An Introduction to Edible Landscapes

Many people are choosing to move to creating more natural landscapes, even landscapes which contain plants that are useful, or can be eaten. Many vegetable plants are very attractive, and a lot of edible plants have ornamental varieties.

Most people who create edible landscapes use perennial vegetables, because they come back year after year, without the need to replant them each year. Once you’ve planted them, they’ll continue to provide you with beauty and food as long as you care for them.

A little watering and feeding is all most of them need, aside from the occasional weeding, pruning, or insect control. There are plenty of varieties of vegetables that you can plant that will keep feeding you year after year.

They’ll usually die during the winter, but every spring they’ll return and go through a growth cycle again. With the prices of fresh vegetables and fruits rising at an alarming rate, it’s a very good idea to grow some of your own.

You might not want the responsibility of caring for a traditional garden. Traditional gardens require a lot of work to maintain. You must constantly weed, rake, hoe, water, fertilize, and spray traditional gardens. But edible landscapes require little more effort than traditional landscapes!

You can use many different types of edible plants to replace various aspects of traditional landscaping. You can use fruit trees in place of standard trees. Many perennial herbs can be used to replace ground covers and shrubs. And ornamental vegetables can be used in place of flowers, borders, or other accents.

You can also mix edible plants with other plants to form beautiful combinations. Some edible plants, especially herbs, make great additions to flower gardens. You can mix all kinds of plants together for different looks.

Curly parsley looks beautiful with many different types of plants. You can plant it with pansies, lobelia, strawberries, dusty miller, or dianthus. Sage and oregano are very beautiful plants, and make great low shrubbery. They look fantastic as edging in front of larger bushes.

Leaf lettuces look lovely planted in beds as accent areas. You can plant a bed of different colours and varieties of leaf lettuce, and then edge it with a border grass. There are several types of plants that have edible flowers.

Many of these plants also have other edible parts. They can look very striking as part of a landscape while they’re in bloom. Sugar snap peas have gorgeous white, pink, or purple flowers, and they produce delicious peas.

Fava beans produce white and red flowers. Chives have amazing purple globe-shaped flowers. Dill has lovely yellowish blossoms. Nasturtium blossoms are edible, and some in red, yellow, and orange. Sage has blue and purple blossoms. And salvia also has blue and purple blooms.

Perennial herbs and vegetables are superb for planting in edible landscapes, because they require so little maintenance. You can try perennial broccoli, dandelions, sweet potatoes, rhubarb, sorrel, artichokes and Jerusalem artichokes, chives, fennel, garlic chives, ginger, and asparagus.

Planning Your Edible Landscape

Edible landscaping is the process of planting edible plants in a landscape, rather than in a traditional garden. There are two major benefits to edible landscaping. First of all, edible landscapes save space, because they combine landscaping and food-growing into a single space.

Secondly, they turn a standard landscape into more than just aesthetics, but into a useful method of growing some of your own food. Edible landscapes don’t have to be 100% edible. You can design your edible landscape around any percentage of edible plants you wish.

You might choose to make your landscape 100% edible, or you might only include a single fruit tree. Edible landscaping has actually been around for a very long time. Some of the earliest edible landscapes were found in ancient Persia and in gardens in medieval times.

In some areas of the world, most people plant mostly edible varieties. Some people see no point in planting anything that isn’t edible, seeing everything else as a waste of valuable food-growing space.

An important part of planning your edible landscape is knowing what conditions each variety needs. Some plants will need a lot of sun, and some plants require more shade. You need to be sure the soil conditions are suitable.

Be sure to check each and every variety so you know its soil requirements, sunlight requirements, and the nutrient and pH balance needed. Start by planning out your landscape on paper.

Mark off where you want to place certain plants, and be sure those areas are conducive to the varieties you wish to locate there. Use fruit trees in place of shade trees. You can plant hazelnuts and currants wherever you might place a deciduous shrub. You can use herbs in place of low-lying shrubs and ground cover.

Ornamental plants often need very little care. Edible plants do need a little bit more attention than other plants if you want them to produce a good harvest. You might have to water them more often or fertilizer them.

You’ll probably have to work a bit harder to control pests than you would for strictly ornamental plants, because insects tend to target edible plants much more often. But the food yield certainly makes it worth a bit of additional work.

One of the most important types of edible plants to add to a landscape is fruit trees or bushes. Fruit trees make excellent shade tree replacements. And berry bushes can be extremely attractive in place of typical shrubs. Blueberry bushes can be quite lovely in front of a home, for example. And apple trees can grow into delightful shade trees!

