THE ONLY WAY IS UP!

Short on space to pack with tasty fruit and vegetables? Just look up – there are so many vertical spaces around you just waiting to make a home for baskets, containers, climbers and more

It’s an exciting prospect – just when you thought you couldn’t fit any more pots or beds of home-grown crops into your garden a new opportunity awaits. Even the smallest garden has vertical spaces, all of which present the perfect place to grow many more tasty crops. A south or west-facing wall will get lots of sun during the day, offering radiated warmth and shelter to so many delicious fruits and vegetables. A simple trellis is all it takes to convert it from a bare, barren space into a hanging garden or support for a fruit tree or climbing crop.

A pergola or arch can offer similar possibilities, and these are just great for scrambling and climbing plants such as squashes or beans and are a great place to hang baskets filled with juicy strawberries or tomatoes. And if you have a source of home-grown hazel or bamboo you won’t need to rely on imported stakes with which to make your own.

WHAT CAN I GROW?

Almost all fruit and vegetable crops will grow well in pots, but some are better suited to hanging baskets and containers than others. Naturally trailing plants such as some tomato varieties, herbs and strawberries naturally lend themselves to growing in this way, but there is no reason why you can’t also grow lettuce, radish and spring onions like this.

Climbers and scramblers such as beans and peas are naturals for a warm wall or fence – just give them a trellis, natural jute netting or a tepee of poles, and why not throw in a few ornamental climbers such as sweet peas, rhodochiton and thunbergia, too?

WHAT CONTAINERS CAN I USE?