WHAT TO GROW IN AND WHERE - Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Growing in Small Spaces - page 6

The cottage garden is the English version of the French potager. Here we're less formal
and the emphasis, nowadays at least, is more on the flowers but there's no reason not to go
back to its origins and mix in the crops with the flowers.
The Front Garden
So who decreed that the front garden was exempt from being useful? Everything I've sugges-
ted for the back garden can be done at the front. OK, the neighbours might be a bit curious
and think you a little mad at first but who's the mad one? The person tending a bit of lawn by
the car parked in the drive or the person harvesting a crop from that space?
Raised Beds
Raised beds are becoming popular even where people have lots of space to grow in but their
real value comes in where space is tight. Effectively you can double the yield by growing
in a raised bed and they define a separate area that you can hopefully stop the children from
charging through.
The ideal size for a raised bed is 10' x 4' (3m x 1.2m). This allows you to easily reach into
the centre of the bed from either side and isn't so long that you are tempted to hop across the
bed rather than walk around. Don't forget you need paths wide enough to get round easily
with a wheelbarrow.
You don't have to have 10' x 4' beds - you might just have a metre square or even a circular
bed. I don't really like triangular beds though - too much space is wasted in the corners.
The edging of the bed can be made from various materials. The cheapest is wood which
also looks very attractive. Ideally you want a wood that won't rot despite being in contact
with the ground so treating with a preservative is a must. Cuprinol is very good when used in
accordance with the instructions but other makes can be bought. Check that the preservative
is suitable for wood in contact with the soil (fence stain won't do the job). You can also get
different shades and colours if you want to be fashionable.
Try contacting scaffolding contractors as they often have secondhand boards going for a
song. Scaffold boards are ideal being around 8 inches (20cm) deep and an inch (2.5cm) thick.
Using pressure injected fence posts to make a corner and some pressure treated 2'' x 1'' (5cm
x 2.5cm) for external braces you can easily construct your own in a few hours.
If you have the corner posts slightly raised, they can be useful to stop hosepipes dragging
over the beds and, with the addition of the finial balls similar to those used for staircases,
look very decorative.
An easier but more expensive way with wooden beds is to buy them in kit form. Harrod
Horticultural offer a wide range of different beds in kit forms at surprisingly reasonable