Presentation to Kalamunda Community Garden.
GARDEN TYPES
Broadly speaking there are two types of gardens - plants-persons gardens and designer gardens. Ignoring for a moment the hybrid of the two, where the vast majority of household gardens lie, let’s consider these two primary types.
Plantsperson gardens tend to have one of E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, all in together with no obvious plan or design intent, at least to the visitor’s eye. They are a cornucopia of the interesting, rare, quirky and collectable; often a labour of love and a lifetime’s work.
Designer or designed gardens tend to be the uptight opposite - every element and plant is there for a reason, in its place. Order and control prevail. Features are highlighted, issues are resolved. Often the plant palette is limited; plants are selected for a specific purpose or signature style.
One is not necessarily better or worse than the other. I believe, like art, music, fashion etc, it’s a matter of personal preference. The perception that it is a "good" or "great" garden doesn’t necessarily lie in how it came to be or what is in it, but perhaps more in how it makes one feel. Frequently, this label is given to gardens that have UNITY; those that seem to make sense or make the viewer feel at ease.
In arty-farty designer speak, unity relates to a number of things:
intentional grouping of objects to be read as a whole
incorporation of a leading feature eg. focal point
the intended use should be readily evident, its components reinforce this
aesthetic unity, perception appears "whole", not lacking anything
As gardeners, we all know that frisson of excitement when we find a long-coveted plant and we just have to have it. And if one is good then three is even better. So, with all these plants, how to make a garden that conveys that sense of unity rather than Pro Hart meets Waldecks??
Enter, the Principles of Design.
Before I take you through them I want to point out that edibles are just plants that we can eat all or part of. Just. Plants. There’s actually nothing magical or mystical about designing with edibles. As long as you understand a few basic design principles and have some fundamental plant husbandry knowledge, it is easy. In a nutshell - plant what you like to eat where you know it will grow.
DESIGN ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES
To create something of beauty artists use elements such as lines and shapes, enhanced by colours and textures, balanced by space and value. Gardens are no different in this regard, it’s just that we use plants instead of paint, clay or fabric.
Individual plants have a basic 3D shape (FORM) - rounded, flat, upright, conical etc. Planting one prominent individual as a feature, or mass planting a group of the same plant, highlights that form.
LINES are created by the arrangement of plants and are used to guide the eye in a certain direction. A hedge along a path draws the eye horizontally to the far end. A tall, slender tree creates a strong vertical line, acting as an exclamation point. Straight lines suggest formality and encourage movement, curves and organic shapes feel more relaxed and encourage us to dawdle.
COLOURS can be used to enhance or minimise space. It’s widely recognised that red pops and attracts attention, while blue tends to recede into the background. White reflects light, while dark tones create a sense of enclosure.
TEXTURE pertains to the quality of a surface. Not just in a tactile sense, ie how it actually feels to the touch, but how it appears to the eye in various lights and aspects. Smooth (more reflective) will appear differently to rough, small/fine foliage (more detail) will appear different to large/rough.
VALUE is the contrast between light and dark and the emphasis of one over the other. It affects the visual balance of a space, as well as the textural qualities.
SPACE is defined by the lines and shapes of the elements, ie the mass and the void. Striking a balance between the two is key to the feeling a space evokes. Narrow spaces encourage you to keep moving through, open spaces encourage you to pause and take it all in.
All these elements can be utilised according to the six main principles of design.
RHYTHM - reinforces and connects through repetition
VARIETY - creates interest & "liveliness", encouraging movement and exploration
BALANCE - creates a sense of visual & energetic ease and harmony
EMPHASIS - accentuates something, creates focal points or direction
SEQUENCE - uniform change/transition, connecting design components, directional
SCALE - size relationship between elements & within whole picture, Golden Mean, absolute or relative
Finding the right combination of each of these is the designer’s dilemma.
DESIGNING WITH EDIBLES
The poster child for designing with edibles is arguably the Permaculture Movement and there have been tomes written about it, so I won’t repeat it all here. To me, permaculture simply represents common sense on a large scale, beautifully explained. No doubt my grandparents, with their large kitchen garden on the farm, would nowadays be labelled permaculture exponents - back then it was more a case of growing what you need with minimal resources and wastage, and look after the soil (environment) 'cos you’re going to have to do it all again next year, and the next…
I have grown edibles, designed or otherwise, for decades. Not always successfully, but how else do you learn? Mercifully I have never had to rely solely on my efforts to sustain myself. It was more about scratching some primal, innate need to dig in the soil and prove to myself that I could do it; eating the results was a glorious bonus. I have tended towards the more permanent edibles such as fruit trees and herbaceous perennials rather than annual crops, as these form a more settled landscape, which suits my personality better. I’m a creature of habit and, yes, quite likely a control freak. Others may be perfectly happy with nothing but annual crops on high rotation - out with the old and in with the new.
