A Tasty Niche
1 Nov, 2007 By: Janet Aird LivescapesClients can have their landscape – and eat it, too
If you have clients looking for something a little different in their landscape, try recommending something edible.
 EDIBLE FLOWERS, such as nasturtium, may be a little too far from the mainstream for most clients to try right away. |
Although edible landscaping goes back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, it fell out of favor about 500 years ago, according to Rosalind Creasy's "The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping." However, it's slowly making its way back.
Eric Beegley, of Eric Beegley Landscape and Design in the San Francisco Bay area of California, specializes in edible landscaping. "There are some historic prejudices about having fruit and vegetables in a landscape," he says. "People think if they're wealthy enough, the land around their house should be for ornamental purposes."
There's also a lack of knowledge. Homeowners don't know how, when or what to plant, how much to water and fertilize, and what to do about spraying for pests and diseases.
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"It is a little intimidating at the beginning," Beegley says. "But I think if people would realize how simple it is, a lot of them would do it."
Benefits and Potential Drawbacks
Edible landscaping can be just as beautiful as ornamental. In fact, Beegley says, all his landscapes are ornamental.
The added benefit is that they're productive as well. The fruits and vegetables taste better because they're picked when they're ripe, and they're more nutritious because they're fresher than store-bought ones. Homeowners can control if they're sprayed with pesticides.
Homeowners also have less grocery shopping to do. They may be able to grow kinds of fruit and vegetables, or varieties, that aren't available in stores, either because they don't ship well or they aren't commercially viable. And some of the plants used in edible landscaping can broaden homeowners' ideas about what 'edible' really includes.
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Edible landscaping saves fossil fuels. When city residents buy food, Beegley says, it's often been trucked or flown in from quite some distance.
However, edible plants may need more watering, pruning and fertilizing than ornamentals. Some can be susceptible to pests and diseases. Most like at least six hours of sunlight and well-drained soil.
Select edible plants the same way you'd select ornamentals, by making sure they suit the area, then select varieties among those that are pest- and disease-resistant and have the best flavor.
 STRAWBERRIES create a beautiful ground cover and are a great way to introduce edible landscaping to clients. |
A potential problem with edible landscaping is that homeowners may not be able to keep up with all the produce. Landscapers can prevent this by designing the landscape so that the produce matures over a long time.
The following is a general overview of edible plants, their characteristics and where they do best. For specific information, check with your local state or university agricultural extension department.
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Trees. Many fruit trees can be substituted for ornamentals, and just one in a landscape will bear fruit.
"There are some varieties of fruit trees where both male and female are advised, like avocados," Beegley says. "For a client who wants to save space, I graft a pollinating variety onto the tree. This also gives a longer harvest."
He tries to keep fruit trees to around 8 ft. tall so harvesting and spraying are easy. He uses some dwarf varieties, but he also prunes to control trees' height and shape. He keeps one apple tree (or 'apple bush', as he calls it) at 4 ft. tall.
Fruit trees grow everywhere in the country. Beegley especially likes weeping varieties, like the weeping Santa Rosa plum. Other warmer-climate fruit trees include peaches, nectarines, apricots, citrus, avocados, persimmons, figs, plums and cherimoya. Elderberries grow to be small trees or shrubs.
Cherries and some plums grow well in cool climates. Pawpaws, the largest edible fruit native to America, grow in temperate areas. The best ones for colder areas are apples, pears and crabapples.
Nut trees like walnut, butternut, Chinese chestnut and pecan may grow to well over 60 ft., and provide shade as well as nuts. Almond trees grow to about 20 ft.
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Specimen plants and shrubs. Beegley says that rabbiteye blueberry bushes are attractive plants in warmer areas. Strawberry guavas are beautiful. Sunflowers can make a stunning show.
He uses artichokes at focal points in landscapes. Gooseberries, currents, juneberries (aka serviceberries, saskatoons and mountain blueberries), blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries (shade-tolerant relatives of blueberries and cranberries) and jostaberries (a fast-growing black current/gooseberry hybrid) grow in colder areas.
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Vines. Vines beautify poles, posts, fences, trellises and arbors. Berries, including blackberries, raspberries and olallie berries, hops (for making beer), and some kinds of grapes grow in colder climates. Warmer-climate vines include grapes, passion fruit and kiwi.
Beegley highly recommends the sweet potato vine, Marguerite, after sampling its chartreuse leaves. Sweet potato vines may overwinter and come back in warmer areas. Scarlet runner beans also can resprout in the spring, he says.
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Ground covers and borders. Two varieties of strawberries make delicious ground covers and borders, Beegley says. The most common propagate by runners, but his favorite is the alpine strawberry, which propagates from seeds.
Some herbs, like thyme, rosemary and chamomile also make beautiful ground covers and borders.
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Herbs. "Every garden I've ever done for a client has had herbs in it," Beegley says. He usually keeps them separate from other plants for ease of use. They often thrive on little water, poor soil and the pruning homeowners give them when they clip a few stems to flavor their dinner.
Basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, thyme, sage and lovage grow virtually anywhere in the country. Some are annuals and the others should be treated as annuals in colder areas. Chives can overwinter in many parts of the country. Perennials, like rosemary, lavender, thyme and sage, thrive in warm climates.
Mints should be planted in pots, to keep their invasive roots in check.
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Vegetables. Vegetables generally need the most care. "Soil fertility is more of an issue," Beegley says, "and vegetables can be attacked by various insects."
Also, Beegley says, vegetables tend to be annuals and should be rotated every year, while the rest of the landscape tends to be perennial. He's using more perennial vegetables, like asparagus and a collard green that he says is delicious and grows year-round in the Bay area.
Beegley advises using transplants for annuals. Some attractive cool-weather vegetables are lettuce, spinach, chard (green and red), carrots, onions, beets, peas and kale. Warm-weather vegetables include tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, beans and cabbages.
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Flowers. For most people, the last frontier in edible landscaping is flowers: nasturtiums, pansies and johnny jump-ups, daylilies, scented geraniums and sweet Williams. These are often used in salads or as edible cake decorations.
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Pots. Smaller plants like herbs and cherry tomatoes are perfect in pots, right outside the kitchen door.
Beegley's clients all appreciate being able to gather food from their own yards, he says. "It creates an interactive landscape — they care for it. And even when the crops aren't harvested, it still looks beautiful."
Aird is a freelance writer based in California.
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