Fast, Fresh Garden Edibles E-Book

Jane Courtier

• Herausgeber: Creative Homeowner
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Gardening
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 268

Beschreibung

Fast, Fresh Garden Edibles shows homeowners how to use every square inch of available space to grow fresh vegetables in the shortest possible time. Guides to growing in small gardens, in containers, and in window boxes. How to select and plant the quickest growing varieties of vegetables.

Leseprobe

Contents

The need for speed

Where does your garden grow?

Making plans

The lowdown

What plants need

Small spaces, big ideas

No garden, no problem

Plantings for a courtyard garden

The productive patio or deck

Beds, borders, and beyond

Get ready to grow

Ground rules

Hardiness and heat zones

Sow easy

Sowing outside

Sowing in containers

Vegetables for transplanting

Planting transplants

Well-contained vegetables

Planting your containers

Watering

Ways to water

Food for thought

Supporting roles

Going under cover

Weeding out the competition

A plan for the troublemakers

Fighting off the enemy

Harvest time

Harvest basics

Save it for later

Picking the winners

Choosing the right vegetables

Selecting the best varieties

Directory of food crops Superfast

Faster than the average vegetable

Worth the wait

Glossary

Resources

Index

Credits

The need for speed

Growing your own food can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding forms of gardening. Yet, nature doesn’t usually produce instant results, and many gardeners are generally willing to wait to reap what they have sown. However, there are also many potential gardeners who would grow their own vegetables if only they knew they could get faster results. The good news is they can.

Can’t wait, won’t wait

Many people live in a speed-obsessed world these days. They grumble if the Internet takes more than a few seconds to connect, and the idea of traveling to the other side of the world in a matter of hours doesn’t raise an eyebrow. Perhaps it’s not surprising that people are eager to get speedier harvests from their vegetable gardens.

It’s not just that we’re impatient. Most people tend to have busy lives, whether it’s due to working long hours, too many family commitments, or enjoying some of the many leisure activities that are now available. While dedicated gardeners consider gardening to be their major hobby and enjoy spending many hours engrossed in it, others are not so committed. Yes, they enjoy a little gardening if it fits into their schedule, but there are other demands on their time that, for them, are just as important. For these people, Fast, Fresh Garden Edibles is the ideal book, providing ways to bring the pleasure of growing vegetables— and some fruits and herbs, too—into a busy lifestyle, even if it means cutting a few corners here and there.

A small raised bed is easy to maintain, making it suitable for the busy person. It’s also a great way to provide growing space where there isn’t available ground in a yard.

Fast food—only the best

Fortunately, there are many vegetables that produce great results. Food that is grown fast is not just more satisfying for people in a hurry but is often of a better quality, too. Many types of vegetables don’t need a long season in which to mature and develop their flavor. Instead, they are at their most succulent, tender, and tasty when you harvest them while still young. “Baby” vegetables are sold in most grocery stores, and the public is willing to pay a premium price for what is considered to be a premium product.

There are also vegetables that may not be the quickest candidates, from sowing or transplanting to harvest, but once the vegetables are in the ground, you can— almost—forget about them until they are ready for picking. (For more on which vegetables to choose, see “Picking the Winners,” pages 72–167.)

Lost the plot

You don’t even need to have a vegetable plot to grow vegetables. There is such a huge variety of vegetables from which to choose that you’ll be able to find some suitable for growing mixed with flowers in a border, others in a raised bed on your patio, and even those that will thrive in pots and other containers on a balcony. (See pages 16 through 29.)

Making things easier

As far as this book is concerned, “fast food” doesn’t just mean vegetables that you can harvest within a short time of planting or sowing. The vegetables are often easy to grow because they don’t require complicated, time-consuming cultivation techniques.

The main secret of getting plants to grow fast is to provide them with ideal growing conditions, which is often easier than it may seem. (See “Get Ready to Grow,” pages 30–71.) In a nutshell, this usually means making sure the soil is broken down to a fine, crumbly texture to let roots spread through it rapidly. Once you have sown or transplanted the plants, you then need to provide them with ample supplies of moisture, both at the roots and in the atmosphere. The plants will also need to receive sufficient quantities of the right nutrients for fast growth. Finally, you need to keep plants at their optimum growing temperature, without too many fluctuations. Plants have different requirements, so you will have to know what conditions to provide for your various vegetables. (See “Picking the Winners,” pages 72–167.)

