Backyard Inspiration

Espaliered fruit trees are a great way to grow fruit in small spaces. Trees can be trained to a variety of attractive shapes and grown against a fence or wall, as a free-standing tree or even as a potted plant.

In addition to saving space, espaliered fruit trees have other benefits. These include good light to the fruit (which helps improve development), ease of picking and ease of protecting the tree against frost or birds. It's much easier to net an espaliered tree.

If you are training your tree against a north-facing brick wall, you may be able to grow varieties that would normally require a warmer climate.

Here are some lovely espalier examples:

espaliered apple tree forming part of a fence



espaliered apple



espaliered pear

 



Belgian fence style espalier

 

candelabra style espalier



espaliered fig

 

 

horizontal espalier



espaliered lemon



fan shaped espalier



potted espaliered orange

And how's this for handy picking? Just lean out the window and grab your pear .....


Hallstatt, The Austrian Lakes District

If you are interested in having a go at espaliering fruit trees you'll find plenty of how-to information on the internet - e.g. instructions for espaliering apples can be found here

Maybe you have a spot in your garden for an espaliered fruit tree?


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Container planting

You don't need a lot of space to grow vegetables.

Nor do you need to spend big bucks on fancy containers.

A simple styrofoam vegetable box (free of charge from the green grocer!) can become a small portable garden. Perfect for balconies or other small spaces, it is capable of growing a considerable amount of food:



Container planting at The Food Forest

We've used half wine barrels as container gardens at our place. This one grew fruit and vegies when our Tahitian Lime (centre) was small:

A wicking bed is a good waterwise idea for growing herbs and vegetables in containers. Wicking beds work like self-watering pots, allowing the plants to access water as they need it. They can be large or small, above ground or below, and work really well for small beds and boxes. They have the benefit of requiring less watering because the water is supplied at the root level so there is little evaporation or nutrient loss.

Sounds complicated you say? Actually, no - they are very easy to make and cost very little. The Gawler Natural Resource centre has some easy to follow instructions for building a wicking bed in a foam box.

Photo source

If you'd like to use wicking methods on a larger scale, there are also instructions for creating a wicking bed in a raised bed.

Photo source

So no matter how small your space is, it is possible to grow herbs and vegies without a lot of money or hassle.

Happy gardening!