Vegetable garden layout ideas
Although the traditional vegetable garden layout is for the vegetables to be set out in long rows, your garden need not follow these traditions. I have chosen, like many other home gardeners, to use raised vegetable garden beds where the vegetables can be planted in blocks rather than rows. But you don't even need to be limited to these two options. There are many more creative layouts as the vegetable garden plans featured on this page will show.
Don't feel as though you have to have a dedicated vegetable garden either. If your yard is small, you could plant vegetables in your flower bed or flowers in your vegetable bed. Or you could always grow vegetables in pots.
A different way to layout your kitchen garden is a potager garden, which is a beautiful ornamental vegetable garden where vegetables, herbs and flowers are chosen according to their aesthetic value as well as their edible value and are mixed together in one or more vegetable garden beds.
Take a look at these vegetable garden layout ideas and see if you get any ideas for your own vegetable garden plans.
The garden layouts pictured below were all produced by a nifty garden planning tool.
Traditional vegetable garden layout
Planting in rows
The traditional vegetable garden layout is to plant the vegetables in rows, each row growing a different type of vegetable. Each row usually runs from north to south to take full advantage of the morning and afternoon sun. The seeds are sown in single rows using string and stakes to keep the rows straight. Enough space needs to be left between rows to allow room to walk and to comfortably gather your produce. If your ground is not level, and you want to plant in rows, your rows should run across the slope rather than up and down, to prevent the soil from being washed away when the garden is watered.Planting your vegetables in rows makes it easier to distinguish between vegetable and weed seedlings. Watering is also made easier since a soaker hose or a trench of water can be run along side each row, allowing the water to easily reach the base of each plant. Because a row garden is reasonably open, there is good circulation of air thus restricting fungus and mildew which could grow after rainfall or a dewy night in a more closely planted garden. Because of the layout of this style of garden, a lot of space is taken up with the paths between rows. And constantly walking on these paths will compact the soil along these paths.
Raised bed layout
A popular vegetable garden layout which many home gardeners choose is the raised garden bed. Vegetables are normally planted closer together than in the row vegetable garden layout making this is an ideal choice if you only have space for a small vegetable garden. These beds need to be narrow enough so that you do not need to tread on your beds to plant, weed or harvest your veggies. A good width would be 3 to 4 feet, (.9 - 1.2 metres) if you can get at the bed from both sides. You can build raised beds out of recycled wood, bricks, concrete blocks, stones or just pile up the soil on top of the ground. A good depth would be about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm).A raised bed will enable the soil to warm quicker so you can plant earlier in the season. It will also improve drainage. Even if you have very poor soil or even a concrete slab (make sure you have a soil depth of 12 inches or 30cm for this situation), a raised bed will allow you transform a barren patch into a bountiful harvest. A raised bed also alleviates the problem of tree roots competing with your veggies for nutrients and water but make sure that any tree will not cast too much shade on the garden beds.
Potager vegetable garden layout
The French kitchen garden
A vegetable garden need not be hidden away out of sight. Another type of vegetable garden is the potager style, a beautiful French kitchen garden, where flowers are mixed in among your herbs, fruit trees and vegetables The potager garden is traditionally made up of a symmetrical or repeating pattern of small rectangular, square or triangular plots separated by brick or stone paths (though of course, in your own garden, you could choose to use hexagons with gravel paths or even irregular blob-shaped plots with mulched paths.) The whole garden is usually bordered by a clipped hedge. Planting tends to be in groups or patterns.
These plantings can be delightful to behold as many ornamental vegetables are colourful and attractive, from the frilly red or green leaves of lettuces to the brilliantly coloured stems of the rainbow swiss chard to the blue-green leaves of kale. This style of garden lends itself to companion planting which can help to repel pests naturally. For example, planting French marigolds next to tomatoes can reduce the number of nematodes in the soil which can stunt the tomato's growth, and the scent of the marigold could deter whitefly. You will need to research companion planting since some combinations will actually be detrimental (e.g. don't plant peas next to onions or garlic).
