Join me today as we have a visit to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, to see one of the great gardens in the world. The showpiece of Pierce DuPont, Longwood Gardens is on the short list of garden tours you definitely must take.
Longwood Gardens is not just an exhibition backyard; it’s also a instruction and experimental backyard. Case in point: the vegetable gardens. Beautifully tended plots, filled with perennial vegetables and prepped for the annuals, lie in wait. Weathered wood structures blend seamlessly into the landscape but offer architectural interest and technical support.
Get ideas for your yard from some of the trellising, fencing and spacing ideas from the gardens of Longwood.
Amy Renea
The vegetable garden is put close to an abysmal walkway at the rear of Longwood, but in many ways it could be the showpiece. With fencing on all sides to keep out predators, the theme of gently weathered wood starts. Notice how the sight lines of the arbor overhead and bets in the inside are operating perfectly parallel.
Amy Renea
As soon as you enter the interior garden, you’ll observe that the carefully cut grass, freshly turned soil and cut borders. Between the grass and soil is a narrow trench that’s angled outward. Here is the classic edging for garden beds, keeping weeds out and creating a gorgeous, clean line. The only problem: It has to be cut at least once each year to keep up the look.
Amy Renea
Another gorgeous touch would be the twig fences which are still alive. Only plant a more flexible plant which roots easily, such as willow, and tuck the surface into the ground. The plant will develop with both ends tucked into the ground.
Amy Renea
Turn the corner and you’ll stumble upon the asparagus bed. Asparagus spears appear first in the spring, and then the ferny foliage emerges and grows all summertime. These very simple bamboo bet fences help restrain the ferns from falling into the walkway.
Amy Renea
Across from the asparagus patch is really a trellis laid on an angle for climbing plants. This trellis is a good solution for heavier climbers such as squash and watermelon due to its depth and durability of the wood panel. After the vines start increasing the trellis, they supply color for lettuces underneath.
Amy Renea
This gorgeous structure is the centerpiece of the garden and functions under precisely the same assumption, producing structure and shade simultaneously. Climbing twiners such as peas and beans can easily scamper up the sides of the house, creating room indoors for shade-loving veggies.
Amy Renea
Notice how all the beds and pathways radiate out from the centerpiece. In your backyard, perhaps you could orient the backyard around a sundial, branch tepee planted with morning glories or merely a round planting bed chock of annuals.
Amy Renea
On the far side of the backyard are yet more freshly dug and cut beds. Notice that the trenches cut out to separate beds within beds, and the obelisks that supply a perpendicular line to the horizontal beds. The obelisks offer you a chance to combine in a couple of ornamentals such as clematis or climbing hydrangea to break up boxes of cabbage and kohlrabi.
Amy Renea
Whether you are planning a very simple veggie plot or a full-out minifarm, borrow a couple of design techniques from the pros. Will you cut trenches in your onion beds? Perhaps you’ll add a vertical element for interest or to create shade for lettuce and peas. Perhaps you will also be prompted to create your very own grand construction and produce the veggie beds the real centerpiece of your backyard.
More:
Feast Your Eyes on Edible Gardens
Cream-of-the-Crop Vegetable Gardens