Kitchen gardens began as gardens separate from the main ornamental garden of a home. It was usually necessary that food be grown at home to serve the kitchen, as the name suggests, in times where storage and travel options meant that produce had to come from close to home. However when it came to a large estate or stately home in contrast to an ordinary family vegetable plot, kitchen gardens became highly formal and decorative. A kitchen garden can be purely functional, or be designed with an eye for beauty and contrast. The best kitchen garden provides both value and visual appeal.

Key Elements

• A variety of herbs and vegetables
• Designated vegetable plots, often in a grid formation
• Wood or corrugated iron edging
• Stone pavers, wood chips or crushed rock walk ways
• Trellis for vines
• Garden art, bird bath or frog pond

Maintenance

Medium to high maintenance is involved in an Edible or Kitchen Garden. However, a lot of the maintenance is harvesting your produce or checking how your produce is coming along. While you monitor your pumpkins, you can pull out a few weeds. As you admire how your tomatoes are coming along, give them a water.

Tools

Secateurs, garden fork, gardening gloves, spade, trowel, watering can and hose.