It's best not to just drop in veggies indiscriminately between other plants because you want to make sure that the veggies don't overtake their new neighbors and that all plants can live happily together with the same water and sun requirements.

Plus, when you add veggies to an existing landscape, you may not only want to drop in new plants in open spaces-but remove some existing plants to have even more room for growing vegetables.

At the 9News Kitchen Garden, we've done some of both. In the existing WaterWise Garden, we were able to add some cabbage, herbs and other vegetables where it made sense.

We also wanted to grow more veggies than this space allowed. So we looked around to some neighboring shrub beds. These beds had overgrown and somewhat declining shrubs. Plus, these beds offered a prime, sunny location for growing quite a large garden.

Here's what was done: the existing shrubs were removed. The ones in the best condition were set aside to replant elsewhere. Then the beds were rototilled to break up the soil, new soil amendment was added to create a richer growth environment and the planting began.

One area was reserved for large spreading plants which were planted with small plants, not seeds:
- Spaghetti squash
- A great pumpkin
- Tomatoes
- Space was also left for cucs that will be planted later

Next to this area, you'll find other tomato varieties, peppers, and broccoli.

Another area was planted in rows with seeds for the early-season veggies: carrots, spinach, and lettuce.

Don't forget the pots! If you have little to no growing space, use pots to grow pole beans, tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Tomato cages set in pots will support the vines as they grow. Use herbs as showy foliage among annuals. Or create an herb garden with a fresh assortment of your own personal favorites. Possibilities are really endless.

Reminder about soil temps and frost. In about two weeks, when the soil temperatures warm up to 70 degrees, it will be time to plant cucumber seeds and beans that need warm soil.

In the meantime, if you've already set out tender plants like tomatoes and peppers, you may need to protect them from frost. We have used "water wall" plastic protectors in the kitchen garden to protect some of these more tender plants. Without them, you will need to cover plants any time during the next couple of weeks when there is threat of freeze or frost.

Get out and plant your garden. Then let Mother Nature do the rest - with a little ongoing help from you! For help finding a landscape professional www.alcc.com.