Sample potager garden layouts - click on the small pictures to see a larger version
32' x 32' potager vegetable garden layout
Four Square Garden Layout
The four square garden is based on a very simple layout. The garden is usually divided into four square or rectangular garden beds with two perpendicular paths (like a +) running between them. These paths could be composed of paving stones, packed earth, gravel, wood shavings or even lawn. At the intersection of the two paths, there could be a focal point such as a statue or a pond. In 12th century England, this garden was generally in the front yard, with the entrance to the garden being a white picket gate, although it could be an arbor or trellis covered with a flowering vine. Typically the garden was surrounded by a protective enclosure such as a rock wall, fence or hedge. Of course, be careful to avoid shading your vegetables growing inside though! Formal Asymmetrical Garden Layout
A formal assymetrical garden layout is ideal if you don't want to be too rigid but you do prefer a sense of order. You can do this by experimenting with different geometric shapes (for the paths or the garden beds) next to each other or overlapping, strong lines or repetition of elements to get the desired effect. Using curving lines, modern materails or casual furniture will make this style seem less rigid.Adding a formal clipped hedge as the border of the garden, pond, or individual beds will add to the structured feel of the garden. Or you could grow your own topiary using a potted boxwood or bay tree and trimming it to fit a frame.
Cottage Vegetable Garden
An informal vegetable garden layout
A cottage garden is an informal, sprawling garden containing a mixture of flowers, vegetables, herbs and maybe a fruit tree or two. In the garden layout shown here, there is a heavier emphasis on the vegetables. I have grouped the plants together to give them more visual impact than scattering them individually throughout the garden. I have included meandering paths, a sundial, two dwarf apple trees, a few fruit bushes, a picket fence - you can only see the gate ;-) and a seat situated to enjoy a view of the garden pond.
Kids' vegetable garden layout
A child's garden is very educational and a great incentive to get your children helping in the garden and also to eat vegetables which they have grown themselves. If your children are old enough, get them involved in choosing which vegetables to grow and in creating their own vegetable garden plans.The vegetable garden plan shown here consists of a tepee made from 5 long sticks, fastened together at the top. Sugar snap peas are then planted around the base and allowed to climb up the tepee on strings which have been strung between the sticks (leaving one section free for the doorway). Mulch inside the tepee.
Winter vegetable garden layout
In this winter vegetable garden, I have chosen the following vegetables:- cabbage (an early and late variety)
- kale
- leeks
- corn salad (or lamb's lettuce)
- perpetual spinach
- swiss chard
- celeriac
- endive
- chickory
In the garden planning software I used here, I was able to enter my frost dates and the program showed me the planting and harvesting times for my selected vegetables.
If you live in the northern hemisphere, position your winter vegetable garden on the south side of a wall if possible. (on the north side of the wall for the southern hemisphere.) This will enable the garden to still receive the winter sun, while protecting it from the colder winds. A brick, concrete or stone wall is also a thermal mass which will store the sun's heat during the day and radiate it at night, keeping the area close to the wall warmer.
Choose your vegetable garden layout
Don't feel as though you need to stay strictly in the guidelines for each layout. Be creative. Find your own style. Choose what suits your situation the best. Be prepared to use different shapes like the circular garden on the right. Take a little time to decide which vegetables to grow. Be prepared to add herbs and flowers to your vegetable garden or herbs and vegetables to your flower garden! And don't be afraid to try a mixture of vegetable garden layouts - for example a potager style garden in raised beds.One of the easiest ways to design your vegetable garden layout is by using software on the computer to just drag and drop the veggies like I did for all of the above vegetable garden plans. In the same piece of software, you also get access to a planting list of all the vegetables you have placed in your vegetable garden plan showing sowing and harvesting dates. This works for both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Here's my favorite link:
Vegetable garden pictures
Traditional vegetable garden pictures
Click on the vegetable garden pictures for a larger view
Photos courtesy of Mr. T in DC, Southern Foodways Alliance, vieux bandit, OakleyOriginals, Mark F. Levisay, Amy Loves Yah
Thomas Jefferson's 1,000 foot long, terraced vegetable garden, with the reconstr...
