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Vegetable Garden Layout: 7 Best Design Secrets!

7 best vegetable garden layout ideas on soil, sun orientations, spacing, varieties, plans & design secrets to create productive & beautiful kitchen gardens.

Before this blog took over, I worked as a garden designer for over 10 years. My favorite gardens always had an edible garden in them! 

I found that the best vegetable garden layout & designs invariably have a lot of things in common. They are all well planned, easily accessible, very productive, inviting, and beautiful . 

Today I am super excited to share with you 7 secrets to create great vegetable garden layout & designs and practical tips you can implement in your own garden right away!

1. Start with sun and shade when creating vegetable garden layout and designs

* Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here .

Most vegetables grow best in full sun. Not all open areas in a garden will be sunny. A tall tree or building can cast several hundred feet of shade when the sun is lower in the year from late fall through early spring. ( Via Pine House Gardens )

Always choose the most sunny location you can for a kitchen garden, where plants can get at least 5-6 hours of direct sun per day, especially between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Usually the south, south west, or south east side of a house is great for a veggie garden on northern hemisphere. ( Via NW Bloom )

What direction should vegetable garden rows run? Typically the garden gets more sun exposure when rows are running north south direction.

Sometimes we can not do so, such as in this sloped garden. A good alternative is to plant shorter plants such as cabbage, onion, or zucchini on the south side of a garden bed, and taller plants such as pole bean, fava bean, tomato etc on the north side so the taller plants won’t shade the shorter plants. 

2. Well designed beds and paths in vegetable garden layout

A well designed vegetable garden layout needs to have good circulation paths. A main path should be at least 30 inch wide for ease of circulation. You can have narrower paths or stepping stones through garden bed as well. ( Via Magnolia )

Garden beds should be less than 4′ wide to easily reach any plants in the center without stepping onto the soil.

Check out this detailed guide on easy 25 DIY garden paths with inexpensive materials.

How to build 28 easy and productive raised beds!

If you want more edible garden beds ideas, check out this reader favorite article on how to build 28 easy and productive raised beds!

3. How to space vegetables in a garden

When you are designing what to plant in your vegetable garden, it’s important to know how far to space vegetables in a garden bed.

You can find the spacing requirements of different plants on a seed packet, or use this spacing chart above. This is for intensive plantings with good soil in small space or raised beds. Increase the spacing by x1.5 or x2 if you have a bigger garden area.

Another popular edible garden design is the square foot garden. Square foot gardening system is the practice of dividing the growing area into 1 foot square sections for better planning of an intensive vegetable garden. ( Via Almanac )

We also have a free printable gardening calendar you can download here, which will help you plan which vegetables to plant each month in your climate zone.

Free printable gardening calendar

4. Learn from beautiful kitchen garden designs

There are so many beautifully designed kitchen gardens and potagers throughout history to draw inspirations from. The majestic vegetable garden above was designed by George Washington at Mt Vernon.

We can use these timeless garden layout designs in our own gardens. Keep in mind that garden beds do not have to be rectangles and squares. You can use curved shapes in your garden designs like in this garden above.

5. Use trellis & structures in a vegetable garden layout

Another garden structure to consider is garden fencing, which can keep out deer and rabbits, and act as a trellis for climbing plants like beans and cucumbers.

This simple and attractive raised bed garden is by Homefront Farmers.

Trellises are functional garden structures that make a garden more productive. They can also be really beautiful in an edible garden. Check out these 24 best DIY garden trellis ideas and tutorials here!

6. Front yard vegetable garden layout and design

Once upon a time, the idea of a front yard vegetable garden seemed ridiculous. Now as urban farms and beautiful edible gardens are popping up everywhere, we are no longer limited to only the backyard for vegetable gardening.

This front yard vegetable garden is so beautifully designed and absolutely inspiring!

7. Biodiversity and companion planting

When planning your garden, it’s a good idea to incorporate companion planting. It is a system of which plants go together and how to create more beneficial relationships among plants to increase productivity and to repel pests naturally.

By planting certain vegetables, herbs and flowers together, you can allow them to help one another to grow a healthier and more beautiful and abundant garden. ( Via Helen Philips )

This companion planting chart by afristar is a wonderful guide to start with. If you want to dig deeper, there are some great books on companion planting. We have this one: Carrots Love Tomatoes !

Check out this book on Amazon: Carrots Love Tomatoes

Stay tuned for more in our vegetable gardening series!

Happy gardening friends! See you soon! 🙂

20 Best Vegetable Garden Layout Ideas

Every item on this page was chosen by The Pioneer Woman team. The site may earn a commission on some products.