Since designing is about creating something beautiful that works, consider using heritage, rare and unusual varieties of fruit and vegetables. These are frequently shunned in the commercial sense as they have a short shelf life, aren’t robust enough to withstand transport or are just flat out too weird looking for consumers to adopt. On the plus side they are often more flavoursome, are hardier plants and their colours, textures and growth habits add interest and individuality to a garden. Seeds produced tend to be true to the parent, unlike hybrids, and we are doing the world a service in preserving genetic diversity in our plants. The disclaimer to this is that if formality is your thing then the consistency of hybrid varieties might be more in keeping with this aesthetic.
Edible gardens lend themselves to being sensory gardens by virtue of their inherent characteristics - scent, colour, texture, sound and, of course, taste. Put fragrant plants near access points, invite touch by putting raised beds or containers of tactile foliage within reach, use coloured flowers and foliage to decorate or draw the eye. As mentioned before, edibles are just plants with specific growth and maintenance needs. Understanding these features is imperative for both yields and for looks.
A frequent lament I hear is that gardens are so time-consuming, a burden. Considering that there is no such thing as a no-maintenance garden, if you are going to allocate time to one, why not grow something you can eat or share?
Here are my take-home thoughts on the how/where/why of edible gardens:
start small, but just start
plant what you like to eat
group plants of similar need together
practice companion or guild planting (if space permits)
create layers - canopy, understorey, groundcovers - mimics the wild situation
know your site characteristics
know your soil
know your plants - growth habits, maintenance needs
know that gardens operate in four dimensions - width, depth, height and TIME
situate the things you use the most near the places you go the most
everything is connected to everything else in some way - you cannot operate a garden in isolation (and why would you want to?)
create a system whereby recycling, reusing & composting etc are all integral
practice crop rotation and good garden hygiene to minimise disease & reliance on sprays
utilise porous surfaces as much as possible - gravel, crushed stone etc - to facilitate water penetration into the subsoil; even pavers with gaps & ground covers is preferable to solid paving or concrete create seating spaces in various places, to contemplate/observe/plan/enjoy
ENJOY!
Kiwifruit vine used to divide/screen different parts of a kitchen garden at Mornington Primary School.
PLANNING
Planning will be your best friend insofar as it will help you to define the different areas of your space, understand what will and won’t grow there and then make the best and most efficient use of that space. When resources are limited (time, money, materials, water etc) they have to be used intelligently. Planning ensures that this happens. It doesn’t mean that there’s no flexibility; on the contrary, there ought to be flexibility since plants don’t read textbooks and nothing in biology is guaranteed.
The planning process might look something like this…
draw your space on graph paper, to scale
note aspect, slope, prevailing winds, sun and shade
make a note of where North is
show on your plan where buildings, walls & fences are
note existing trees & shrubs that are to be retained (including those just over the fence)
note the entry/exit points of your space and think about how you want to move around it
get your soil tested - structure, composition, pH, contaminants
make a list of what you’d like to grow - it can be refined along the way according to your site’s characteristics, but for now, go nuts
make another list of what features or structures you want to include in your space - pergola, clothesline, pool, play area, chook yard, tennis court, landing strip…
think about the style of garden you’d like - formal, informal
place trees & shrubs first according to their needs and function
place permanent crops - perennials such as asparagus & rhubarb, self-seeding biennials
fill in gaps with non-permanent crops - annuals, slow growers and those needing infrequent harvesting or pruning
place high-maintenance crops near daily traffic areas - those for daily use or needing frequent harvesting or pruning
Or, hire someone to do all of the above.
Planning on paper
EDIBLES IN SMALL SPACES
Consider multiples uses of each element -
a compost pile = organic matter for the soil, generates heat for propagation or heat-loving plants, provides shelter on the leeward side, kills the weeds beneath, attracts worms, leaches nutrients into the soil below.
raised beds with capping = seating
seating with removable lids = storage
Consider multiple uses for each plant -
a tree = fruit, shades plants below, dissipate wind, provide habitat for fauna, screen an unsightly fence.
prostrate herbs = groundcover, lawn substitute, culinary herb, pollinator attractor
climber on pergola = shade, fruit, windbreak
Layering is important to achieve maximum return per square metre.
Utilise vertical spaces - trellises, espaliers, green walls.