Monticello & Gabriele Rausse - Charlottesville, VAPhoto by Amy C Evans,...
Un long processus, maintenant plant%uFFFD
The goodies in our new vegetable garden are growing...
Hot peppers & basil, just behind the tomato patch.
Potager vegetable garden pictures
Click on the vegetable garden pictures for a larger view
Photos courtesy of *Susie*, flo21, RuTemple, cerolene, alison e dunn, sheilaellen, themissiah, chatirygirl
I am not a fan of the big chateaux but the Chateau du Rivau is a fairytale place...
These gardens are the
From rare exotic specimens to the sorts of climbing beans you'd have in your bac...
Le Potager p%uFFFDgogique - the teaching
this isn't a swing; it's my trellis system for the cucumbers and squash.i have...
how beautiful is this??
A glorious spring morning in the kitchen garden. I've pruned the ceanothus into...
The kitchen/herb garden (part of it anyway).
Vegetable garden.
Children's vegetable garden photos
Photos courtesy of Leeks 'N' Bounds, timpeartrice, spacecadet
The children's garden is really starting to grow
The teepee is nearly covered in vines - makes a neat hideout for kids! The garde...
What would you like to see on this vegetable garden layout page?
please vote and/or add to this list
1
different types of vegetable gardens
(eg a forest garden)2 points
2
different layouts within a garden type
(eg more potager layouts)0 points
Other things to consider in your vegetable garden layout
Click these links for more information on vegetable garden planning, design, layout and choice of vegetables-
Small Vegetable Garden
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A small vegetable garden can prove to be a blessing - there will be a lot less weeding, watering and sowing and if you are adding compost or other goodies to your soil (which I assume you will be doing) you won't need as much. You will, however, stil...
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Vegetable garden planning - in easy steps
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Vegetable garden planning may feel like an overwhelming job but it can be made easier by following some easy steps. After following these suggestions, you may choose to draw your plan on graph or grid paper, but even easier, you could use some vegeta...
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Vegetable garden design
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When deciding on your vegetable garden design, you will need to take a good look at where you are going to situate your garden. Whether your garden will be large or small, it is very important to consider the amount of sunshine the site will receive,...
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Raised bed vegetable garden
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A raised bed vegetable garden, flower garden or herb garden is a garden which is built on top of the ground. It may be contained by some sort of wall (wood, stone, brick etc) or it may just be soil piled several inches high on top of the ground. The...
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Vegetables To Grow
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Choosing which vegetables to grow is part of planning your vegetable garden. Your choice will depend on what you like to eat, your level of expertise, where you live, the time of year, the size of your vegetable garden and your reasons for wanting a...
Fellow vegetable gardener
Please share with us your vegetable garden layout ideas
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- Sylvestermouse Sylvestermouse Dec 5, 2009 @ 11:42 am
- Wow! These are wonderful! I feel so boring now. I have always just planted in the straight rows.
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- WordCustard WordCustard Dec 1, 2009 @ 2:49 pm
- This is very useful and fun too. I love the graphics! The idea of the raised beds really appeals to me.
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- kevinw1 kevinw1 Nov 24, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
- Very cool layouts and images - nice work! It would be very interesting to see pictures of real gardens built from the design, next to the computer layout.
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- auslandesign auslandesign Nov 10, 2009 @ 4:06 am
- Great lens - just don't let my hubby see it - hehehe. His first year with a vegie garden in australia and he's making full use of the Perth sun!
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- WhitU4ever WhitU4ever Nov 8, 2009 @ 10:55 am
- We were at Home Depot yesterday, and our Garden Guru was there. We talked for an hour about gardening, listening to him give us tip after excellent tip about planting our fruit trees. He showed us a raised bed with an attached trellis that he had made, and we knew we were going to make one too. This is an absolutely fabulous lens! I'll be back. ~ Whit
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by GonnaFly
PS My daughter very graciously chose the colour of my hair in my pic... (more)