Instead of planting flowerbeds, you can plant beds of lettuce, herbs, or greens. Many types of mint have lovely blooms. Lettuce and other greens can come in all types of colours. You can get ornamental cabbages and kale in a wide variety of colours, adding a splash of color to any area. Peppers and tomatoes are colourful additions, as well.

Grape arbors are a spectacular addition to a landscape. Grape arbors have been used for many years as a beautiful enhancement to lawns, and the fruit is a wonderful bonus. Remember, many types of flowers are also edible.

Nasturtiums, violas, daylilies, calendula, and borage are all edible, and make wonderful additions to salads and decorations for cakes. So you can still plant some flowers, even if you want to stay 100% edible!

Great Plants for Edible Landscapes

There are hundreds of edible plants that would look perfectly lovely in a landscape, but some of them work better than others. Many plants won’t look very good later in the season, for example.

Some of them quickly turn dark and lose their leaves. You want plants that taste great, but keep their appearance long enough to be a practical part of your landscape. It’s no good to build plants that lose their looks in late summer into your landscape design!

Here’s a look at some of the best choices for edible plants for landscape design. We’ll mostly be including plants that require minimal care and look attractive, while providing something very edible:

‘Golden Streaks’ is a variety of mustard that has heavily serrated leaves in a beautiful golden citron color. It has a very mild taste, slightly sweet. This is a striking plant that has a wonderful flavour.

‘Hansel Hybrid’ eggplant is a stunning plant. It has a two-foot-tall plant that produces huge clusters of fingerling eggplants in a delightful deep purple hue.

‘Pesto Perpetuo’ basil is a one to two foot basil plant with absolutely gorgeous variegated leaves. The leaves are a rich green with a fringe of white. It tastes like Greek basil, but the appearance is wonderful in a landscape!

‘Purple Peacock’ broccoli is a hybrid cross between broccoli and two different types of kale. It has a purple stem and loose, purple head.

‘Violetta Hybrid’ pak choi is an amazing variety of this Chinese green. It has lovely purple leaves that are packed with more nutrients than many other types of greens!

‘Red Popper’ is a type of miniature bell pepper. The fruits are only about one to two inches in diameter and are very sweet and delicious. You’ll love the way these bright red peppers look against the rich, green foliage!

‘Sweet Lace’ grapes are a small, patio-sized variety of grape. They have very pretty leaves and produce pretty white grapes in September. These can be grown in containers, and they can also be trellised easily. They make a beautiful accent to a fence or wall.

‘Red Veined’ sorrel is a variety of this classic wild green. It has light green leaves with a truly spectacular series of red veins all throughout. The taste is very sharp, so it’s best in salads with mild greens. This one is particularly striking in appearance.

‘Purple Mizuna’ is a fabulous type of greens. They have a very tangy flavour, and grow very quickly. Mizuna greens are already quite attractive, but this purple variety is particularly nice.

‘Mittistone’ is a summer-crisp lettuce of the loose-leaf variety. The leaves are green with red speckles. It is a sweet, crisp lettuce variety that tastes as amazing as it looks. It matures quickly, and looks just as beautiful in your yard as it does in a salad bowl.

Using Perennial Vegetables for Landscaping

Planting perennial vegetables as part of your landscape is a great idea, because it helps you make maximum use of your space. Instead of hurting your beautiful landscape by tearing up your lawn to plant a traditional garden, you can simply work your food plants into your existing landscape.

You can use a wide variety of perennial vegetables and herbs as part of your landscape, and they can be just as beautiful as traditional landscape plants. Perennial vegetables are great, because you don’t have to replant them each year.

You plant them once, and with a small amount of ongoing maintenance, you’ll have a beautiful landscape and fresh food every year. Perennials need to be planted in good conditions right from the start.

If you plant annuals in poor soil or a bad location, you’ve only lost a single year. But if you plant perennials improperly, you’ve wasted a plant that could have grown for many years.

First of all, be sure you plant your perennials in a good location right from the start.

Check the required growing conditions for the variety before you plant it. Make sure you choose a spot that has the proper amount of sunlight for the plant. Don’t forget to take into account the potential growth of any other nearby plants! If you plant something in a sunny location, it might be shady in a year or two if surrounding plants grow larger.

