Plan Your Garden in 5 Easy Steps

Planning a garden can be like planning a vacation – almost as fun as the main event! But if you’re not sure where to start, I’m here to help. I’m going to share my strategies for planning the perfect vegetable garden, based on what I’ve learned over 30+ years of gardening.

1. Position the Sun Lovers

So where do we start? In my experience it has to be the greediest crops of all, those warm-season divas that demand as much as sunshine as you can throw at them and thrive best in balmy temperatures above 70ºF or around 20ºC – think tomatoes, peppers, squash and so on. They will grow best in unbroken sunshine – the primest of prime garden real estate (or as close as you can get to that in a cloudy climate like mine!).

Consider the height of plants as you're doing doing this, and position taller crops furthest away from the sun so they won’t overshadow shorter vegetables. Sprawling plants like squash can be planted close to the edge of the plot so they can trail out into surrounding areas without swamping other crops.

2. Add Vertical Interest

Next, consider vertical interest, which can really bring a garden alive. Rows or blocks of vegetables can look a bit flat, so I like to include some elements to lead the eye upwards. They can help you pack more crops into the space you have, so as well as adding powerful visual impact, they’re really useful as well.

Vining crops like climbing beans look the bee’s knees trained up teepees of canes, arches or against trellis, especially with their colorful flowers. And talking of color, I also like to include sweet peas for both scent and cut flowers – a handy nab-and-grab posie for when we’re off somewhere and I want to share a little something from the garden – and they’ll attract pollinating insects too of course. Cucumbers, climbing peas and winter squash can be also be trained up supports, and don’t forget naturally lofty staples like corn.

If you’re gardening in a very hot, sunny place you can use vertically-grown plants to create intentional shady refuges for cool-season crops, like leafy greens and many brassicas, that welcome a bit of respite from the sun. They will only start to cast significant shade once they grow tall, which tends to be during the hottest part of the summer when cool season crops need shade most.

3. Include Some Flowers

Flowers are a must in any garden. They’re food for the soul, and many, like nasturtiums or borage flowers, are edible too. Flowers add extra interest to the productive garden, making it a beautiful place to be. But, best of all, adding carefully chosen flowers will attract a legion of beneficial bugs like hoverflies and lacewings that will help pollinate your crops and control pests.

It’s worth dedicating the ends of some of your beds for nectar-rich flowers, especially where they’ll add a welcome splash of color. I also like to sneak flowers in wherever there’s the slightest sliver of space, for example marigolds at the base of cordon tomatoes, or nasturtiums sprawling into and among the asparagus.

Sometimes it can feel like you’re wasting space by growing flowers where vegetables could grow, but these boosting blooms will contribute way more than they take. Here’s a list of my favorite vegetable garden flowers:

• Alyssum: Attracts tiny wasps and other beneficial insects.
• Borage: Draws in large buzzing pollinators like bumblebees.
• Calendula: Edible flowers with good taste and nutrition.
• French marigold: Great companion to tomatoes. May help deter rabbits.
• Nasturtium: Suppresses weeds as it sprawls. All parts are edible.
• Poached egg plant: Low-growing flower that is stunning along paths.
• Zinnia: Nectar-rich blooms for bees and butterflies.

4. Group Similar Crops

With sunworshippers, climbers and flowers on your plan, it’s time to slot in the rest of your vegetables: staples like potatoes, onions and garlic; roots like carrots, beets and parsnip; brassicas such as kale, cabbage and so on.

Try grouping some of these crops together to make things easier – for example, brassicas to make it easy to net them against butterflies, salads for easy watering in one go, and so on. Position crops like salads and herbs that need regular harvesting closer to the kitchen – that way, it will be no effort to nip outside and grab a few lettuce leaves or snip a sprig of thyme on the spur of the moment.

With everything in place on your plan, you can then think about how long each crop will occupy its space for. And that’s one reason I love our Garden Planner: you can set the dates each crop will be in ground, then view your plan month-by-month to see when and where gaps appear. That makes it easy to plan succession crops, for example leeks after early season potatoes, or hardy brassicas like kale after, say, early carrots or spinach. It means I can keep my beds productive for as long as possible, and harvest two crops from the same space.

