Its no secret that having a garden adds value to your property, some estimate that your garden may influence up to 20% of the value of a property. That’s a pretty impressive chunk. But what types of garden features add the most and how do you go about making the most of your space?
Watsons Customer Services Manager Ian Harris said: “There are basically two things to consider with your garden when selling a property. The first is ensuring its tidy and well maintained – things like cutting the grass and pruning back over-sized hedges. The second is to consider how you can use your space to spark interest from prospective buyers. This includes things like incorporating fruit and vegetable patches or outdoor living areas into your space.”
To help get you started we have been speaking to Ruth Darrah, Director Norfolk School of Gardening for her top tips on growing fruit and veg in your garden.
Top tips to grow your own in 2021
Ruth Darrah, Director Norfolk School of Gardening
If you’ve just caught the gardening bug and want to try growing veg this year, it’s time to get started. Here are a few top tips to get you growing:
- Grow what you like eating (especially if it’s expensive to buy in the supermarket)!
- Stick to a few varieties in your first year
- Buy plug plants for quick results – from garden centres or neighbours’ gates (tomatoes, courgettes, salad, cabbage, herbs, strawberries)
- Sow radish, salad leaf, bean, carrot seeds
- Prepare your veg patch: you may be planning a big pot full of carrots, an apple box full of salad leaves, a single bed with rows of different veg or a whole garden full of raised beds, but you need to remove the weeds, add in some well-rotted compost of manure, make sure you’ve got a tap and hose nearby and that you’ve got protection from rabbits and deer.
- If you don’t have space for a separate veg bed, mix them up in your flower bed. Runner beans have loads of colourful flowers which look great trained up a wigwam in the middle of a bed. Or you could even grow some strawberries or tomatoes like Tumbling Tom in a hanging basket.
- Don’t forget to support tall plants like tomatoes and beans – you can tie them to a bamboo frame or to netting.
And here are our top picks for veg which are easy and quick to grow:
- Salad leaves (lots of different seed mixes available or you could just grow rocket)
- Courgettes (you only need one plant for two people, or you will be eating them every meal)
- French beans (there are several dwarf varieties which need no support and produce loads of beans)
- Radishes (super easy and quick – go for French Breakfast if you want guaranteed success)
- Pea sprouts (you can even grow these on your kitchen windowsill, really quick, really tasty)
Have fun and enjoy your harvest this summer!
Norfolk School of Gardening provide courses for all aspects of horticulture, from a Certificate in Practical Horticulture to short courses on Border Design.
Norfolk School of Gardening – Gardening School – Norwich, England