Once you understand how to acheive these basics, you will be on course for success. You may need to invest a small amount of time and energy up front to get the soil ready, but then you will need to provide only minimum effort during the growing season. It will be a matter of weeks— and in some cases even only a few days— before you’ll be harvesting your own fast, fresh vegetables.

After the initial soil preparation, a small vegetable plot often needs just a little time each week for planting, care, and harvesting.

Where does your garden grow?

You don’t needa large yard to grow vegetables. Even the tiniest yard can provide enough room for a reasonable crop. What if you have room for only a few containers? You can still grow vegetables, as long as you can be creative with your space to provide the plants with what they need.

Making plans

No matter what size your outdoor space, you can grow some vegetables and herbs, even if it is just a chili or a few herbs on a windowsill. If you have only a small yard—or even no yard at all—you might be surprised at how much you can still produce.

Suburban yards have been growing steadily smaller over the years. As the price of land—along with the size of the population—increases, it makes economic sense for house builders to squeeze as many homes in a given area as they can, and that often means less outdoor space for everyone. Fewer people today have the luxury of keeping a vegetable patch separate from an ornamental flower garden. For those living in urban areas, apartments that come with any type of outdoor space attached, such as a courtyard, are scarce. One option can be to get involved in a community garden.

Making space

Having little or no outdoor space doesn’t mean that you have no room for food crops. In the same way that fast-growing, easy-care vegetables don’t require as much of your time as you might have expected, fruits and vegetables don’t need that much space. Don’t just look at the obvious areas of ground space for growing your vegetables. You can grow plants in pots on balconies, on windowsills, and at the sides of paths and steps. Walls and fences can support climbers and scramblers, as well as hanging baskets.

If you are planning a roof garden or intend to grow vegetables on your balcony, be sure that the structures will support the weight of the plants and soil in pots, and that hanging baskets and window boxes are safely secured, especially if they are up high.

Once you’ve decided on a space, the next step is to look at the conditions. You may need to improve or adapt them before you can start growing your own vegetables.

Light and shade

Fruit and vegetable plants like good, bright light; they will struggle to grow well in shade. Most yards are shady only in certain areas or at certain times of the day. On a sunny day, take photographs of your yard or outdoor space every two or three hours so that you have a record of exactly which areas are shaded and for how long. This will help you decide the best position for your vegetables.

If your urban outdoor space is shaded by high walls or fences, you can improve the quality of light by painting their surfaces white or a light color or by propping a reflective or light-colored material against them. Prune back trees and shrubs that are casting shade; however, if a neighbor’s tree is causing the shade, first ask for permission.

A white background will help reflect light onto plants, including those, such as these tomatoes, in planters hung on the walls.

Urban gardeners are adept at using roof spaces for vegetable gardening, but they need to make sure the structure is strong enough to support the weight of the fully planted pots.

Mini weather patterns

The climate of your outdoor space will obviously depend on its geographical location, and your local Cooperative Extension Service can help provide information about your area’s growing conditions. However, within any locale there are also microclimates to take into account. Outdoor spaces in urban locations are usually warmer than those in rural areas because of the heat given off by the surrounding buildings. They may also be sheltered from frost and cold winds. The average date of the last frost in your outdoor space can also vary from your neighbor’s. Cold air will sink and roll downhill, so if you live at the bottom of a slope, you may find you are not safely frost free until some days after your neighbor’s yard at the top of the hill.

You can use walls, fences, hedges, and screens to improve the climate in areas of your yard and make it more suitable for growing vegetables. In addition to sheltering plants from cold and wind, in hot regions they can enable you to grow cool-season crops by providing shade, which lowers the temperature and protects foliage from the damaging heat of the sun.

Where’s the water?

Small vegetable gardens, especially those with a lot of plants in containers, usually require a lot of watering during the summer months. An outside faucet will make life much easier than struggling to fill watering cans at the kitchen sink, and if you can, installing one will be a time-saving investment. Where a yard is completely paved, make sure excess water has somewhere to safely drain away—without causing a problem for your neighbors.

Small containers are easy to move from a shady to a sunny area, and some vegetables, such as Swiss chard, can fit in easily with typical ornamental plants.

Tall planters and high raised beds make harvesting vegetables easier for those with aching joints or limited mobility.

