Gardens are spaces that have so much potential; we can literally do anything with them. And yet, far too many of us lack imagination and fail to make the most of the outdoor space that we have been blessed with.

What a lot of people forget is that gardens aren’t just spaces for relaxing and unwinding in, for anyone with a passion for food, they are so much more than that, or at least, they can be. More and more people are choosing to transform their gardens into spaces that focus mainly on food so that they can get that little bit more out of them.

Traditionally, most gardens were used for growing food, so why should these spaces be any different today?

For anyone who follows a plant-based diet, creating a garden that’s food-focused is a fantastic thing to do. It can help to make following a vegetarian diet easier and cheaper, plus it can mean being able to access organic foods more easily if you choose to grow organically, that is.

To help you create an edible garden, below are some tips and ideas.

Zone off your garden

Obviously, you don’t want your entire yard to be food-focused because you will want areas to relax in and places for the kids to play. So it’s a good idea to separate your garden into zones, such as a relaxing area, a play area, and a produce growing area.

In the play area, have a sandbox and play tower incorporated for your little ones.

In your relaxing area consider building a deck, complete with deck lights, railings, and an incorporated BBQ, perfect for using to cook the produce that you grow. BBQ spicy veggie kebabs, anyone?

Create an allotment

The first step to growing your own produce is to create an allotment. This can either be a raised allotment built in a wooden box or a floor-level allotment, depending on what you would prefer. There’s plenty of advice online about the best types of allotments, so it could be worth taking the time to do some reading up.

As for what you can grow in your allotment, from root vegetables to lettuce, you can grow practically anything, just as you know what care each vegetable that you grow requires.

Build a herb garden

For a herb garden, what you want is a large pot of some kind. For one reason or another, herbs tend to grow better when potted up, rather than when grown straight in the ground. There are plenty of herb garden ideas on sites like Pinterest, so it could be worth having a browse for ideas. Pallet herb gardens tend to work well as they are grown horizontally, and so are ideal for gardens of all shapes and sizes.

Plant fruit trees and bushes

Obviously, if you are going to grow your own produce, you don’t want to only grow savoury food, you also want to grow lots of delicious fruits. The best way to do that is to purchase a few fruit trees and shrubs - these can be grown in pots or in the ground, depending on what you would prefer.

Some of the best fruit trees to get are apple, pear and plum trees, as for fruit shrubs and bushes, strawberry plants are great, as are raspberry bushes. You could opt to grow fruit from seeds, but it will take a long time before these trees and shrubs begin to produce edible fruit, so buying ready grown trees and shrubs is probably best.

You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll be devouring your delicious home-grown foods and wondering why you didn't start sooner!

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