Edibles for the back of the border
Huh ? Who grows edibles at the back of the border ? Nancy Kirk . That ’ s who
For beauty I am going to surprise you with my all time favourite edible within the herbaceous border ; asparagus . Most of us are put off by the years of waiting prior to a crop , or the fact you assume they will take up lots of space . Scrub all your preconceptions away and consider this plant as a beautiful screening device for an ugly bit of fence or garden wall - the foliage is delicate , wispy and detracts the eye nicely from a potential eyesore .
Many years ago in late summer I was fruit picking with my daughter and her friends and we passed fields of glorious foliage and I felt compelled to investigate what crop this could be , my delight at finding it was a mere asparagus solved my conundrum of trying to locate a screening plant for an ugly repair to my garden wall , and at just about five foot tall , this seemed perfect .
After a while I started incorporating asparagus into my client ’ s gardens . Perfect for that smaller , not so deep border in a town garden . I often paired it with verbena , oregano and sage for a maintenance free border .
Whilst we are talking about the rear of the border , have you ever considered growing the humble fennel ? There are delicious bronze varieties that don ’ t grow as high as their green cousins , but both can be shoe horned inbetween shrubs to provide a nice texture contrast . I rarely harvest the bulbs but the seeds are glorious addition to my kitchen cupboards .
One year , whilst waiting for a potato vine to find its feet I planted some spotty bolotto beans to romp up the trellising . Not only were the scarlet flowers plentiful , but the bean pods themselves were a speckled red , adding to flash of colour after the annuals had done their stuff . Then I dried the beans and stored them in my kitchen to pop into stews throughout the winter ; I suspect this was my family ’ s favourite crop .
Living at the top of a hill does provide us with some pretty windy sites , so screening with tall plants that don ’ t take up the whole garden with their width is a tricky ask . Bamboo just invades everywhere and trees shade our small town gardens too much . Also you want light during the winter months when the sun is low in the sky , so how about trying Jerusalem artichokes ? They grow up to 10 foot high plus they don ’ t mind at all if you chop them down a few feet during the growing season . They produce cheerful bright yellow sun flower type blooms and their sturdy stems withstand the windy battering West Hill experiences . They are easy to grow in our soil and have the all time advantage of needing very little attention .
So now you can plan those gaps lurking by your fences and walls with something that isn ’ t only pretty but can be consumed as well .
Nancy Kirk has two free of charge upcoming talks in March and April at the Cornerstone Community Centre . One dedicated to pruning and the other to all things relating to growing in pots or containers .
https :// www . eventbrite . co . uk / e / reconnect-gardening-basics-potted-plants-onyour-windowsill-workshop-tickets-1214724085439 ? aff = ebdsoporgprofile
https :// www . eventbrite . co . uk / e / reconnect-gardening-basics-learn-to-prune-bringyour-potted-plants-tickets-1140200583639 ? aff = ebdsoporgprofile
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