The lowdown

You don’t need to be an expert in botany to grow good vegetables, but a basic knowledge of how plants develop will help you get the best results from your vegetables.

Life on the earth depends on plants—we cannot exist without them. Green plants have the unique ability to convert energy from sunlight into food. The carbohydrates that are produced by this process (which is known as photosynthesis) not only fuel the plants’ own needs but also provide the basic food source for all animals in the food chain.

The structure of plants

Plant life takes many different forms—you have only to look around any yard to see that. There is a huge variety among vegetables in the size, shape, stems, and leaves of the plants. Left to nature, the process of natural selection often results in only the most efficient plant forms surviving. However, over thousands of years, farmers and growers have intervened, selecting and nurturing particular variations that suit their own purposes. The result is the fantastic variety of plants that is available to us today. Even so, virtually all plants have some features in common.

Roots

A tiny root is usually the first part of the plant to emerge from a germinating seed. The pull of gravity sends roots growing downward, and on most plants they branch and spread widely, anchoring the plant firmly in place. Their job is to absorb water and minerals from the soil, which they do through tiny, fragile hairs on the root tips. Careless transplanting of vegetables that damages the root tips will usually have a negative impact on the plants because it destroys part of their water-gathering network. However, if the damage is not too extensive, the roots will swiftly regrow. In some plants, roots also swell to form a food-storage organ, and people take advantage of this in the case of root crops, such as turnips and beets.

Shoots

Unlike roots, shoots grow against gravity, emerging from a germinating seed in the soil into the daylight. The shoots grow in different forms. They may be upright, branching stems, such as those of tomatoes and kale, or they may form a low rosette of leaves, as in the case of lettuce, which only produces a recognizable stem when it flowers. Other plants, such as pole beans and zucchini, produce climbing or scrambling stems; still others, such as onions and kohlrabi, have swollen stems used for food storage. These swollen stems are often confused with roots, particularly when underground, as in the case of potato tubers.

Leaves

Photosynthesis mainly takes place in the leaves. Most leaves have a large surface area in relation to their size to absorb the maximum amount of light, but their shapes vary a great deal. Leaves are given their green color by a substance called “chlorophyll,” which is needed for photosynthesis. Some leaves do not appear green, such as those of red beets; however, they still contain chlorophyll, although its green color is masked.

Flowers

The reproductive part of the plant is the flower, where seeds are formed for a new generation. Some vegetables, such as tomatoes, peas, beans, and zucchini, are grown specifically for their fruit and seeds. On these plants, gardeners can encourage the formation of flowers and make sure they are pollinated to ensure that fruit production takes place. Other vegetables, such as broccoli, are grown for their immature flower buds, and pollination is not relevant. Conversely, with some vegetables, flowering is a nuisance that gardeners try to avoid. When plants such as lettuce and spinach start to flower, it ruins their leafy crop.

Beet roots

Pea shoots

Kale leaves

Zucchini flowers

What plants need

Understanding what your plants require to grow well is important to achieving a good-quality crop. Different types of fruits and vegetables need different conditions, but all plants share some basic requirements. While plants can perform the magic trick of making food out of fresh air and sunlight, they do need a few props to pull this off with the most success.

Water

Water is important for plants. Water pressure within the cells keeps plants firm and upright, preventing them from wilting. All the minerals needed must be dissolved in water before plants can transport and make use of them, and water is essential for photosynthesis, the process by which plants manufacture their source of energy. The natural source of water for plants is rain, but in some areas there is not enough rainfall for growing certain vegetables. Urban gardens surrounded by tall buildings often receive a limited amount of rain. For plants being grown in containers, where the amount of soil is restricted, natural rainfall is rarely sufficient. (See “Watering,” pages 50–51.)

Lettuce is just one of the vegetables that will wilt quickly if not provided with adequate amounts of water.

Soil and nutrients

A plant needs a firm base in which to anchor itself so that it can grow. This growing medium needs to be of the right texture for the roots to penetrate and spread through it easily, and it must hold enough moisture for the roots to absorb. (See “Ground Rules,” pages 32–33.) In most cases, the growing medium is soil, either natural soil from the garden or a packaged product. Potting mix available from garden centers is usually a soilless mix based on peat or a peat substitute, plus plant nutrients. You can also buy soil-based mixes made from sterilized garden soil. (See “Planting Your Containers,” pages 48–49.)