Be sure to prepare your soil before planting. It’s much easier to modify the soil before planting than it is to make corrections later. Be sure the soil has the proper pH levels and nutrient levels, and make certain your soil will support the correct moisture level for the plants. You’ll need to be certain to have the right balance, because different plant varieties require different types of soil.

Another thing to keep in mind is your zone. Some perennial plants won’t be very tolerant of extreme heat or frosts, so care in this matter is essential. The point of planting perennials is to have plants that return each year. If they die completely in the winter, they won’t return in the spring, so be sure you get your zone correct.

There are many perennial herbs that make a great addition to an edible landscape. Many types of mint are perennial in a lot of zones. They have beautiful foliage, and some of them have very pretty blossoms. Other perennial herbs that are ideal for landscaping include French tarragon, lavender, chives, Greek oregano, English Thyme, garlic chives, lemon balm, and sage.

A lot of vegetables are quite attractive, and can be very nice in landscapes. Perennial varieties of chard, beans, and broccoli are all great for landscapes. Asparagus, sorrel, fennel, ginger, artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, chicory, sweet potatoes, rhubarb, rocket, and sorrel are all great choices.

You can also use other edible plants for your landscaping. Fruit trees are an obvious choice. Many fruit trees have absolutely stunning blooms. Cherry trees, apple trees, and plum trees all have lovely blooms that will make a great addition to your landscape. The fruits they bear can also add an amazing color and style to your yard. Having bright red cherries and golden apples can really enhance a landscape.

Edible Flowers in Edible Landscapes

Most people grow flowers strictly for their aesthetic value. Not many people realize that there are a lot of flower varieties that can be eaten. Flowers can bring amazing flavour and color to salads, and make stunning decorations for cakes and other dishes.

Flowers can also be used to make teas, and their flavour extracts can be used in cakes, frostings, candies, and other foods. Many flowers are also very good for you. Roses are very high in vitamin C, especially rose hips.

Nasturtiums and marigolds also have a decent amount of vitamin C, and dandelion flowers contain both vitamin C and vitamin A. If a flower isn’t poisonous, it’s considered technically edible, but not all edible flowers are tasty.

Just keep in mind that you should be absolutely certain what you’re eating, because some flowers have poisonous look-alikes! You should never eat flowers if you have hay fever, asthma, or other allergies.

Never eat flowers that have been sprayed with any type of pesticide. And be sure to choose only blossoms that haven’t wilted. Remember, even edible flowers should be eaten in moderate amounts.

Some people may still have minor reactions to large amounts of edible flowers. Some common flowering plants should NEVER be eaten. Lily-of-the-valley is highly toxic, for example. Other flowers that shouldn’t be eaten include hydrangeas, azaleas, daffodils, wisteria, lupines, hyacinths, castor beans, rhododendrons, sweet peas, clematis, bleeding hearts, oleander, and calla lilies.

This is just a partial list! Always carefully research any flower before eating it, and even check varieties of the same type of flower. For landscaping purposes, you should probably concentrate on perennials.

Now let’s look at some of the very best blooming plants and flowers for landscaping. Remember, these are all perennials, since our purpose is creating landscaping:

• Dianthus comes in shades of red, white, and pink. It tastes similar to cloves.

• Daylilies come in many colours and taste a bit like squash or asparagus.

• Red clover has pink or red flowers that taste delicate and sweet.

• Tulips are mild and sweet and come in many different colours.

• Violets are slightly sweet, slightly sour. They come in pink, white, purple, and blue.

• Chives have beautiful pink globes of blossoms that taste very much like onions.

• Bee balm has pink, red, white, and lavender flowers that taste a bit like tea.

• Hollyhocks are slightly bitter and come in many colours.

• Borage tastes a lot like cucumbers, and comes in blue, purple, and lavender.

Perennials will continue to come back year after year, without the need for replanting each year. This is a very important part of landscaping, since landscaping should require only minimal maintenance.

 

CONCLUSION;
Remember; having the right information will make your job much easier and can help ensure the lasting success of your garden. Did you get your free copy of the E-book ‘Absolute Organic Gardening’? It goes into far more detail there.
If not, Click Here! to get your free copy in seconds.

Plus! … Take the Free! ‘Absolute Organic Gardening 21 Day Challenge’ Here!

If you don’t initially see what you’re looking for here, please use the ‘Search Bar’ in either the Sidebar or Footer.

And please don’t forget to sign up to the ‘CheckFred Community Newsletter’ via the form below …….. Thank You.

 

Click The Button Above To Visit
‘The CheckFred Merch Shop’

.