No need for a vegetable garden to grow vegetables
Space-challenged gardeners without room for gardens designated solely for growing vegetables need only look as far as their perennial borders. Many vegetable plants flaunt fun foliage textures, interesting silhouettes and colorful fruit that blend beautifully with perennials.
Plant lettuce seedlings around summer-blooming perennials, like butterfly weed, coneflowers, phlox and Russian sage. Butterhead, loose-leaf and romaine types work best and offer a large selection of tempting shades of red and green. Lettuce fills the garden with its leafy colors and textures and is harvested before the perennials start to broaden.
Spinach is another early-season option. Its large, dark green, crinkled leaves add bold texture to the garden and a powerful punch of vitamins to your salads. And, just like Jell-O, there is always room to sprinkle some radish seeds.
The foliage of onions adds a vertical element between mounding perennials. Onions are heavy feeders and should be fed with a high-nitrogen fertilizer every few weeks until they start producing bulbs. Pair them with perennials chosen for their foliage instead of their flowers. Plant onion sets a little too close together and begin harvesting them as scallions, opening space for the others to grow. When the foliage turns yellow and falls over, it is time to harvest the rest, leaving a space for fall mums.
Broccoli and cauliflower are easy to fit in the border. Their foliage and form contrast nicely with perennials with sword- or grasslike foliage, like irises, Crocosmia or blue-oat grass.
The midribs of Swiss chard are hot pink, red or yellow. Plant them beside a perennial that echoes the color in its blooms. Harvest the outer leaves throughout the summer.
Interplant large vegetable plants with perennials that go dormant in summer's heat, like Oriental poppies, and they will occupy the vacated space.
It takes little effort to find a spot for determinate varieties of tomatoes — sometimes labeled as bush or patio types — because of their smaller stature. Indeterminate varieties that grow quite tall and require staking will need a spot toward the back of the border. Tomatoes need even moisture as fruits develop so be sure to provide supplemental water when necessary.
The fruits of peppers, in eye-catching shades red, yellow or purple, are pretty when planted with sun-loving perennials like coreopsis Zagreb and salvia Marcus.
Cucumbers, pole beans and small squashes are all candidates for growing up trellises or on obelisks. Cucumbers also sport large, coarse leaves and sunny yellow flowers. Growing up, fruits stay clean and are easier to harvest.
The gnarly vines of squash plants are exposed as they grow vertically, adding another element of interest to the border. Pick some of their orange flowers to dip in a light batter and deep fry or stuff them with mozzarella and basil and bake them.
Pole beans boast pretty heart-shaped foliage and delightful pods of purple, yellow or white. Harvest them to eat fresh, to dry for use in winter soups, or both. Regular picking encourages larger yields.
Don't let the lack of space stand in the way of the joy of growing, harvesting and eating fresh and nutritious vegetables. All the room you need is waiting in the perennial border.
• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.