Maximising Your Garden’s Potential: Creative Ideas for Tomatoes & Basil

Tomatoes and basil aren’t just delicious ingredients for your kitchen—they can also help you create a beautiful and productive garden. Whether you’re looking to make your outdoor space more attractive or find new ways to enjoy the flavours of your garden, these plants offer plenty of possibilities. In this blog, we’ll start by exploring how you can use tomatoes and basil to enhance your garden, then we’ll share some fun ways to preserve and cook with them.

Decorating Your Garden with Tomatoes & Basil

Tomatoes and basil aren’t just for eating—they can also add a lot of charm to your garden. With a bit of creativity, these plants can be both useful and beautiful.

Edible Landscaping

Instead of limiting these tasty plants to a separate veggie patch, why not make your entire garden both beautiful and productive by blending tomatoes and basil with your regular plants? This approach, known as edible landscaping, allows you to enjoy the benefits of fresh produce while enhancing the beauty of your outdoor space. Plus, there’s something truly satisfying about harvesting a ripe tomato or a handful of basil leaves from among your flowers and shrubs, turning your garden into a feast for both the eyes and the palate.

Tomatoes can be the stars of your garden, especially if you choose vibrant varieties like yellow pear or purple heirloom tomatoes. Their colourful fruits not only add a striking visual element but also complement other flowering plants. Tomatoes can be trained to climb a trellis or supported with decorative stakes, adding height and structure to your garden.

Basil is perfect for filling in spaces with its lush green foliage and aromatic scent. It pairs wonderfully with ornamental plants, adding texture and a delightful fragrance to your garden beds. Plus, basil is more than just a fragrant herb —it’s a natural pest repellent. Planting basil alongside tomatoes can help keep pests like aphids at bay, making it a powerful companion plant.

Creative Support Structures for Growing Tomatoes

Tomatoes are not only delicious but also versatile in how they can be grown, especially when you start thinking creatively about their support structures. Using different types of supports for your tomato plants not only helps them grow strong and healthy but also adds vertical and visual interest to your garden. Here are some fun and creative ideas to consider:

Traditional Stakes and Cages: The most common support structures for tomatoes are stakes and cages. Stakes are simple and effective, guiding your tomato plants upward and keeping them off the ground. Wooden or metal stakes can be painted or decorated to add a pop of colour to your garden. Tomato cages, whether round or square, are another classic choice, offering robust support that surrounds the plant and allows it to grow freely within.

Decorative Trellises: Why not combine function with style by using decorative trellises to support your tomatoes? Trellises can be made from a variety of materials, such as wood, metal, or even repurposed items like old ladders or fence panels. A beautifully designed trellis can turn your tomato plants into a living piece of art, drawing the eye upwards and adding structure to your garden. Trellises are particularly effective for indeterminate tomato varieties that continue to grow taller throughout the season.

A-Frame and Teepee Supports: A-Frame and teepee-style supports are not only practical but also visually striking. These structures provide a sturdy framework for your tomatoes to climb, creating a central focal point in your garden. A-Frame supports are especially great for small spaces, as they allow you to grow tomatoes vertically without taking up much ground space. Teepee supports, made from bamboo poles or wooden stakes tied together at the top, give your garden a rustic, natural look.

Tomato Arbours and Pergolas: If you’re looking to make a bold statement, tomato arbours or pergolas are a fantastic option. These larger structures create a shaded area in your garden while providing a strong support system for multiple tomato plants. As the tomatoes grow and spread across the arbour or pergola, they create a lush, green canopy overhead. This setup not only looks beautiful but also makes the most of your vertical space, allowing you to grow more plants in a smaller footprint.

Creating a Tomato Fence: Do you have a chain link fence in your garden or on your balcony? Turn it into a living wall of tomatoes! Plant tomatoes at the base of the fence and gently weave the stems through the gaps as they grow. Before you know it, your fence will be covered with green leaves and colourful tomatoes, transforming it into a vibrant part of your garden. This is a great way to hide an unattractive fence while growing something delicious at the same time.

Hanging Baskets: A Great Option for Tomatoes and Herbs

Hanging baskets aren’t just for flowers—they’re a brilliant way to grow both tomatoes and herbs like basil. If you don’t have much space in your garden or just want to try something different, hanging baskets are a great choice.

