Remember the old commercial where two people bumped into one another, and person A’s chocolate bar would end up in person B’s peanut butter jar? (Really now, who carries around a jar of peanut butter? Anyway…) Voila! A wonderful new combination was discovered…unexpected and wonderful!
It’s like that (kind of) with edible landscaping. With more people wanting to grow their own food, interest in vegetable gardening is way up. For urban dwellers and small-yard owners interest in non-traditional vegetable gardening is also on the rise. Edible landscaping is a tasteful answer to both. The idea of adding vegetables, greens, berry-producing shrubs and herbs to existing plantings is one exciting new way to “have it all and eat it too”!
A few ideas for adding edibles to an existing landscape:
- Plant berry producing ground-covers like strawberries (in sun) and lingonberries (in acid soil, shade) under existing perennials and acid-loving shrubs like rhododendron and hydrangea. They provide delicious fruit and also act as a “living mulch” suppressing weeds and keeping soil moist.
- Choose vitamin-rich and colorful greens like Swiss chard, kale and Bulls-Blood beets to accent beds of brightly colored annuals. Add colorful varieties of basil and sage as border plants.
- Vegetables like eggplant and dwarf tomatoes fit perfectly within formal plantings. The scalloped edged-leaves and lovely star-shaped flowers of eggplant and the airy, carrot-like foliage of “Silvery Fir Tree” dwarf tomato are lovely complements to roses, gladiolus, iris and more.
- Look for herbs with foliage similar to florals you regularly plant. Like geraniums? Consider the smaller, more delicate leaves of parsley or the similar and edible nasturtium. Sages mimic foxglove leaves, mingle them in your beds for color, contrast and edibles.
- Try using chives in place of or in addition to small ornamental grasses. They have lovely long lasting edible blooms and can prevent unwanted pests.
- Variegated herbs work well in planters alongside inedible plants like coleus. Trailing rosemary and thymes can be used in place of dichondra.
As you look over vegetable seeds and make your selections consider traits like color, growth habit, foliage and blossoms. Try new combinations and don’t be shy about mingling veggies and herbs in with existing plantings. You never know…you could discover a winning (and tasty) combination!
I use ruby swiss chard all the time in the garden for its lovely red stems mixed with the other herbaceous plants.
I think chard complements most any planting. The leaves are so wonderfully crinkled and the stem colors vibrant. (Plus it’s delicious!)
Love this info! I am definitely going to try of this in my garden this year! Sounds yummy!