5. Pop in the Peripherals

Don’t forget to include what I call the peripherals – those items that will make tending your crops simpler, or that enhance how the garden functions. One of the most important things to include is one or more compost heaps or bins for transforming old crops and weeds into free soil improver. If you position compost heaps close to your crops, it will make clearing away old plant matter a lot quicker.

You may want to include a shed for keeping everyday tools closer to hand, and some means to collect rainwater. Or how about a cold frame – purpose-made or improvised – to help acclimatize tender seedlings to outdoor conditions in advance of planting. Think about the things that’ll make life easier, and design them into your plan. And don’t forget to include somewhere to sit and admire your beautiful garden!

Starting a Vegetable Garden from Scratch

But what if you’re a complete beginner, or are extending your garden? Here are my tips to help you pick the perfect spot and style for your new garden beds.

TIP 1: Pick Your Spot Wisely

Most crops need plenty of direct sunshine, so pick an area that receives at least six hours of sunshine and, if you can, eight or more over the course of the day. If you’re unsure which part of your garden’s sunniest, observe where shadows fall over the course of a sunny day and then prioritize the sunniest area you can find.

Bear in mind that nearby trees and shrubs will come into leaf as spring progresses, so consider the shade they will potentially cast. The trees around my garden have grown a lot since I started my garden several years ago, so before the end of winter I’ll be cutting back overhanging branches to open things up again.

If you are growing in a very hot climate on the other hand, you may want to seek out an area that gets some shade during the hottest part of the year to prevent crops from drying out. You may also want to locate your garden close to a water source to save lugging watering cans back and forth or to make it easier to set up drip irrigation.

TIP 2: Choose Your Growing Style

There are three main ways to grow: in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers. Each has its merits:

• Containers can be moved about if needed, and they’re the obvious choice for smaller gardens or paved spaces.
• In-ground beds are cheap and easy to set up. No need to dig, just plonk some compost onto the ground and you’re ready to roll!
• Raised beds look neat and orderly, and are useful when soil conditions are very wet or otherwise poor because they help water drain away from roots better, and warm up quicker in spring. Raised bed kits can be on the pricey side, but you can save money by making your own from planks or (my preference) pallet collars.

Your situation will be unique, so opt for a growing style that works for your location, budget and preference.

TIP 3: Plan Your Layout

The next step is to lay out the bones of the garden – the solid, permanent structures that will always be there. In my case that meant setting up a plan with my raised beds dropped into position, as well as structures like fences, walls and even the trampoline!

While finessing your layout, don’t forget to include paths. Honestly, mine could do with being a little wider, so I wish I’d spent more time planning them! I’d suggest a width that allows you to comfortably navigate with a wheelbarrow, even when taking into account the voluminous growth and sprawl of plants in peak season.

TIP 4: Make a Plant List

When it comes to deciding what to grow, start with what you and your family actually like to eat, because there’s no sense growing something you don’t enjoy! In time, you’ll also want consider what varieties have performed well for you in the past. For example, I know that a slow-to-bolt spinach variety I discovered last year really helped me to get more pickings early in the season, so I’ll be growing that again. It’s well worth researching varieties that will thrive in your environment and climate too.

And then the hard bit: consider how much space you have and edit down your list. There’s only so much you can fit in, after all! Almost all gardeners try to cram in more plants than they have space for – another reason why it’s good to use the Garden Planner to show how many will actually fit in your beds without overcrowding them!

As well as things you like to eat, prioritize particularly reliable, productive varieties, or vegetables and herbs that cost a lot to buy. I will always grow my gold-stamped staples like beets and pole beans, but I like to try at least one new crop each year. This season, I’ll be trying okra for the very first time. I can’t wait!

I find planning my garden a doddle using the Garden Planner because I can continue to tweak my plan as and when I need to, and the accompanying Plant List changes with it so I can see how many plants I need to sow and when they’ll be growing. It’s all really rather handy!

If you’d like to try the Garden Planner for free you can take out a 7 day trial. You don’t need to put in any payment details, and you can even print off and keep your plan forever if you want to! Give it a whirl here.