Grow your own leafy greens in a space of any size! 🥬

By Arricca Elin Sansone

Jon LovetteGetty Images

It takes a lot to start a vegetable garden: choosing the right vegetables to grow and buying seeds, and then there's planning the actual yard space. Of course, there's nothing like the neat and tidy rows of traditional raised garden beds, with everything lined up and planted in an orderly fashion. But, sometimes, you simply don't have the space. If you live in an apartment with a balcony, a condo, or house with a small yard, you've got to get a little more creative. Fortunately, there are vegetable garden layout ideas for any size of yard.

A few factors will help you decide the best layout plan for your vegetable garden. Depending on your plant hardiness zone, you'll want to make sure you find a location for your garden that receives full sun, which is considered 6 or more hours of direct sunlight per day. Many garden favorites, such as tomatoes and bell peppers, like it even hotter, so 8 or more hours is ideal. Very few vegetables will tolerate mostly shade, so if your yard is shaded all day, your best bet is to opt for a container garden that you can place where you do have full sun exposure. Also, make sure you have access to water; that sounds obvious, but if you have to haul watering cans or drag a hose too far in the heat of summer, it's not the most pleasant experience! Still feel up to the challenge? To inspire you, here are the best vegetable garden layout ideas including designs, products, and tips to make your garden even more productive.

kcline

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Hang a Pot Vegetable Garden

Short on space? Try various hanging pots, which works well for many different types of edibles including strawberries, herbs, and lettuce. Bonus: it keeps your plants away from animals in your garden such as bunnies!

SHOP HANGING BASKETS

Westend61

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Prop Up a Ladder Garden

A repurposed ladder makes the perfect foundation for lots of pots of herbs without taking up a ton of space on your patio or deck. It also accommodates different sizes of pots and window boxes, as shown here, for a pretty and appealing display.

Alison Miksch

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Interplant with Flowers

If you don't have a dedicated garden plot, plant edibles alongside your flowers. There's always room to tuck pretty plants such as Swiss chard and nasturtium here and there throughout your garden. Plus, the local pollinators will thank you!

James Brokensha Photography

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Line Them in Tidy Rows

This layout is the most traditional, and it definitely is appealing! You can plant tight rows of plants that don't mind chilly weather such as lettuce, then pull them out when they go to seed as hot weather hits. Replant a heat lover such as beans in the same space.

Barbara Rich

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Grow Them on a Trellis

Growing up is always a space-saving option. Plus, some veggies, such as cukes and squash, are more productive and less vulnerable to disease with vertical support (due to better air circulation).

SHOP GARDEN TRELLISES

Geo-grafika

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Grow Vegetables in Pots

Place various sizes of pots on the stairs leading to your home. The benefit is that each plant gets its own container so they're not competing for nutrients or moisture.

Gunther Fraulob

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Try Companion Planting

Many gardeners believe that by planting certain combinations of plants together, they're mutually beneficial—keeping away bad insects and attracting the good ones. Here, cabbage is interplanted with signet marigolds (also edible!) for a pretty and practical display.

Barbara Rich

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Construct Raised Beds

Raised beds are the best way to deal with poor soil; they also warm up a bit faster in the spring than the ground. You can purchase one or DIY one from wood (don't use pressure-treated, which can leach chemicals) or concrete paver stones.

martinwimmer

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Grow in a Vertical Garden

If hungry garden visitors keep munching on your produce, try this ingenious solution: Long metal containers, such as repurposed gutters, can be mounted to stakes. Just be sure to punch holes in the bottom of each container, and plant shallow-rooted veggies such as various types of leaf lettuce, creeping herbs such as thyme, or kale.

Julija Kumpinovica

10 of 20

Set Up a Windowsill Garden

If you don't have a bit of space outdoors, a windowsill garden still allows you to grow something useful! Herbs are the best choice because they're easy to grow, many adapt to indoor conditions, and they're so expensive to buy at the grocery store. Just make sure they get plenty of bright light.

SHOP WINDOW PLANTERS

Dragoncello

11 of 20

Mount a Wall Garden

Simple shelves or a repurposed wooden pallet make a great hanging vegetable garden. Herbs and lettuce do especially well, and you won't have to share with the neighborhood critters because they can't reach!

Jasemin Abazi / EyeEm

12 of 20

Fill a Pocket Garden

This idea is inexpensive and so cute! Repurpose hanging shoe organizers (just make sure the material is porous or poke 3 to 4 holes in each plastic pocket) to grow shallow-rooted veggies such as lettuce. You'll also find fabric pockets specifically designed for planting.

