Everybody wants to plant fruit and veg in the garden, but they always seem to want to squeeze it into a wasted shady corner, keeping the prime parts of the garden for flowers. It is hard to make this work, because most fruits and vegetables need the very same sunny spot you want to keep for your sun-lounger and your flowers. There are shade-loving exceptions, like the blueberry bush, which thrives in shade, and gives a luscious crop of blueberries (children love them) right in the middle of the summer holidays! Perfect!
A way of getting essential sun to those other favourites, tomatos and peppers, is to mix the vine or bush style plants into a sunny flower border. Properly trimmed, they don’t spoil the flower design, and they add a splash of colour and interest when they ripen. And a salad or two! Another obvious choice is a fruit tree, or several if you have space. A tree uses vertical space, and, if placed carefully, will catch enough sun for its own needs, without casting any shade onto your space. Apple, plum and pear trees quickly grow to give loads of delicious fruit, and the ideal time to plant them is from now until the end of January. Another way of using vertical space is to plant climbers against the fence or wall. Lots of lovely fruits can be grown against a west or south- facing wall. Blackberries, tomatos, aubergines, peppers, kiwi, peaches, figs to name only a few.
All these fruiting trees and vines are available now, and none are expensive.
