Edible landscaping

Edible Landscaping

Blueberries

Many suburban homeowners think that since they do not have acres of land, they are unable to grow food. With a little planning, edible and food-producing plants can be a part of almost any landscape.

One approach is to imagine double duty for the plants in your yard. Many trees and shrubs that bear fruit can also provide shade, flowers, and fall color. This approach to the landscape is a way to squeeze in a few things among the typical plantings.

Serviceberry

Serviceberries (Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Princess Diana’) grown as small trees provide shade along with a few blueberry bushes (Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Jersey’ or ‘Duke’) tucked into a shrub planting of a home. Both provide pretty white flowers in the spring, nice fall color, and berries in the summer that are very tasty and make excellent jam. Grow raspberries (Rubus idaeus “Heritage”) and blackberries (Rubus fruticosus ‘Triple Crown’ ) up a trellis on a south-facing wall or fence. Hardy kiwi vines (Actinidia arguta ‘Cordifolia’) with attractive foliage are easily trained on an arbor. While the fruits are not the same as what is found in the grocery store, the smaller, hairless fruit is sweet and similar tasting nonetheless.

Vegetables and fruit bearing trees and shrubs need ample light to grow and set fruit, with most needing at least 6 hours of direct sun. Finding a spot is often a challenge. Plant strawberries in containers on a patio and after fruiting, replace with herbs such as basil, rosemary, sage, and chives. Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes are also good candidates for large containers on a sunny patio.

Low growing, drought tolerant herbs planted along walkways, act as an edging that makes an attractive ground cover. The plants will eventually fill in between stones and are great for snipping for recipes. Nasturtiums, thyme and oregano are good choices for this application.

Once you get started, you’ll see that it’s easy to tuck in a small patch of spinach among the perennials and a few berry bushes here and there. It’s a great way to get more out of your landscape.

Snow Creek is a full service landscape company. We provide free estimates. Call for more info 828.628.2227 or go to our home page for an estimate request.

(Take caution if pesticides are applied to the landscape. Follow all manufacturers directions about consuming edibles that have come in contact with pesticides)