A fine, crumbly texture will make it easier for the roots of seedlings and transplants to spread through the soil.

The minerals that plants need are supplied by the growing medium. If gardeners want stronger, larger crops, they can supplement the natural supply by adding fertilizers. (See “Food for Thought,” pages 54–55.)

Annual, biennial, or perennial

Plants that germinate, grow, produce seeds, and die within a year are known as annuals. Biennials germinate and grow in one year and then flower in the next. Perennials survive the winters and continue to grow and produce a crop for a number of years. Most of the vegetables that gardeners grow are annuals, or they are biennials or perennials treated as annuals by harvesting them before they mature. However, a few vegetables, such as globe artichokes, and fruits, such as blueberries, are grown as perennials.

When choosing a vegetable gardening area, make sure it will receive plenty of sunlight.

Warmth

Plants need warmth to start photosynthesizing and growing, but the amount of warmth they prefer varies from one species to another. In general, temperatures at 65–80°F (18–27°C) produce the best results, but adjust your planting and sowing dates according to your climate. (See “Hardiness and Heat Zones,” pages 34–35.) You can extend the growing season by starting seeds indoors and planting them outdoors when warm enough, or by using covers. (See “Vegetables for Transplanting,” pages 42–43, and “Going under Cover,” pages 58–59.)

Air and light

Carbon dioxide and oxygen from the air are essential for photosynthesis and respiration, but they are unlikely to be in short supply. However, allowing good movement of air around plants is essential because stagnant, moist air encourages fungal diseases, such as damping off and botrytis. Growing plants at the correct spacing, and thinning them out early, will help to keep them healthy, as will removing weeds competing for space. (See “Weeding Out the Competition,” pages 60–61.)

Plants convert light to energy, so they need a good source of light to grow well. Heavily shaded areas rarely grow good vegetables and fruits. Some light or dappled shade for part of the day is not a problem; in fact, it can be valuable in some climates where strong sun can scorch leaves in the hottest part of the day.

Tomatoes are one of the warm-season crops, along with squash and peppers, that love the heat. In most regions, start these indoors and wait until warm weather before planting outside. Start cool-season vegetables, such as radish, spinach, and turnips, directly outdoors.

Small spaces, big ideas

Don’t let limited outdoor space make you think you can’t grow your own food—there’s always space for a vegetable of some kind. Take a look at the small growing spaces here—and at the ideas on the following pages—to provide inspiration for your own situation.

A vegetable patch doesn’t need to be huge. This small, informal plot provides plenty of space for beans, carrots, and beets, among other vegetables.

Your options will depend on your living accommodation. You may have a yard in which you can dedicate a small section for a patch, or you might be able to fit vegetables in with ornamental plantings in a flower bed or border. Perhaps you can use a patio, deck, balcony, or roof space for growing vegetables. Even if these are not options for you, a window can be enough for fresh herbs, salad greens, and perhaps even a few sweet peppers.

The first step is to look at the space you have with an open mind. Any experienced gardener with a small yard knows that you have to make every inch count. By using some typical gardening techniques and adapting them in innovative ways, you can grow your own vegetables in small spaces.

The space race

Not having any outdoor space does not mean all is lost. Windows come to the rescue here. You can position a hanging basket indoors near a sunny window using a ceiling hook or wall bracket. Planters filled with herbs and compact, short-rooted vegetables are also an option for a sunny window that has a wide ledge or on a table near it. Outdoor window boxes are a third option. However, if you live above the first-floor level, make sure the window box is securely attached to the wall.

Balconies are a real boon, providing outdoor growing space even in a high-rise apartment building. Planters, window boxes, and hanging baskets are all good choices. Consider using hanging baskets with a pulley system to raise and lower the planters for watering and harvesting.

The weight of soil-filled containers may limit the size and number of containers you can use. If you’re not sure of the safety of your balcony, have a structural engineer survey it. Always make sure outdoor containers on a balcony are safe, without any danger of being knocked to the ground.

Vertical structures are a great way of making extra space for growing vegetables.

Up on the roof

A roof garden can be a wonderful oasis, providing the same options as a balcony. However, if you plan to make one, first be sure the roof is strong enough to support the weight. Even when using lightweight containers and a soilless mix, freshly watered plants in pots can be heavy. As with a balcony, a structural engineer can advise you whether your roof area is structurally safe.

