Arty's Garden: Try Edible Landscaping for Beauty and Bounty

Originally published in the Dec. 25, 2013, issue

 

Sometimes we put plants in rigid categories. We fail to look at the beauty of fruit, vegetable and herb plants and think of flowering plants as strictly ornamental. For example, blueberries are perfect for cereal or pancakes, but we do not always notice that blueberry shrubs have attractive white flowers in spring and foliage that blazes crimson and scarlet in fall. Eggplant is versatile in the kitchen, but its lavender flowers are pretty and its fruits shine like Christmas ornaments. Yuccas have bold foliage and flowers, but their white petals taste like mild cabbage.

Oriental persimmons have glossy leaves all
summer and attractive, tasty fruit in fall.

More than ever, categories are breaking down and boundaries are being crossed. Gardeners who do not have room for an orchard or a separate herb or vegetable garden are incorporating food plants into their overall landscape designs. The concept of using food plants throughout the landscape is referred to as “edible landscaping.” Ideally, plants in the edible landscape are esthetically pleasing as well as productive. 

Examples include planting basil among flowers, rosemary as a foundation shrub, muscadines to cover an arbor or blueberries as an informal hedge. Oriental persimmon, American persimmon, feijoa, fig, sarvisberry, peach, plum and bunch grape are a few fruiting trees, shrubs and vines that may be liberated from the orchard and vineyard and utilized in the home landscape. Texas tarragon, bay, anise hyssop, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, chives, parsley, red mustard, kale, Swiss chard, garlic, eggplant, hot peppers and okra are a few herbs and vegetables that have ornamental qualities. Edible flowers include pansies, violas, nasturtiums, roses and yuccas. 

Even an apartment-dweller can plant herbs or leaf lettuce in bushel baskets on a sunny balcony. Homeowners with a swimming pool taking up most of the backyard can replace a lounge chair with a half-barrel containing a miniature peach. Those with sunny patios or decks can set aside space for pots of calamondin, lemon or lime. Although these citrus trees are not winter-hardy in Georgia, they are easily overwintered indoors.

Consider making your landscape an edible one. Besides having the freshest herbs, fruits and vegetables possible, you’ll have the pride that comes from growing them yourself and an increasing appreciation of the beauty that lies in all things.

                                                                                            

Arty Schronce is the Department’s resident gardening expert. He’s a lifelong gardener and a horticulture graduate of North Carolina State University who encourages everyone to discover the pleasures of plants and gardening.