Garden design - part 9
This month we’re concentrating on the area for growing food.
As you can see from the plan, this is a pretty important area – it takes up almost half the garden!
Now, as you know, my garden slopes, so I decided to terrace the plot to make it more manageable.
Incorporating raised beds will also help, as they allow greater control over the composition of the soil in the bed, and mean you don’t have to bend and kneel as much when you are tending to your crops.
Here is an example of another steeply sloping plot where I created terraced raised beds for growing vegetables:
You can see that the width of the beds was carefully calculated so that the whole bed can be reached from one side – so you can choose to stand on the tier above the bed and dig down, or stand below the bed and reach across at waist or chest height.
However, even with the terracing, parts of my site still slope, so I will use these to grow free-standing fruit such as apples and soft fruit.
In order to decide what to grow where, I need to consider the shadow patterns, as some plants require more sun than others.
The lower slope of the garden is very much in the shadow, so there is little point trying to grow plants which thrive on full sun in this area. However, cooking apples and gooseberries cope perfectly well in shade conditions, as do sour cherries, so these are things I can plant here. Overlaying the shadow pattern onto the plot I can create a schematic of what could go where.
Apples and cherries would be best in the shade tolerant area, as their blossom will be somewhat protected from the weather. Placing them away from the bottom wall means they are not at the lowest point of the garden therefore they will be in moist but not waterlogged soil.
Gooseberries would cope well with the partial shade in the upper corner of the plot. Berries tend to grow very well and produce good crops in Yorkshire but fruits such as raspberries, wineberries, loganberries etc prefer sun, so they will do better closer to the stone wall at the top of the plot, rather than in the shade of the trees. Plums could also be grown as a fan-trained tree against the wall.
Using edible hedging including berries, hazel, elder, and crab apples around the wildlife area provides a functional divide between the two spaces, while also providing food for both humans and wildlife. Keeping the hedge low maximises it’s use as a wildlife corridor while reducing the amount of light it restricts into the garden.
Positioning the greenhouse low on the slope provides it with maximum protection from the wind, but outside the shadow zone it gets plenty of sun – useful if you want to grow tomatoes in Yorkshire!
The shed is both a tool store and a potting shed – a central point halfway up the garden. Edible climbers such as nasturtiums can be trained against the shed, and a nasturtium-covered archway will provide both a functional and decorative entrance point to the edible garden.
The raised planters closest to the shed are the least exposed, therefore these are the best locations for plants which grow tall and may get damaged by the wind. Rotating the crops planted in the raised beds helps reduce disease and increases productivity. Kale, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, beetroot and parsnips thrive in cooler soils therefore tend to do well outdoors in Yorkshire.
Another way of increasing productivity and making the raised beds even easier to manage, is to create them as wicking beds. A wicking bed is essentially a self-watering raised garden bed that delivers moisture from below rather than above, mimicking how groundwater naturally supplies plants in the wild to create a low-maintenance, high-efficiency growing system.
A properly constructed wicking bed consists of several distinct layers, each serving a specific purpose:
Containment Structure: The “shell” that holds everything—typically a raised bed made of wood, metal, plastic, or other materials.
Waterproof Liner: A food-grade waterproof membrane that creates the water reservoir and prevents leakage.
Water Reservoir: The bottom layer filled with coarse material (typically scoria, gravel, or other aggregate) that holds water in the spaces between particles.
Water Inlet Pipe: A vertical pipe extending from the reservoir to above the soil surface, allowing you to add water directly to the reservoir.
Overflow Pipe: An outlet at the top of the reservoir that prevents overwatering by allowing excess water to drain.
Separation Layer: A permeable material (geotextile fabric or shade cloth) that prevents soil from falling into the reservoir while allowing water to wick upward.
Growing Medium: The soil where plants grow, typically 250-300mm (10-12 inches) deep.
Mulch Layer: An optional top layer that further reduces surface evaporation.
You can add a float to the inlet pipe as an additional way to visualise the water level, because the water will naturally back up into the inlet pipe if the reservoir is almost full.
Wicking beds can reduce water usage by up to 50% compared to conventional gardening methods. This efficiency comes from:
Eliminating runoff and deep percolation beyond root zones
Reducing evaporation since water comes from below
Providing water directly to roots where it’s needed
Recycling water within the closed system
For busy gardeners, the reduced watering frequency is perhaps the most appealing benefit:
Water only once or twice a week in summer (less in winter)
Plants can survive for 1-3 weeks without watering (depending on climate and season)
No need for complex irrigation systems or timers
Reduced monitoring requirements—the system largely takes care of itself
Plants thrive with consistent moisture levels, which wicking beds provide naturally:
Prevents stress from alternating drought and flood cycles
Encourages deeper, stronger root development
Reduces susceptibility to heat stress and wilting
Can increase yields as plants focus energy on growth rather than survival
Allows for slightly closer planting as water access is more reliable
Wicking beds create a protected growing environment:
Prevents invasive tree roots from stealing moisture
Reduces competition from weeds (surface stays relatively dry)
Protects from soil-borne diseases that splash up during overhead watering
Creates a barrier against contaminated ground soil
With proper design, wicking beds can make gardening more accessible:
Can be built at waist height for reduced bending
Requires less frequent maintenance
Lighter watering cans needed (just filling the reservoir vs. watering the entire surface)
Perfect for community gardens or school gardens with irregular maintenance
So, the bones of the garden are complete. Next month we will look at what crops to grow where and when, but I will leave you with AI’s version of how this part of the garden could look:
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