Whether you are sowing and growing for the first time this year, or improving an existing garden, perennials should be an important part of the picture. Where I live, the time for bare root planting is past now, but there are perennials that you might like to consider planting in spring, or sowing seed for at this time of year.
If you are new to the wonderful world of perennial vegetables, then you may enjoy this recent article in Treehugger – an introduction to just some of the many perennial vegetables that you could grow:
20 Perennial Vegetables to Plant This Spring
Of course, these 20 options are just the beginning. One the the things I have really enjoyed over the years as my forest garden has developed and evolved is discovering and tasting a range of new and interesting perennial vegetables and herbs.
This weekend, I have sown some more sorrels, some mallow, and some more tree cabbages in addition to some more traditional summer crops – French beans, courgettes (zucchini) and summer squash which are in covered cloches in the polytunnel and will go out in due course into the polytunnel beds.
We’ve had a very late spring here, with a cold snap that means that we are a couple of weeks behind where we would usually be at this time of year. But through this time, perennial vegetables have helped to fill what was traditional known as the ‘hungry gap’. This was the time when winter stored food began to run out and before spring sown crops were ready.
If you would like creating a perennial planting scheme, or some advice on perennial vegetables to grow in your particular area, in your particular garden, please do get in touch. I would be glad to offer consultancy, or a full garden design.
EWSP Consultancy 