravel, with two small flower beds, in front. Half of the back is now kitchen garden with two large flower borders.

I started gardening in the early 1940s (aged four) – growing salads on our Anderson Air Raid Shelter – and firmly believe gardens should provide lunch.  Consider also the reduction in fossil fuel use if less food is imported from afar.  

A kitchen garden can be attractive. Is there a single fruit tree grown in Britain that does not have attractive flowers? Runner beans and sweet corn as well as tomatoes were introduced from America as decoratives not vegetables. There are many other attractive vegetables but choose carefully. Think of beetroot or carrots, both often quoted as decorative BUT consider harvesting – you pull the roots up and leave an unattractive gap in the row. Try vegetables you pick over a while – maybe peas, beans and many brassicas.

Even in the still small front garden there are five kinds of fruit. How many can you find and name?