Themed Gardens: The Best Plants To Grow Together For Culinary Creations
Those who have limited space to build their garden, perhaps on a patio or in their backyard, may want to focus on a specific theme. This means only planting ingredients to create a certain meal, such as spaghetti, which allows you to plant less but still cook with what you grow. Another benefit is that this will make it simple to grab all the ingredients you need, as they'll all be in one convenient place.
When deciding which themed garden to plant, consider what you like to eat the most or what you could see yourself eating over and over again. You should also think about planting the right quantities for your family and for the recipe, as you'll probably need more fruits and vegetables than you will herbs. Finally, taking companion plants into consideration is also important, as this will help you place all the ingredients in the right places to keep pests away. Below, you'll find 12 different types of themed gardens you could create, for a myriad of delicious culinary creations.
1. Spaghetti garden
To make your spaghetti garden, you'll need to plant all the ingredients necessary for spaghetti sauce. The most important ingredient is tomatoes, and you'll want to plant the "SuperSauce" paste variety, which will grow to be quite large. You'll also want the right herbs, which include oregano, basil, and thyme, and you may also want to include garlic and onions. Planting your tomatoes next to your basil will benefit both, as these are companion plants. This themed garden is great for beginner gardeners, as all these plants are fairly easy to grow.
2. Mojito garden
Those who like to enjoy a fresh mojito could create a themed garden for this drink. If you live in an area that never experiences hard frosts, you could grow a lime tree. Those who are limited in space could use a dwarf tree, which needs to be planted in full sunlight. You could also grow cucumbers and mint for your mojitos, but because mint can be invasive, it's best to plant this herb inside a pot or a raised garden bed. To create your delicious drinks, add white rum, sugar, club soda, and ice.
3. Salad bowl garden
A salad bowl-themed garden is one of the most versatile types, as you can add basically any vegetables you want. Start by choosing at least one leafy green, which could include lettuce, arugula, spinach, or purslane. Then, you can include any number of toppings, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and radishes. Carrots and radishes are companion plants, and cucumber and lettuce are as well.
4. Tea garden
If you like to drink various types of tea, you could plant a tea garden. Herbs like chamomile, rose hips, mint, pineapple sage, and lemon grass could be used either fresh or dried to brew delicious tea. Because many of these herbs are considered invasive, it's best to plant each of them in their own container, to keep them from spreading. To sweeten your drinks, you could also plant stevia, a natural sweetener.
5. Burrito garden
When deciding what to plant in your burrito garden, think about what you typically wrap up inside your tortilla, as well as any herbs you may use on your meat or vegetables. For example, things like spinach, chili peppers for spice, onions, and tomatoes can be grown, as well as cilantro and cumin. Another key ingredient is black beans, but you'll only be able to grow these in warm climates, as you don't want the soil to be too cool or wet.
6. Lemonade garden
You probably assume that to create a lemonade garden, you have to grow a lemon tree. However, this isn't the case — if you don't live in a warm climate, you could buy your lemons from the store but grow everything else for unique concoctions. This could include lemon balm and lemon verbena to strengthen the taste, spearmint, blueberries, lavender, and pineapple sage. You could also grow stevia, to sweeten the drink. If you live in the deep South or around it, however, you could grow a Meyer lemon tree, which can actually thrive in a container.
7. Pizza garden
Pizza gardens can make homemade pizza night really fun, especially if you also have a pizza oven in your backyard. To create this themed garden, start with your main toppings, which will likely include tomatoes, but it could also include other vegetables like green bell peppers, banana peppers, onions, and spinach. Garlic could add a punch of flavor to your crust, and basil (a companion plant to tomatoes) and oregano could also be part of your unique creation. Then, all you will need is the crust and the cheese.
8. French fry garden
What really makes a french fry garden fun is when you have many different colors and types of potatoes, which you can slice and season however you desire. There are red, gold, and blue varieties, and you could also plant sweet potatoes to create sweeter-tasting fries as well. To season your french fries, plant garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, cayenne pepper, and paprika pepper plants. And, if you want homemade ketchup, plant roma tomatoes as well, which you can mix with sugar, vinegar, and spices.
9. Salsa garden
Once you taste fresh salsa, you'll never want to buy pre-made types again. Of course, for this themed garden, you'll need tomatoes, and paste or roma species are the best to use. Then, you can also plant red and yellow onions, chili peppers, and garlic. For herbs, cilantro and basil are most frequently used. If you live in a warm climate, add a lime tree for a fresh burst of tanginess.
10. Pesto garden
The main ingredient in pesto, which is most often put on pasta and sandwiches, is basil. To create a pesto garden, plant loads of basil, as well as some leafy greens like arugula or snow pea tendrils. You can also grow sunflowers and harvest the seeds to add to your recipe as well. Some lemon juice from a Meyer lemon tree would serve you well, as well as garlic, parsley, mint, and chives.
11. Pickling garden
If you love the zingy vinegar taste of pickled foods, try creating a pickling garden. You'll obviously need to grow cucumbers, and for your pickle recipe, also grow dill (which is a companion plant to cucumbers) and garlic. You can also pickle other vegetables, like carrots, beets, radishes, jalapeños, and banana peppers. Further, if you want to make sauerkraut, grow cabbage as well.
12. Mint berry salad garden
The final recipe you could create with items from a themed garden is a berry mint salad. To make this, you'll first need some berry bushes; you could grow strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries, or a mixture of a few different types. Then, also plant onion, basil, and salt. When you're ready to make the salad, simply add olive oil and feta or another type of cheese.