Philippe Gerber

13 of 20

Grow in Stock Tanks

Stock tanks keep having a moment! Why? They're nearly indestructible, last for years, and are just about the right height for comfortable access--especially if you have back issues. Look for bottomless tanks or poke lots of holes in a traditional stock tank for drainage.

Westend61

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Use Window Boxes

Dress up windows in a pretty, practical way with a window box full of vegetables or herbs. You can also hang window boxes from deck railing to maximize your space.

Jacky Parker Photography

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Arrange Shallow Containers

Why buy lettuce that just ends up going bad in the crisper? Plant shallow containers with various kinds of lettuce, and harvest when you need it. Wait a week or two in between sowings. That way, you'll keep the harvest going longer.

SHOP GARDEN BOWLS

AKodisinghe

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Make Tall Raised Beds

You don't have to forgo the fun of gardening if you have a bad back or achy knees. Raised bed planters at waist height can accommodate you and make gardening more fun, less painful.

Grahamphoto23

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Grow in Fabric Bags

Fabric bags are a great way to grow vegetables because you can fold these bags up for storage at the end of the season. They're especially good for crops such as potatoes because it's easier to layer soil and to harvest.

Wander Photography

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Go Hydroponic

Hydroponic gardens are less messy because the plants grow in water, not soil. Consider these for indoor gardens if you have zero outdoor planting space or sunlight. Many come in kits that include a grow light.

Firdausiah Mamat

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Stuff in Straw Bales

Believe it or not, you can grow vegetables in straw bales! It's fun, clean, and can be done anywhere, such as the edge of your property or even on pavement. The bales typically last a season or two, and you can recycle the rest in your compost bin.

VittoriaChe

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Strawberry Garden

Here's a cool idea for an edible garden! Cut holes into pipe and mount high off the ground to keep your plants away from munching garden visitors. This works especially well for plants that can drape over the edges, such as strawberries. Just be sure to drill some holes for drainage on the bottom of the pipe.

SHOP PVC PIPE

How to Plan a Perfect Mother's Day Brunch Menu

Arricca Elin Sansone Arricca SanSone has written about health and lifestyle topics for Prevention, Country Living, Woman's Day, and more.

Garden design: styles, decor, design of garden beds, rules

Every owner of a house with a garden plot or summer cottage wants to make this place as convenient as possible. Regardless of the size of free land, the site can be arranged in several ways, the main thing is to develop the design of the garden correctly.

No matter the size, making a beautiful garden is easy

Garden design needs to be done right

To begin with, it is recommended to create an approximate garden design scheme

Contents

Garden and country design planning

Professional designers recommend starting garden design with a blueprint. It can be exemplary, in the process you can remove something, modify it, change it.

There are several options for planning landscape design, they reflect the main purpose of the land.

You can decorate the garden in different ways, it all depends on the preferences of the owners

On the work site everything is adapted for growing

In fact, if you take landscape design seriously, you can create a small, detached oasis for relaxing with friends or family. The main thing is to follow a few basic rules.

The result will not be long in coming, the design of the garden will amaze the imagination.

Thinking ahead when designing a vegetable garden

A vegetable garden can perform different functions, if it is a place for recreation, then it is better to plant flowers there

If everything is done correctly, then the result will pleasantly surprise you

See alsoCreating a flower garden is a form of creative self-expression

Basic styles

If the site is drawn up by the owners themselves, then it is not necessary to comply with all design canons. This makes the atmosphere feel warm and homely. But still, you need to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe style.

Regular

Garden design, for which the observance of geometric lines, the general style. Lawns should be located evenly, flower beds symmetrically to each other. An author's statue or fountain

will look unusual

Landscape

A calmer and more natural garden design. When making a shrub, spruce is preferable. It is possible to build an artificial pond or stream

Alpine

For him, it is better to buy wild flowers, from which you can build multi-level flower beds. Along the perimeter, stones can be laid out, pebbles can be poured

Village

With a good imagination, this landscape design will require a minimum amount of investment. This style is characterized by a wicker fence, clay accessories, flower beds are standard. To enhance the style, you can build wooden structures with your own hands

There are many smaller styles for decorating summer cottages and gardens: oriental, Mediterranean, exotic, French, English. If the family could not find a solution that would suit everyone, you can apply the combined design of the garden and vegetable garden.

If you create a design on your own, the atmosphere will be more homely

A rustic garden would be a great place to relax

See alsoCountry design with your own hands from improvised materials

Rarely, when there are no flower beds on a personal plot, in a dacha. They are the main decoration of the entire perimeter and landscape design in general. In order for them to please the owners all year round, it is necessary to choose the right seasonal plant species.

