Edible Landscapes

Today’s backyards may be lovely to look at, hang out in, picnic in, have fun in, and even sleep among the stars. But are they edible?

Most landscapes today – unlike those of yesteryear – are devoid of any kind of human consumable fruit or vegetable. Not too long ago our grandmothers and great-grandmothers walked out the kitchen door and picked fresh herbs, vegetables and fruits. Edible landscape expert and author Rosalind Creasy writes: ‚”(In previous generations) the main interest (in the landscape) was food. Beauty in a producing plant was a bonus, not a requirement.”

But as food prices skyrocket, the economy tanks, the cost to maintain a lawn escalate, and food freshness and security become a priority, some homeowners are beginning to eye the land surrounding their house in a new way.

But some homeowners want more than a utilitarian 21st century Victory vegetable garden in their backyards – they want it to look as manicured as a non-edible landscape.

How to Design an Edible Landscape

Designing an edible landscape is not much different than planning a traditional landscape, except that edibles are substituted for non-edible plants.

An edible landscape combines trees that produce fruit or nuts with berry bushes, herbs, vegetables, edible flowers and ornamental plants and flowers. The design can take the shape of any garden style – and can include non-edible plants as well.

There are, however, some special considerations: Sunlight is important for most fruits and vegetables (at least six hours of full sunlight per day). Well-drained, and well composted soils are critical.

How an edible landscape will look depends on each individual yard. There is a limit to the edibles that can be grown if there is little sunlight; shady areas might be limited to medicinal herbs or mushrooms.

Start Small, Manageable

To harvest food the first season plant annual vegetables until the trees and berry bushes begin to produce. Intersperse vegetables – such as tomatoes, peppers and summer squash – in bare sunny spots in your flower beds.

A Landscape Good Enough to Eat

These edible annuals are particularly well-suited to be tucked in between flowers and other non-edible plants in the yard:

• Artichokes: Beautiful silvery-blue foliage that looks good with purple or blue-flowering perennials. Remember that artichokes require a lot more fertilizer than landscape plants and are high maintenance.
• Blueberries: There are many varieties from dwarf for containers to large sprawling shrubs for a bigger garden. The only downside to blueberries is that for most varieties it is necessary to plant more than one for pollination purposes.
• Dwarf Meyer Lemon trees (for warmer climates): These are one of the easiest plants to grow for food, and they can go in a container or in the landscape as an attractive large shrub or small tree. These trees need plenty of organic matter in the soil to establish well, and the leaves go yellow fairly quickly from lack of nutrients.
• Strawberries: Make a good attractive ground cover (and spread faster than ornamental covers).
• Rhubarb and Swiss Chard: These can be tucked in among flowering perennials for interest.
• Espaliered fruit trees (even types with multiple varieties on one tree) or dwarf fruit trees: These are beautiful and easy to care for. Figs have lovely lush and tropical foliage.
• Annuals: Such as red cabbage with its colorful foliage, string beans with purple flowers, the many varieties of lettuce with their interesting leaf patterns, and the eggplant are all interesting, and tasty, additions to a landscape.

Try planting some of these edibles for a landscape that is not only edible, but beautiful.