Try to ensure the garden reveals itself bit by bit, eg curved paths, hedges, screens, level changes Use mirrors to give the impression of a larger space. NB. do not reflect the sun and burn your neighbours’ retinas.
Paint fences/walls either a receding blue shade or a light, bright tone to reflect light, gives the impression of space being bigger than it is.
Reduce visual complexity (for calmness), use large-scale elements (beds, pavers, ornaments).
Put a focal point at the far end of the longest line of sight (often a diagonal).
Trick the eye with perspective - large-leaved items closest, small/fine foliage furthest, make paths narrow as they get further away, large ornament in the foreground, smaller one in distance.
Link house interior and garden through repetition of colour, form, material, shape etc.
Dwarfing rootstock.
Container growing - can move things around to follow the sun, bonsai effect, focal points
EDIBLE OPTIONS FOR FORM & FUNCTION
TREES (feature, screen)
Deciduous - apples/pears/quinces (low chill varieties for Perth), stone fruit, pomegranate, persimmon Evergreen - citrus, olive, bay, loquat, lilly pilly
SHRUBS (hedge, screen, topiary)
Evergreen - rosemary, lavender, olive, bay, lilly pilly, caper bush, guava, citrus, tomato, chilli
Deciduous - rose, blueberry (acidic soil only, or containers), gooseberry, currants - red, white, black
CANES (espalier, trellis)
Raspberry Brambleberries (Blackberry, hybrid berries) Goji Berry
CLIMBERS (pergola, screen)
Deciduous - kiwifruit, hops, grape
Evergreen - passionfruit, climbing beans, cucurbits
GROUND COVERS
Oregano Thyme Strawberry Rosemary (prostrate) Sweet Potato Melons Pumpkins Nasturtium
ANNUALS
Seasonal vegetables & herbs Seasonal flowers (companion plants, edible flowers) Chilli Tomato
GRASSES/STRAP LEAF
Alliums - chives, onions, garlic Corn Banana Lemongrass Ginger Turmeric Galangal
CUT & COME AGAIN
Kale Lettuce Beetroot Swiss Chard Oriental Greens Peas (shoots) Spinach
CONTAINERS
Strawberry Blueberry Dwarf fruit trees Mulberry Feijoa Guava Papaya
* Mint & Lemongrass - recommend never plant in the garden - invasive
FOR SHADY AREAS (most fruit/vegetables require 6hrs + direct sun)
½ day shade:
Beetroot Broad Beans Coriander Dill Oriental Greens Parsley Salad Leafy Greens Spinach Swiss Chard Chilean Guava (Tazziberry ™) - acidic soil only
Dappled shade:
Strawberry
Full shade:
Mushrooms Pepperberry (NB. Cool areas only)
RESOURCES
Slow Food Movement (based in Italy)
Permaculture - David Holmgren, Bill Mollison
Landscaping With Fruit, Lee Reich, Storey Publishing, 2009
Earth Users Guide to Permaculture, 2nd ed. - Rosemary Morrow, Kangaroo Press, 2006
Various Fruit Guides & Espalier Guide - Allen Gilbert, Hyland House Publishing
The Permaculture Home Garden - Linda Woodrow, Viking Press, 1996
Kitchen Gardens of Australia - Kate Herd, Penguin, 2012
The Edible Balcony (2011) & The Edible City (2016) - Indira Naidoo, Penguin Random House
Foreground - Productive Landscapes Special Series - www.foreground.com.au
Michael Pollan - writes/speaks about where nature & culture meet www.michaelpollan.com
Alice Waters - chef, gardener, educator www.edibleschoolyard.org, www.chezpanisse.com
Eating the Landscape: Aesthetic Foodscape Design and its role in Australian Landscape Architecture - Joshua Zeunert, scholar article, AILA, 2011
Diggers Club - www.diggers.com.au
Espaliered pears underplanted with Rosemary, Cloudehill Garden, Olinda VIC.
EXAMPLES OF DESIGNING WITH EDIBLES
Heronswood, VIC - kitchen garden parterre
Foster, VIC - herb gardens on the main street
Adelaide Botanic Garden - herb garden
Sooke Harbour House, Vancouver Island, Canada
Jacobs Creek Winery, Barossa Valley, SA - kitchen garden
O.MY Restaurant, Beaconsfield, VIC - two hat dining, zero-waste philosophy, kitchen garden www.omyrestaurant.com.au
Oak & Monkey Puzzle, Spargo Creek, VIC - Natasha Morgan combines flowers and edibles in her productive & profitable home garden www.natashamorgan.com.au
Chateau Villandry, Loire Valley, France - parterre kitchen garden
Eden Project, Cornwall, UK
Community Gardens
