Creating a sustainable garden in a small, open, urban space is an enjoyable challenge which, with equal measures of sensibility and imagination, can have spectacular results.

First and foremost, it is imperative to decide exactly which areas/beds can be devoted to vegetable and herb cultivation, which you wish to reserve for flowers and other ornamentals, which can be an intriguing mixture of all the aforementioned and how much room can be designated for sitting and, if you have children, playing. The inclusion of a lawn is not recommended due to the high cost of upkeep and, more importantly, unwarranted use of increasingly precious water.

Making a sustainable garden and keeping it this way is largely dependent on well-nourished soil — a backbone of perennial plants be these edible or otherwise — reliance on totally organic principles and, as much as possible, use of natural products e.g. clay pots, baskets woven from cane, banana fronds, etc. In the absence of a natural option — a watering can for example — always opt for durable metal over potentially poisonous plastics.

A small, open, green space to grow veggies, fruit and flowers is an enjoyable challenge with incredible rewards

The ‘backbone’ of perennial plants can and should, be supplemented with purely seasonal flowers, vegetables and herbs which can be planted in different spots each year to discourage any potential build-up of insect pests or diseases that are attracted to any particular plant species and the use of ‘companion planting’ is highly recommended. ‘Companion planting’ is based on knowing which plants help other plants along, deter pests and boost another plant’s growth and productivity: it will be discussed in a column in three weeks time.

As space is limited, much forethought needs to be given to what you wish to grow, especially so when deciding on perennials. If edibles are your main priority, opt for those that can be highly productive, in their season, without taking up much space. Tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, capsicums, cucumbers, climbing beans, coriander, nasturtiums, ‘calendulas’ and basil are prime examples of plants which can, if preferred, be cultivated in re-cycled wooden crates from the bazaar or suitably sized clay pots, using the soil/compost mix advocated in the column on courtyard gardens two weeks ago.

Avoid space-taking species like potatoes, sweet potatoes, sprawling pumpkin vines. But do find room for two or three compact courgette/zucchini plants as these give bountiful crops. Perennial veggies and herbs to choose from include: Jerusalem artichokes, globe artichokes, asparagus, seakale, horse radish, thyme, lemon balm, lemon grass, sage and chives/garlic chives.

If there is room for a single tree, taking location into consideration, choose wisely: curry patta tree — even if restricted to a very large pot — is a good choice as are a lemon, cheeku, sharifa, banana or papaya. If a vine is possible, then either edible passion fruit or grapevines are good ideas.

On the purely ornamental shrub front, limit your selection to just half a dozen at the very most, selecting fragrant beauties like jasmine, motia, raat-ki-rani, champa with a couple of Eranthemum for richly coloured foliage.

A clump or two of day lilies and/or carnations — these are both edible by the way — won’t go amiss when selecting perennial flowers and neither will a rose bush or two; rose petals are also edible as long as you have stuck to strictly organic principles. Bright and breezy gazanias, colourful gaillardias, gorgeous gerbera and colourful osteospermums are about as tall as you should go with other perennial flowers.

There is a huge range of seasonal flowers to indulge yourself from, but take care not to knock the garden off balance by growing too many tall species as towering plants, lovely as they are, work to ‘shrink’ a small garden by over-powering everything else. It is much better to stick with small to medium height flowers such as petunias, bellis, ageratum poppies, larkspur, pansies, violas, cornflowers, sweet alyssum, lobelia, tagetes and French marigolds.

To maximise on available space, growing ‘none- invasive’ climbers — those that do not destroy walls by rooting in to the masonry — are a good idea. Similarly, rows of wall-mounted plant pots, hanging baskets, firmly fixed, wall-mounted, shelving for assorted plants, plus, plant pots or other suitable containers, can be fixed in places where they will not impede access to walkways and other garden areas.

For ease of maintenance, paths between beds and from the house to the gate, should have a solid surface, i.e. concrete or paving slabs and be wide enough for wheelbarrows, prams, wheelchairs, etc.

Don’t forget to install two or three compost bins in a hidden corner, along with a bin for brewing compost tea to mulch or feed everything in the garden on a regular basis, following instructions provided in previous weeks.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened. Commercial enquiries will be ignored.

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 21st, 2019