At ground level

For some homes, the outdoor space is just a small patio area, completely paved over, with no soil in which to grow plants. Often these small plots are courtyards, surrounded with walls or fences. As long as they get some sun for at least part of the day, these can be ideal places to grow plants in containers; tender vegetables, such as peppers and tomatoes, will thrive in the sheltered conditions. Walls and paving absorb heat from the sun during the day and gradually release it over several hours, meaning that a sheltered patio or courtyard can remain several degrees warmer than the surrounding area into the night. It will protect plants from frost and chilling winds, giving you heavier and earlier crops.

It may be possible to lift an area of paving to expose some soil underneath, or you can build a raised bed directly on top of the paving. Raised beds allow you to try a wider range of plants than you can grow in pots.

If you do have a yard with ground space, you may still need to juggle the needs of other family members, too. While you might be happy to turn the entire yard over to food production, others might be more interested in creating a peaceful area for relaxing, having lawn space for children, or growing ornamental plants. With a little careful planning, your vegetables can find a space without taking over, and you will achieve a compromise that pleases everyone.

A courtyard garden is an ideal space for plants. Even if there’s no soil, you can build raised beds for growing vegetables.

No garden, no problem

Even in a home with no outdoor ground space, one can usually find a place for a few containers. As long as there is reasonable light, porches, steps, and walkways can all be pressed into use, and in these situations, pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets come into their own.

Up in the air

Hanging baskets can be used for growing a large range of vegetable plants and herbs, and baskets with several tiers make fantastic use of space (left). Be careful that you position them where the overspill from watering will not cause a problem. It goes without saying that they need to be firmly secured to their supports.

Retro chic

A little space near the door provides the perfect spot for one or two containers (right). Here, a couple of pieces of recycled kitchen equipment— an old enamel bucket and flour container— add a retro-style touch as containers for a tomato plant and some beans. Just be sure that unusual containers have enough drainage to keep the vegetable plants from becoming waterlogged.

On the window

Windows are ideal places to grow vegetables, particularly when they are in full sun (above). Make them a decorative feature by choosing exterior window boxes in attractive materials, such as this woven willow. Window brackets should be securely bolted to the walls, with the planter firmly secured to the brackets.

Keep it cropping

Cut-and-come-again plants, such as these beet leaves (below), are ideal for small spaces, and you can keep the plants going for several weeks in the same pots. A sunroom or a table near a sunny window is a great space for growing plants.

Walk this way

This combined planting of dill and bush beans (above) is tucked at the edge of a walkway. Paths and steps often make useful spots for containers, but keep in mind that poorly placed pots on frequently used thoroughfares can be a hazard for people passing by, particularly if the pots are in poorly lit areas that will be used after dark.

Pack them in

Where space is tight, cram together as many plants in as many different containers as you can. This corner (left) contains a lively combination of vegetables, including tomatoes, peas, and cut-and-come-again lettuce, among others, all held together by the central feature of bright, tumbling nasturtium flowers.

Take it easy

An open porch or veranda is a delightful place to sit and relax, surrounded by the fruits of your labor (right). The fragrance of herbs and warm aroma of ripening tomatoes can be just as pleasurable as the scent from flowers, particularly when you know you can reach out and pluck your lunchtime salad from your seat.

New dimensions

With a little imagination, you can find new places to display plants. Use new dimensions to add vitality to a small area. Planters and stands, as well as plants, can provide color and interest. Here, painted steps (right) provide a vertical space for the plants, while the deep blue color makes an eye-catching contrast to sparkling white gravel, a perfect backdrop for when the colorful strawberries and peppers appear.

The casual touch

This bench (above) is packed with a cheerful collection of pots that is not only productive but attractive, too. A mixture of different colors of salad greens, a variety of contrasting foliage shapes, and the bright pink pompoms of chive flowers all combine to create a casual but pleasing effect.

Against the wall

The warmth from house walls (right) makes them a good place for growing plants, and this tiered bench makes the most of the space available. Vertical surfaces are often neglected in larger yards, but you can use them to the full where space is limited.