Flowers are annuals, biennials, perennials. Depending on the specific species, they are able to spread out as a carpet, or create a hedge. Most experienced flower growers recommend planting mainly bulbous, perennial plants on their site and diluting them with annuals. Compositions will always be different and unique.

It is advisable to plant flowers in the garden, they will harmoniously complement the overall picture

You can choose plants that will delight you all year round

Many experts recommend planting perennials by combining them with annuals

Flower beds can be arranged in many ways.

In addition to various types of flower beds, vertical gardening can be used to decorate the design of the garden. It will help to hide an old, ugly fence, a blank wall, play the role of a living fence, put it along the gazebo.

Climbing plants are used in vertical gardening: hops, grapes, clematis.

Colors can hide some imperfections in area

Flower beds can be arranged in different ways

See alsoDesign of a gazebo in landscape design of different styles

Technique for decorating a site with trees and shrubs

As a rule, several trees and shrubs are planted in all summer cottages and household plots. The design of the garden in the country allows this. Trees can be both fruit and ornamental. Between them, you can safely place beds with vegetable crops, the main thing is that they have enough sunlight.

The first ones are planted from the north, so that they and the nearby beds have enough sunlight.

Coniferous trees are a wonderful element of decor. They make a stunning hedge, which in summer gives coolness, in winter it pleases the eye with a rich green color. Conifers are unpretentious in care, organically fit into any type of landscape design.

In most cases, arborvitae, spruces, pines, junipers are used.

Usually a few trees and shrubs are planted on the site

Trees may be fruit and ornamental

Coniferous trees will look very good in the design of the garden

See alsoDo-it-yourself front garden: where to start decorating and what to look for?

Basic rules for the design of a small plot

Plots with small footage can also be beautifully and unusually designed. In such cases, it is necessary to adhere to the basic rule: "Massive elements do not belong here."

All buildings other than the main building must not be large. They can be hidden behind hedges or plantings. Even small buildings should be single, it is necessary to alternate the recreation area with decorative elements, a gazebo, benches.

Plots with small footage can also be beautifully and unusually designed

In small areas it is better not to use massive elements

Deaf, high fences are prohibited by garden design. In a small space, they will create the impression of a cage, narrow the space even more, and air circulation will be disturbed. It can be replaced with a mesh fence and a picket fence.

Do not plant trees that can grow "to heaven". It is better to replace them with undersized ones.

To visually expand the space it is necessary to avoid strict lines and angles. Everything should be streamlined, neat. Flower beds with plants should be oval or rounded. It is better to plant trees not one after another, but scattered, in different parts of the site.

To save money, it is better to plant perennials diluting them with annuals

You can decorate the site beautifully without much effort

Trees are best planted undersized

Designing beds, entering and leaving the green zone

Before starting to form beds, the site must be cleared, divided into zones. If the place is located on a hill where the wind often blows, you can build a low fence. But, you do not need to close the sunlight to the plants.

In order for the beds to differ from each other, they are delimited by boards laid in different shapes. You can play with these figures. For example, plant one type of flower in the center, around it another, third. The space between them can be filled with decorative stones, green grass, gravel.

The landscape design of the garden looks amazing, where the compositions of vegetables and flowers are correctly selected. For example, calendula + garlic, basil, tomato, lettuce; marigolds + bell pepper, dill; peony + beans, peas; poppy + garlic, carrots; rose + beets, cabbage, lettuce; cloves + onions, cabbage.

Before starting, it is worth dividing the site into zones

Beds are best demarcated

See alsoGarden design 4 acres. How to equip a small area with your own hands?

How to save on design

Any area can be beautifully decorated without much effort and at minimal cost. When developing an author's design, the main expense column is the purchase of seedlings, seeds, decor elements. A multi-grass lawn will significantly reduce costs. You can buy inexpensive varieties and mix them with natural, natural weeds.

A beautiful flower garden is the result of the gardener's creative imagination. To save money, it is better to plant in perennials, diluting a little with annuals.

Climbing plants may be used. They are perennial, unpretentious in care and every year you can change the direction of growth.

See also Design ideas for decorating the terrace

See also Beautiful landscape design of a country house: we create it ourselves

Beautiful garden with our own hands: 100 modern design options

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Beautiful garden design will help you make your garden not only more attractive and convenient, but also more productive. Modern landscape design trends say that vegetables are as beautiful as flowers and deserve to be the star of our garden. As a result, vegetables grow right next to their decorative relatives - and even crowd them out to take on the functions of the main character in the landscaping of the site.
Garden design is an old idea that is now experiencing a new birth.

