Edible Landscaping

30 May, 2011 Reply

Flowering Cabbage & Kale plus Pansies line my entry walk, all are edible

As more and more of us are interested in having good fresh produce in our house, many are turning to growing their own foods. However, if you have a small lot or live in a condominium you may not have room to put in a vegetable garden, berry patch and small orchard. Edible landscaping to the rescue.

What is edible landscaping? It is incorporating edible plants right in among your ornamentals, so they blend in or stand out, depending on your desire. It means that you plant a fruit tree in your front yard, instead of a shade tree. You plant flowering cabbage or kale along your walkway instead of dwarf holly. There are probably edible plants to replace every ornamental, but that’s not really necessary, even incorporating a few can really be a delight.

It is a little bit of an art to know what plants will look good in certain places, but there is a lot written about it these days. Not only that there are many varieties of vegetables that are being grown so that they are more compact and fit beautifully in any garden. Just visiting Rosalind Creasy’s home page, she’s one of the pioneers of edible landscaping, will be enough to inspire you to try at least a few plants tucked in around your ornamentals.  The upside is that you’ll have not only a beautiful garden, but one that is nutritious, too.

If Space Is At A Premium

15 December, 2010

If you only have a small space, such as a porch in an apartment, or you live in a townhouse with just a tiny back open space, then plan accordingly. You’ll have to be very selective about what you grow. If the taste of a sun warmed, heirloom tomato makes your heart sing, then find tomato plants that will work in containers or that are more compact in growth pattern.

You can actually grow quite a lot if you use your space wisely. Of course you have to have good light in the area, which can be a problem with apartment porches. Know how much light the area you want to grow in gets. That will determine a lot about what you can grow.

If you live in an apartment or townhome you may be able to get permission from the owners to plant outside your defined area. Some apartments have let people grow ornamentals in the small garden outside the front door, but they didn’t want vegetables because of pest and mess considerations. You may even be able to establish a community garden in your compound, if you can get enough support and there is space.