By “bed,” I mean flower beds, raised beds, and/or containers.
I’m sure many of you have been making garden plans and are anxious to get going like me. Although I don’t have significant projects planned for this summer, I decided to change how I plant the containers in the back garden. I’m thinking of planting herbs and vegetables in the containers that run parallel to my house (south exposure) and another row (north exposure) in front of my garage.
These photos were taken yesterday, April 2. As you can see, I still have snow on the ground.
Some years ago, I planted a small kitchen garden (potager) in containers on the west-facing side garden. In theory, this should have been a perfect spot, but the elm tree cast too much shade, and it never took off.
If I were to plant all my containers in these areas with just vegetables and herbs, we couldn’t possibly eat it all. Therefore, I want to combine annual flowers in the containers…plus, I want to maintain some structure that compliments the rest of the garden. This is where it gets tricky. Finding compatible bedfellows will be a bit of a puzzle. Fine-tuning the light, soil and water requirements, as well as colour, will be imperative. My back garden is mostly green, white and light purple, and I want to keep that consistent.
I’m considering including some perennials in the south exposure containers, which can be moved into the landscape at the end of the season. I’d also like to plant clematis, sweet peas, tomatoes, geraniums, alyssum, and rosemary.
For the shady areas, I’m thinking of chives (which should winter over) with alyssum, spider plants, dill and ivy, basil, parsley with ferns, different varieties of lettuce and radishes, and mixing in shade-tolerant perennials like sweet woodruff, to can be moved in the fall.
I know this all sounds good in print, but I’m determined to try it. How are your garden plans? xox Judy❤️
P.S. If you’re interested in a similar planting scheme, the charts below may be useful.
Thank you for the charts Judy. I always have a few pots of herbs, my favorites being Rosemary, Basil, and Mint. I always plant each type of herb in a separate terracotta pot, varying the sizes of pots, and then grouping them. I like Cilantro and Dill, but have never had success with them. I do like the pictures you posted of the three mixed herb pots, so I think I will try one large pot with that combination and see what results.❤️
Hi Karen, one advantage to planting each herb in its own pot is that you can move it around to best suit its light requirements. We’ll have to compare notes as to how our containers worked. xox Judy❤️
Hi Judy, thank you so much for the charts…what a great help! I can’t wait to see what your planters look like when they’re filled with your herbs and flowers. One thing I thought I’d mention…does Charlie ever eat anything from your garden? If she does, I’ve read that sweet peas are extremely toxic (and could be fatal) to dogs so you might want to grow that somewhere where there’s no chance of her getting a hold of it. Your chives should definitely overwinter….mine come back every year and they’re in a raised garden bed. The purple flowers on them are so pretty and they are also edible but it’s best to pick them off to prevent the chives from getting tough and woody if you’re planning to eat the chives. I can’t wait to see what compatible bedfellows you come up with….it’ll be beautiful I’m sure! Hugs, Karen xo❤️
Hi Karen, No, I didn’t know that sweet peas were toxic for dogs! And yes, Charlie is in to everything! Thank you for the heads up…I will rethink planting them. I’m happy to hear that your chives are wintering over in a raised bed. I love the flowers too, but I do use chives for cooking so I’ve cut the flowers off before but I didn’t know that they were edible too. xox Judy❤️