The kitchen garden has always been part of the decorative design of the site in traditional cottage and French gardens. And now in the best gardens of the world you will always find gardens that harmoniously combine vegetables, berries and flowers.

Would you like to learn how to design a beautiful garden? Simple 8 tricks will help you make it luxurious, filled with warmth and beauty, decorating your beautiful garden.

CONTENTS

1. We are planning a place for a vegetable garden.

Good garden design starts with thoughtful planning. You must decide what area your garden will be, what vegetables you will grow on it, where your beds will be located.

Your garden will not always be large, more and more summer residents are leaning towards a small garden, which occupies a worthy place in the overall landscape design of the garden.

2. Garden design - let the garden be beautiful.

Most people think of long, boring vegetable patches when they hear the word "garden". But this shouldn't be the only option for your garden design. You can make your garden look as beautiful as your flower beds.

A word of advice. It makes sense in the first year to test a new form of a vegetable garden, invented on paper. Life can make its own adjustments to the shape of the beds and to their number.

3. Record the garden design on paper.

Even a small garden requires careful planning.

A pre-designed vegetable garden that you have on paper will help you analyze the performance of your design this season and plan new plant combinations and new beds for future seasons.

4. Make comfortable beds.

Be sure to clearly define each area in your garden. Not only will this give it a neater look, but it will also help you plan your plantings in the next step. The clear geometric contours of the beds, even in a small space, create a visual accent in landscape design, while creating a sense of order and cleanliness.

If the soil in your area is not ideal, high beds are the easiest way to solve this problem. Vegetables do surprisingly well in this modern setting. High beds require an investment of time and effort, but all this will return a hundredfold when you realize that your back no longer hurts after the next weeding. Of course, it is not necessary to raise the entire garden above the ground.

Save the high beds for the kitchen garden with herbs and those crops that need the most care. So your forces will be spent with maximum efficiency.

Avoid wide beds. You must have good access to process them.

But the long ones are welcome. The main thing is that you can freely reach the middle while standing on the track.

Try different vegetable garden designs and choose what works best for you.

5. Unusual garden designs.

If you're short on space or not planning a full-scale vegetable garden, you can create custom beds almost anywhere in your garden. Try in place of a small flower bed to make a bed with various types of greens and tomatoes.

And this miniature garden looks very impressive because of its location.

And this one helps you grow more crops per square meter.

6.

Choosing plants for the garden.

There is no single answer to the question of the placement of various crops in the garden. Too many factors play an important role here and, first of all, your climate zone and soil composition. But there are simple general rules to keep in mind when planning your landings.

Consider the position and orientation of your site. Plant tall plants so that they do not shade their shorter neighbors.

Consider the lighting and watering conditions of the individual crop. Do not dictate your terms to plants and grow your favorite plants where you have a place, without taking into account their preferences. You can always adjust your landing plans to suit the specific conditions of your site. Believe me, there are many plants that will grow with pleasure in your conditions.

Be sure to consider the watering regime for each bed, so that it does not happen that plants that require more frequent watering are located in the most inconvenient place for this.

Do not plant the same crop two years in a row in the same place. This depletes the soil, increases the likelihood of plant disease and reduces yields.

7. Modern garden design

The main principle of modern garden design is combination. By ditching the idea of ​​regular, flat, one-cabbage beds with boring, all-cucumber beds next to them, you can turn your vegetable garden into a work of art.

How often do we pay attention to the beauty of the tops of carrots and beets, or how dotted inclusions of unpretentious marigolds add a beautiful bright accent to the overall green array of the garden? Flowers, located among the greenery of the garden, create sparks of light. They are also a great way to attract beneficial insects. By learning to “draw” with the texture, color and shape of plants in the garden, you can create a real vegetable bed.

And, just like in a regular flower bed, in the design of your garden, you can fully express your imagination, gain new experience and enjoy successful finds.

Even a small space in the garden can be filled with a mixture of vegetables and flowers that complement each other and serve as a winning backdrop for plants of the most vibrant colors.

8. How to combine plants in the garden.

But, of course, you can't just take and plant everything mixed in the garden. Some cultures go well with each other, and some combinations should be avoided.

In addition, the right neighborhood helps prevent various diseases and scare away some pests. The compatibility table will help you understand this.

9. Decorative garden design.

Not only garden crops can be combined with each other. The trendy design of the ornamental garden successfully combines vegetables with flowers.

The traditional rural garden always delights with a riot of color and texture, in which both flowerbeds and garden beds coexist. While many vegetables, such as tomatoes and bell peppers, are decorative in their own right, adding a flower or two to other types of vegetables can provide the necessary presence of vibrant tones.

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