Cherry and grape tomato varieties, like Tommy Toes, Sweet Bite, and Cherry Roma, do really well in hanging baskets. The best part? You can move the baskets around to make sure your plants get enough sun or to protect them from strong winds. Basil and other trailing herbs like thyme and mint also thrive in hanging baskets. You can even plant tomatoes and basil together in the same basket for a mini garden that’s as beautiful as it is practical.

Creating an Aromatic Walkway

Another innovative way to incorporate basil into your garden is by creating an aromatic walkway. By lining a path with fragrant herbs such as basil, lavender, mint, and lemon balm, you can turn a simple walk through your garden into a sensory experience. Every time you pass by, the aromas of these herbs will fill the air, making your garden not just a visual treat but an aromatic one as well. Basil thrives in sunny areas with well-draining soil, making it an excellent choice for this purpose.

Creative Pot and Planter Choices for Basil and Other Herbs

Choosing the right containers for your basil and other herbs can make your garden look even better. Beyond being practical, the pots you choose can really add to your garden’s style.

Consider using corten steel planters, which have a cool, modern look and become even more interesting over time as they develop a rustic finish. These sturdy planters are perfect for basil and can give your garden a unique, industrial vibe.

If you want something a bit different, why not use vintage vases or distressed water pots instead of regular plant pots? These can turn your herb garden into a real showpiece. Grouping pots of the same material or colour, like terra-cotta, can also create a more unified and stylish look in your garden. This way, your basil and other herbs not only grow well but also look great doing it.

Cooking and Preserving Your Harvest

Once your garden is bursting with fresh tomatoes and basil, it’s time to enjoy them in the kitchen. By the end of the summer tomato growing season especially, it’s not uncommon to find yourself with a bountiful harvest and wonder what to do with all those ripe tomatoes. Luckily, there are lots of fun and tasty ways to use these plants, and with a few tips, you can keep enjoying them long after the growing season is over.

Tomato-Basil Jam

Have you ever tried tomato-basil jam? It’s a sweet and savoury spread that’s perfect for toast, cheese, or even as a glaze for meats. To make it, cook ripe tomatoes with sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Add chopped basil towards the end of cooking. As it thickens, you’ll have a delicious jam that captures the flavours of summer in every bite.

Homemade Pesto

Basil is the main ingredient in pesto, a classic sauce that’s super easy to make. Traditional pesto combines basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. You can even mix it up by adding sun-dried tomatoes for a tangy twist. Pesto is great on pasta, sandwiches, or even as a marinade for meats and vegetables.

Infused Oils & Vinegars

Infused oils and vinegars are a simple yet tasty way to enjoy the flavours of your garden. To make tomato and basil-infused oil, just combine dried tomatoes and fresh basil with olive oil in a jar and let it sit for a few weeks. The oil will be full of rich flavour, perfect for drizzling over salads or dipping bread. You can also create a basil vinegar by steeping fresh basil leaves in white wine or apple cider vinegar. This makes a delicious, herb-infused vinegar for salads and marinades.

Preserving Your Harvest: Drying & Freezing

Drying and freezing are both great ways to save basil and tomatoes for later use. To dry basil, hang small bunches of leaves upside down in a warm, dry place until they’re crispy. You can also chop basil, mix it with olive oil, and freeze it in ice cube trays. These frozen basil cubes are perfect for adding to sauces and soups.

Tomatoes can be frozen whole or sliced. This way, you can enjoy them in sauces or stews even in the middle of winter. Just blanch the tomatoes, remove the skins, and freeze them in bags.

Canning Tomatoes

Canning is another way to preserve your tomato harvest. Whether you’re making tomato sauce, passata, or canning whole tomatoes, this method lets you enjoy your garden’s bounty all year long. Cooking tomatoes with a bit of onion, garlic, and herbs creates a rich sauce that can be canned and stored for later.

Wrapping Up

Tomatoes and basil are more than just plants—they’re the key to discovering creative ways to make your garden both beautiful and useful. By integrating them thoughtfully, you can transform your outdoor space into a vibrant, productive haven while enjoying fresh, home-grown flavours all year round. So, why not try something new this season and see how tomatoes and basil can transform your garden and meals?

And remember, Diaco’s is always here to help. We’re passionate about plants and ready to support you in making your garden thrive!