Edible landscaping means using attractive, food-producing plants in a well-designed garden, rather than using solely ornamental plants or planting food crops in utilitarian layouts. And of course that age old country tonic of elderberry wine can be a fun way to use up some of this prolifically fruiting crop. Blackberries, raspberries, loganberries: these plants create beautiful displays when trellised or staked over a vertical structure. Perhaps a backyard bordered by a bed of herbs or fruiting shrubs is a great place to start experimenting with edible plants. Flowering quince is a deciduous shrub that bears colorful flowers on a variety of individual stems. I mean who decided that beautiful gardens had to be solely ornamental, and who says that edible gardens can't be beautiful? Don't let a little shade deter you from planting vegetables. Rose hips can be used to make highly nutritious teas, jellies, syrups and even soup! And let’s not forget delicious taste (wherever possible). And with a broad range of climate-adapted cultivars available, the range for brambles is wider than ever. Or just chew them to experience the delicious taste of summer. Take these asparagus plants, for example. Add fresh flavor to your food with our herb plants, including sage plantsand peppermint plants. The bay laurel tree is native to the Mediterranean and will survive only light frosts. These beautiful plants are not just functional and pleasing to look at, but many of them are also edible. In her book, The Edible Front Yard, Ivette Soler suggests that each plant have at least two unique features that make them worthy of your real estate. They also provide a lot of sweet food, perfect for sauce or jam-making, or for preserving as juice and frozen, whole berries packed into freezer bags to enjoy in the midst of winter. As their name suggests, some of the rainbow mixes create a beautiful array of color that's hard to beat. Haskap bushes prefer well-drained, fertile soil that receives full sun to part shade. Who doesn’t love a fresh blueberry in the heat of summer? You name a cold-hearty plant and somewhere on this 1,100 acre campus they are likely growing it. This frilly edible green is a relative of the classic beetroot but outperforms that plant with quick growth and colorful array of stems. With its colorful stalks and tenacious habit, rhubarb is a winner in both the front yard and the back garden. A few words of caution though – Jerusalem artichokes aren't for small gardens, and they need well drained soil. But just like the nasturtium, the pansy can make a great and tasty addition to a salad, or a colorful and edible cake decoration. Favorite varieties include ‘Canary Yellow,’ ‘Magenta Sunset,’ and ‘Rhubarb.’ Use in borders where the bright stems will be visible, pairing with Sweet Alyssum for a winning combination. Not ⦠I blame the Victorians. Because it’s a biennial, you will need to replant each year to optimize your display, unless you’re saving seed (which will come on year two). The flowers are edible too - and can be made into tasty fritters, infused sugars, or refreshing cordials. Native to Mexico and Guatemala, this hardy perennial produces vibrant red flowers attractive to hummingbirds. Well known cultivars include Green Tails, Red Leaf, and Love Lies Bleeding. The tasty tubers are excellent grated raw into salads or cooked and prepared like potatoes. Generally hardy to Zone 8, many figs will survive Zones 6 or 7 if planted in protected areas close to buildings. An edible landscape is the art of integrating edible plants along side ornamental plants using the same elements found in traditional landscape design. It's worth noting that it's not just the stems that are edible. Thriving in full sun to part shade in Northern climates, they gravitate to thickets, fence lines, and hedgerows as long as well-drained soil is plentiful. Easy to grow and great with almost any savory meal, chives add color and zing to eggs, meat, potatoes, stews, stir fries, and salads. Brambles are self-fertile, which means you don’t need more than one variety to get fruit, though mixing ever-bearing plants with the more traditional summer bearing varieties will give you a longer harvest. Pineapple sage is also resistant to deer, who seem to avoid its uncommon odor. It produces yellow flowers on tall stems, but is best known for its tasty tubers, which have a texture close to potatoes—and a sweeter, nuttier flavor. Sweet-tart and delicious, the berries taste like a cross between raspberries and blueberries. When most people think about the food garden, they think about annuals like tomatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli. Everybody loves figs, right? And rose petals have long been used in Middle Eastern cuisine to make rose water – if you have never had rose water sorbet on a hot day, it's a tonic that comes highly recommended. Recently I have emphasized selection of plants with unique and striking phenotypic features like colorful and highly patterned seed coats in the case of beans and colorful, patterned and uniquely shaped leaves in the case of salad greens. But be aware that pawpaws are pollinated by flies and beetles, as they are genetically older than the honeybee. In some coastal locations, berries can get mealy if left too long on the stem. The American groundnut is a shade-tolerant vine that produces edible tubers, similar to potatoes, as well as a pea-like seed. Or of course you can have the best of both worlds—take what you need, but leave a few to flower. Bronze fennel, a favorite cultivar, adds graceful bronze-colored foliage to the background of any garden bed. Instead, plant in average soil amended with a small amount of organic matter to help your fig get established. In summer, their purple, pom-pom flowers add interest to pathways and borders, softening edges with their fluffy texture. Luckily, with people getting ever more interested in local, organic food, many are rethinking the false distinctions between beauty and utility. Their delicious fruits add a mouthwatering delicacy to any meal, perfect for desserts or teatime. The flowers are edible, too, and can be added to salads and desserts. It seems like an ideal addition to an edible landscaping project. They’re also a favorite of hummingbirds. Seasonal fruit trees like the apple-pear (also known as the ‘Asian pear’) add height to the edible landscape and color when at their peak. New developments mean thornless varieties produce delicious flavor without the pinch. Honeyberry, sweetberry honeysuckle, blue-berried honeysuckle: these are just a few of the names for this berry-producing shrub native to the Northern Hemisphere. A relative of the avocado and sassafras trees, the bay laurel has beautiful, dark green leaves that grow in bunches. With budgets tightened, many folks are considering growing food instead of just pretty flowers. Sounds pretty good to me. Edible Landscape Plants of Florida For this same reason, pawpaws tend to do better if you plant four or more in relatively close proximity. The Arboretum, located in Chaska, MN is a public garden, part of the University of Minnesotaâs College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. Shannon Cowan The tubers can be harvested as needed during the winter months, and are best after a hard frost. The tasty and nutritious harvest of the landscape is an exciting secondary benefit. In late spring, they sprout tiny flowers as delicate as fairy lanterns—these attract pollinators to the garden and provide much-needed food for bees. Well, stick a few fig trees in your yard and you will never buy figs again – in fact you may start cursing because you just can't keep up with the harvest. Here are some great edibles to work into your landscape design: As plants and I are learning to be friends, edible landscapes continue to spark my imagination. This has to be one of my favorite edible ornamentals – the globe artichoke. Fairly shade-tolerant veggies include beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, leaf lettuce, spinach, turnips, radishes, and beans. Luckily, birds and other wildlife will soon clear up anything you don't have time to eat, and then everybody is happy. Use in herbal teas or seasonings and see what all the fuss is about. Basil. This easy-to-grow, drought-tolerant herb looks striking in borders. 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