The concept of functional gardening is not new, at least not to lawn care Conroe, TX specialists. This trend dates a few years back, but it became incredibly popular in the last years, as important personalities promote it enthusiastically. First Lady Michelle Obama has been heard many times talking about kitchen gardens for a more sustainable living. If you enjoy famous chef Jamie Oliver’s cooking shows, you will hear him speaking about the same thing: why not growing fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices in your own garden? It’s healthier, cheaper, sustainable, eco-friendly, and definitely more delicious (as far as dishes are concerned).
But can an already grown and developed garden or lawn sustain an added functional garden? Won’t the modifications in landscaping cost too much? Won’t the looks of the garden be ruined? Landscaping Conroe, TX experts answer today all these questions by giving you a few tips on how to build the best, easiest and cheapest functional garden on your property without much fuss.
1. Functional Gardening: Simple Projects
Vertical gardens are the simplest way to achieve functional gardening. If people can do it in their apartment balconies, you can do it on your property as well. Vertical gardens mean using dead vertical space (like empty walls) to install racks with flower pots on them. In those pots you can plant chili peppers, scented herbs and spices, even vegetables.
You can also install standalone arches for climbing fruit or vegetables, or racks with pots for everything you use in the kitchen (from parsley to thyme). Any vertical unused space can turn into a symphony of colors and scents you can use to make delicious drinks and dishes.
2. Functional Gardening: Complex Projects
Many lawn care Conroe, TX experts have been asked about the complexity of introducing vegetables and scented herbs in a landscape created for aesthetic purposes only. It’s not an easy job, landscaping Spring, TX specialists confirm, but it’s not impossible. Mixing crops is the secret behind a lush, gorgeous and beautiful, functional garden.
Scented herbs, some vegetables and many flowers act together like an ecosystem, protecting each other from weeds and helping each other thrive. Tomatoes go great with lavender, for instance, while basil, thyme and other strong scented spice herbs protect your colored flower beds from pests.
Crop mixing means just adding rows of edible plants, vegetables or fruit in between rows of flowers. If there’s little space to do so, build terrace beds for the herbs and spices, and add large flower pots containing sparkling colored vegetables.
A functional garden should also embrace the concept of organic gardening, as you can preserve the peels and the leftovers from all your plants, herbs and vegetables to turn them into compost. Thus, you will nourish your garden and cut down some budget costs with fertilization too.
