Productive garden design - an example - Inspiring Landscape Solutions

Productive garden design – an example

What is it?

What does “productive garden design” mean for me, personally? Is it a garden with a vegetable patch? Maybe some fruit bearing trees thrown in? Having edibles secretly injected into your outdoor spaces? Or is it something practical for the family with young kids to forage through and discover the bounty of nature? Does it need to be aesthetically pleasing? What about inviting wildlife into the garden?

For me it’s a customised amalgamation of all of the above. What it eventually gets designed to be is governed by which aspect of the above considerations play the bigger role for the client brief.

A case study on point!

Probably the most challenging design I’ve ever embarked on is the rejuvenation of my mum’s garden in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

Here’s a little snippet of the thought process and design considerations I had to ponder over.

Thankfully the brief was simple.

The end result needed to be low maintenance garden that would suit the needs of a long time but elderly gardener but look spacious, GREEN and have as many productive spaces as possible.

Edible backyard garden design in Kuala Lumpur with fruit trees and shrubs

Maintenance of the garden was also a key consideration given how elderly mum is, so gentle negotiations were had as to how much could be outsourced!

Before

I don’t have any before pictures but just imagine weeds and not grass everywhere. Imagine plants planted haphazardly just because there’s space. Lots of pots and large branches, compost heaps, broken pots and unpruned ornamentals in the mix too. Anyway you get the idea!

Kuala Lumpur - Papaya

Closeup of papayas used in the edible backyard garden design in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Lime/Limau Kasturi

Closeup of limau kasturi used in the edible backyard garden design in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Brinjal/Eggplant

Closeup of eggplant used in the edible backyard garden design in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Mulberries and Green Pumpkin

Organic Gardening. Urban food garden. Productive garden. Sustainable gardening. Melbourne garden and landscape design

What it is now

Now we’ve created 4 garden layers and rehabilitated the grassed area somewhat.

The first layer

These are the Trees. They are mostly fruit but there’s 1 ornamental palm which has been retained for sentimental reasons.

We planted tropical fruit trees and which are in different stages of maturity. So we’ve planted papayas, bananas, the miracle/drumstick tree, starfruit, avocado, guava (pink and white), curry leaf and the noni.

The second layer

The second is the undergrowth. This consists of tulsi, mulberry bushes, various types of chilly plants, brinjals, surinam spinach and pandan.

The third layer

Groundcovers make up the third layer. These are mainly young seedlings, serai/lemongrass, zuchini, asian greens, and the thai coriander.

The fourth layer

And lastly, all vertical surfaces including the unused clothesline and fences have been overtaken by different types of fruit bearing gourds and climbers!

Yes, it sounds a bit like a food forest but that’s the idea. Organic, pesticide free fruit and vegetables are in abundance and mum only needs to hit the shops for the bare necessities like milk and bread.

Another thing – the grassed area was important for aesthetics but has a dual function – mom walks a lot for exercise and we use the cut grass as mulch and fertiliser.

Yikes - sounds like it's a lot of work!

Actually, no. Maintenance wise, there’s not much involved really. The occasional weeding and fertilising, cutting the grass, all of which are outsourced for a couple of hours a month. We just concentrate on looking after the yield and enjoy it. The garden is hand watered as is normal in this part of the world and some grey water is used for this purpose.

Another thing – the grassed area was important for aesthetics but has a dual function – mom walks a lot for exercise and we use the cut grass as mulch and fertiliser.

Habitat haven

Oh and not to forget, if you like wildlife then here’s the other thing. I’ve been here for 10 days and have seen at least 8 different types of birdlife. More importantly, 2 species of birds I’ve recently seen haven’t visited the garden before.

Given that it gets severely hot, I’m pretty certain that the birds don’t just visit for food. Its the shade factor as the heat here can be extreme some days. Besides birds, we still do see the usual suspects like the local squirrels. This garden therefore definitely ticks the box for also successfully supporting wildlife habitats!

Is this garden style for you?

So having a highly productive garden which looks neat is possible. It is not a wow or show garden but it is a practical one that meets the family’s needs.

Do try it if this garden style sounds like you. You will have lots of delicious food to eat on top of other health benefits like being outdoors and getting some exercise!!

Anyway I could go on lol. But I’ll leave it here.

Will post an update soon to show the second part of the back yard once its ready. We are pruning the chiku (sapodilla) tree right back and getting it to produce fruit again after the storm a couple of years ago basically split the tree in half!!

In the meantime have a read of other articles I’ve published on productive gardening here and here.

Do visit my past projects below which also squeezed in some of this garden style!