Growing Green
with Extension Educator Robin Trott

Edible Landscaping

Do you have limited space to include both a vegetable and an ornamental garden? Are you wishing you had additional room to grow more vegetables, or try some new and interesting fruits?

One of the latest trends in gardening is to create an edible landscape. Edible landscaping is the method wherein you replace some of the plants in your strictly ornamental garden with food producing plants. Edible landscapes combine fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and ornamental plants in aesthetically pleasing designs.

There are many reasons to incorporate edible plants into the residential landscape. These include:

Improved Taste and Nutrition of Food: Nutrient content and flavor in most plants is highest immediately after harvest. Reduced Food Costs: Certain edibles are highly productive and are more economical to grow at home than to purchase. Convenience: Having fruits and vegetables right outside your home may help you add fresher, healthier foods to your diet and makes meal preparation easier. Fun and Exercise: Growing your own crops can be rewarding and fun; the exercise you get in the process can help you stay fit. Sustainability: Consuming locally grown produce can be an important part of reducing energy inputs and protecting our environment.

Consider your garden site, soil and sun conditions before choosing which edibles you would like to include in your garden. Many fruits and vegetables do best where they receive at least 6 hours of full sunlight a day.

Most also like well-drained soil. Start small: consider one-for-one substitutions. Plant a fruit tree instead of a shade tree. Instead of an ornamental shrub, plant a currant, raspberry of blueberry. Edible flowers include bachelor’s buttons, nasturtiums and pansies.

Edible plants come in nearly all shapes, sizes and colors, and can perform the same landscape functions as many ornamental plants. Some of the edible plants included in the University of Minnesota display garden on the St. Paul Campus include: Eggplant (4 varieties),Zucchini, Yellow crookneck squash, Peppers (5 varieties), Tomatoes (4 varieties), Chard, Mizuna mustard greens, Raspberries, Cucumbers, Okra, Onions, Basil (3 varieties), Mint, Chives and garlic chives, Sage, Thyme, Oregano and Rosemary.

For other small space gardening ideas, visit the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to view their “Veggies by the Yard” display gardens. Five gardens are included in this display: First timer’s garden, 2- in- 1 garden, Dig-it! Garden, Salad Lovers Special Garden, and Adventurous Cooks Garden. For layouts of all these garden designs, visit the Landscape Arboretum website at:

http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/VeggiesByTheYard.aspx

For more information on edible landscaping, visit the UM edible landscape project website at:

http://umediblelandscape.blogspot.com/.

I think I’ll go out to my garden and plant my bright lights Swiss chard and my high top beets.

Until next time, happy gardening!

This cabbage, these carrots, these potatoes, these onions ... will soon become me. Such a tasty fact! ~Mike Garofalo

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Growing Green with Extension Educator Robin Trott

Edible Landscaping

Growing Green
with Extension Educator Robin Trott