Suggested plants
The idea is to have lots of color and interesting textures – colorful curly lettuce lining the paths, chard with colorful stems, curly blue-green kale, purple sprouting broccoli, red chicory, beetroot, feathery carrots (their leaves that is!), runner beans on a teepees with lovely red flowers and long green pods, French climbing beans with green, purple or yellow pods, feathery asparagus and colorful fruit vegetables such as chilli peppers, peppers, tomatoes and aubergines.
In addition to the flowers on the vegetables, you can plant edible flowers, grow flowers for their companion planting qualities or for cut flowers. Common companion flowers include marigold, nasturtium, chamomile and yarrow.
The outer barrier can be a hedge of gooseberries, red currants, blueberries or goji berries or a combination of all four. Alternatively, you can set up a trellis and plant it with grapes or kiwi. Be sure to choose varieties that will do well in your area. Your local garden center should be able to help you. Also, make sure that the hedge is not so high that it casts too much shade on your vegetable garden.
