A vegetable garden is a wonderful thing, but so ephemeral! Every year it has to be started from scratch all over again. This is part of the fun, being able to try new plants or grow more of this crop or the other; still, it would be nice to have some permanence in the garden.

Small fruits can be permanent features and some are relatively easy to deal with. Here are some to consider:

Rhubarb is a plant that could be called the ‘big easy’ simply because it is. This very tough, winter-hardy plant is not really a fruit, but is mostly used as such. Rhubarb prefers organically rich soil and sunny, well-drained sites but will grow well in most soils. Once established, the plant is drought-resistant. Do not use any pesticides on or near the plant, which shouldn’t be necessary anyway, since rhubarb doesn’t have too many pests. Give each plant three feet or more and don’t harvest the first year, but always remove flower stalks as soon as they appear. Rhubarb is one of the first crops that can be harvested in the spring.

Raspberries are expensive when store-bought, because they are soft and difficult to transport. So growing your own is an excellent idea. There are many great varieties of raspberries to choose from—with red, golden, purple and black fruit. Most produce in July while some produce two crops a year; once in June and again in the fall. While raspberries are self-fertile it is still a good idea to plant more than one variety to guarantee fertilization (which is necessary for berries). Growing raspberries requires some planning, soil preparation and possibly some simple post and wire supports.