Plantings for a courtyard garden

Your courtyard garden may be completely paved over and surrounded by walls, but don’t let that deter you from growing your own food. You can use every inch of space, including the vertical surfaces, to grow a range of delicious and beautiful vegetables and fruits. Raised beds and containers can provide perfect growing conditions.

Air rights

The smaller your growing area, the more important it is to grow crops that will provide the maximum return for minimum ground space. Climbing pole beans are perfect for the courtyard (right); if they are well fed and watered, they will continue to provide regular harvests of beans all summer long.

Hanging baskets

These planters provide a new visual dimension for the garden scene and add valuable extra growing space. Trailing plants are particularly appropriate for baskets; there are a lot of tomato types specially bred for basket growing (above). Add moisture-retaining granules to the potting mix to cut down the amount of watering needed.

Cover up

Walled areas are several degrees warmer than unprotected sites, so you can produce early crops. To speed things up even more, use cloches to add a little extra protection to the most tender crops (above).

Raised beds

The next best thing to growing in the ground, tall raised beds (opposite bottom) provide plants more space than containers do, and you can increase the height of the beds if the plants need a greater depth. There are a lot of materials you can use to build the beds, so choose something that suits your courtyard’s style.

Different planters

Let your imagination run wild when it comes to choosing planters, whether you use natural materials (left) or “found” objects. Just make sure your container is able to hold a reasonable depth of potting mix for the plants’ roots. It must also have good drainage to avoid waterlogged plants; this may mean you need to make holes in the bottom of the container with an awl or power drill.

The productive patio or deck

Patios and decks may not seem like encouraging places to grow vegetables. However, paved surfaces absorb and radiate warmth from the sun, so a patio can be the perfect spot for plants. Containers will give you the opportunity to grow delicious crops on both patios and decks.

Off the ground

Raised beds can be built directly on top of a paved area (left). Filled with good-quality soil, they will provide enough depth for growing a number of plants. You can even grow root vegetables, such as carrots—if you choose short-root types— as well as climbers growing up supports. Provide plenty of drainage holes at the bottom of the raised bed walls—and a place for the water to drain.

Small is beautiful

Small areas of raised beds are quick and easy to maintain, and what could be more attractive and rewarding than these neat, weed-free rows of vegetable plants (right)? Raised beds can be decorative landscape features as well as a place to grow crops. The patio is the ideal place to relax after a day’s work, and a little gentle weed pulling while admiring your crops in the evening warmth is a great way to round off the day.

Room with a view

With large, deep containers, many vegetables, and even fruit trees, will crop successfully (above). Most plants love the sheltered atmosphere of a sunny deck—and most gardeners appreciate it, too, finding it an ideal place to take a breather on a summer’s day. A mixture of flowers and edible crops makes a pleasant view.

Make it easy

Beds raised to waist height (left) are ideal for gardeners who are not especially agile, cutting out the need for bending. This “tabletop” type of bed is also a suitable design for wheelchair users, enabling them to get up close to the plants. Metal hoops allow for the bed to be covered with insect-proof netting to protect against pests or with a floating row cover as protection from excessive cold or heat.

Beds, borders, and beyond

You can grow many types of vegetables in containers, but most will do even better when given the opportunity to spread their roots in the open ground. It will also mean less work for you because plants will need less watering and feeding and are usually easier to support, too.

Mix and match

If you only have a small area of open ground in your yard, you can supplement it with vegetables in containers (below). When growing plants that need supports, it is easier to drive stakes into a soil bed than it is to secure the supports to the containers, where the soil is usually not deep enough to hold them firmly.

Easy reach

You don’t want to have to reach for your galoshes to pick lettuce or some herbs, so be sure you have a firm path from which you can reach your plants (above). A path of stepping-stones ensures that you can keep your feet dry, while wasting the minimum amount of growing space.

Flowers and food

Small plots have to fulfill many functions, and when you make the decision to grow some of your own food, you don’t necessarily have to give up growing flowers. Here, a vegetable bed is linked to a separate flower border by a colorful fringe of blooms (above). Mixed beds, where the food plants are dotted in among the flowers, are also a successful option.

Island in a sea of green

A patch of emerald green lawn is a traditional yard feature that many people are reluctant to give up altogether, and cutting a bed or island into the lawn is a good compromise. This island, with a yellow-flowered zucchini bordered by lettuce (left), makes an attractive, decorative feature that would fit well in a formal layout.

Setting up boundaries