Earlier, a lot of people put all their proxy energy on growing ornamental lawns and gardens in their front or backyard. These landscapes were attractive and appealing – but when it came down to their utility value – they failed miserably. Recently, quite a number of people, especially passionate gardeners – are realizing this. As a result, they are turning to edible landscaping. This is where you can plant edible stuff in your garden landscapes and still retain its beauty. This is a sure shot way of growing a jaw-dropping garden, while enjoying the local produce and cutting down on the carbon footprints. If you are someone who has a green thumb with an artistic soul, read on to know 3 things about edible landscaping.
Edible landscaping is a planned effort
Edible landscaping is all about the planned, intentional effort. You have to choose your plants wisely. You have to select your location logically. Plus, you have to get the entire outline correct. For instance, if there is a heavy traffic of dogs and little kids around your garden, then you will have to create effective diversions so that they do not step over your plants naively and ruin your months’ worth of effort.
You have to consider the time factor as well. If you are switching from your existing ‘non-edible’ landscape to an edible one, calculate the amount of time it might take – and calculate whether you are willing to give that many hours of your life to it. Moreover, select your plants in regards to the time you have on your hands. Go for perennial plants if you are unable to devote a majority of your day to your garden.
Money is another crucial aspect of edible landscaping. While you can go out there and directly buy edible plants for your garden, it might turn a little bit on the expensive side for you. If you are working on a budget, it is wise to go for the seeds and practice some patience while they grow into beautiful plants.
Edible landscaping requires visual impact
It is actually optional to retain a visual impact while engaging in edible landscaping. But, no one can deny that a passionate gardener will want to enhance the visual appeal of the garden – no matter the type. While going for edible landscaping, it is essential to keep it simple. If possible, replace the traditional landscape plant with an edible one. Keep going like this until you are satisfied with the output.
Another way to create a visual appeal is to maintain the line of the landscape. A line is a pattern which helps the visitor to follow a certain path around the garden. Lining your landscape effectively will help your guests follow the pattern easily, while creating a visual memory that will certainly last long. A simple, yet effective way to create a line is to use rock borders along the focal point of your garden. This will separate it from the rest of the landscape in an attractive manner.
Creating unity in your landscape is another way to draw the attention of the onlooker. To do so, simply try grouping plants of the same kinds of species together. Or achieve a contrast by placing bold-colored plants in front of the light-colored ones. The idea is to not scatter plants randomly along your landscape and create a pattern that is soothing to the eye.
To add a memorable visual element in your edible landscaping, try to create the good old emphasis. Create a focal point in your garden by planting a beautiful tree in the middle of it all. Or, you can go the classic way by placing a rare plant or a group of rare flowers in the middle of the garden.
Edible foodscaping is all about selecting the right plants
With edible landscaping, it is all about going for the right plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables. The plants or seeds you select for your landscape can either make it or break it. So, choose wisely.
Greens
Greens are one of the most useful plants that you can grow in your garden. While green vegetables and gourmet items drill a dent in your wallet inside the grocery store – in your own garden – they will become extremely cost-effective. Plus, you can pluck them fresh and nice.
Greens are one of the easiest plants to grow in your edible landscape. All you have to do is plant the seeds, wait a few weeks, watch the leaves grow a few inches, and snip some off when you need them.
These plants keep on regenerating the lost leaves, so you do not even have to pluck out the whole plant time and again. Not the mention the visual impact that mixed plants will create – try a combination of arugula leaves and kale leaves for the experiment.
Herbs
Most herbs are perennial plants. So, you might only need to plant them once in your garden. If that is not convincing enough, here are some of the other amazing things about the herbs in your edible landscaping.
Herbs are one of the best plants to attract the pollinators to your landscape. Not only that, most of the herbs, such as rosemary, parsley, dill and sage, are fragrant herbs with a stunning aesthetic side to them.
You can plant the herbs along with the ornamental plants in your garden and enhance the overall look of your landscape. Start with the traditional, commonplace herbs. Further, you can opt for the lesser known ones – such as Oregano Cleopatra, Boxwood Basil, and Cha Cha Chives.
Other beautiful and nutritious plants you can grow in your edible landscape are tomatoes, beans, peppers (red, yellow and green), eggplants (brinjals), berries (strawberries and red berries work the best), and many more.
Edible landscaping is an art, which once mastered, will forever reap healthy and nutritious, delicious benefits. If you are wondering how to grow your garden in an more productive manner, edible landscaping is the right way to go for it.