What is Ornamental Gardening? Why Should You Start An Ornamental Garden?

Last Updated on November 8, 2021 by Real Men Sow

Ornamental Gardening is a pretty new way to continue my planting and growing journey with all the exciting veg crops that I have right now. In the past decade I discussed so many tips and tricks to plant vegetables and fruits effectively but I barely touched on the aesthetic side of gardening.

What is Ornamental Gardening?

Ornamental gardens serve mainly for aesthetic purposes, it is a great and appealing way to plant and grow your own vegetables. Therefore, ornamental gardening is simply the decorative process of planting vegetables and fruits that we later use up for cooking or baking.

Become Creative in Your Own Ornamental Garden

Of course, I don’t need a path, I thought. Then it dawned on me. I’m suddenly getting all creative and arty farty. I looked back on what I’d done in the garden since we moved in: a pointy brick border from bricks that were laying around behind the shed and a herb patch which I’d tried to make attractive and functional using lumps of limestone that I’d also found in the garden.

I’d been spending time furrowing my brow, talking with mum about what plants would look good in my borders, trying my best to be inventive with old bits of a slab, spending more time in the ornamental section of my local nursery and agonising about the angles of the limestone.

I’ve also been adding more flower blogs to my google reader. I’ve not been commenting as frankly I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I’m learning slowly.

Doubts and Motivation to Start an Ornamental Garden

I guess this is where the border comes in. It seems to represent two entirely different sides of the human personality. On one side meets the needs of the resourceful and functional part of the brain, with (hopefully!) lots of useful edibles to sustain my new family. I’ve been researching square feet gardening, which also plays on the neat, organised desires of my brain with its meticulous planning and well-ordered sections.

At the other end of the garden and spectrum, is this newfound interest in ornamental gardening, which seems to be serving the creative part of the brain. ‘Pop that in there, ooh, I like the look of that plant, maybe I’ll put a path here’, that sort of thing. No rules or plans, just a rough idea in my head that I work to until I see something else I like or find another piece of junk that I’d like to incorporate somehow.

With the blank canvas of my new garden, another new adventure is opening up. I have no idea where to start, but that’s all part of the fun, especially with the shorter nights giving me justification to sit on the sofa reading books.

Why Did I Start Ornamental Gardening?

The signs of this have been there for a few months now. I’ve been spotting plants whilst on trips away and rushing home to try and identify them. We spent a couple of days on Lundy Island recently, and I adored all the Thrift that was flowering there. I wanted to grow some in my garden and thought this must be some kind of rare, island-dwelling plant that I must search high and low to source.

I wasn’t at all upset to discover that it’s a very common plant and that my nan’s got loads in her garden that I can take cuttings from. In fact, managing to identify Thrift from a book felt like a minor success as well as a gentle nod that I was developing an interest in flowers.

I then spent some time hunting around my mum’s garden, asking questions about different plants and working out what I could nick. Mum showed me how she had been potting up heather cuttings, and this ‘flowers for free’ idea increased my interest further.

The final indicator came yesterday. We’ve had a small wall knocked down at work, and I asked if I could take some of the bricks to make a path down the middle of my veg patch. I text my mum and asked her whether she thought this would be a waste of space, to which she replied ‘do you really think you need it?.