Edible Landscaping

4 Ways and more to Incorporate Vegetables and Fruits Into Your Yard

Plant based diets are growing in popularity but you don’t need to tear up the yard to harvest chard for your smoothie or mint for that mojito. Functional, edible plants can fit perfectly and beautifully into your landscape. Here’s how;

EDIBLE SHRUBS AND TREES

Blueberries make great plantings around your home’s foundation.They flower white, then produce those antioxidant-rich blue fruits and transition to a beautiful red fall color. Apples are easier with a self-pollinating apple tree called “Triple Play”. It’s ‘Sweet 16’, ‘Cortland’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ all grafted into one tree. Yum. The Mesabe Cherry tree supplies plenty of pie cherries, with no major insect issues and takes up just 8-10 feet of space fitting nicely into suburban lots. Serviceberry shrubs are popular sellers here at the Mustard Seed Garden Center. ‘Regent’, ’Autumn Brilliance’ and ‘Saskatoon’ bloom white and produce between ¼ and ½ inch berries that make for delicious jam. Grape varieties such as ‘Edelweiss' (a white grape) and ‘Blue Beauty’ look beautiful climbing up a trellis or arbor while you pick enough fruit for juice or jelly.

VEGETABLES IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

Why not line your walkway with lettuce , or let strawberries cascade down that boulder wall? Rhubarb with it’s large, deeply veined leaves and ruby red stalks creates bold interest next to your smaller annuals or perennials. Asparagus after the spring harvest produces an interesting wispy stem up to 6 feet tall providing a nice screen in the summer. A word of caution , prior to planting vegetables in the landscape keep in mind your light, soil and water conditions. Vegetables need 6 hours of direct sun a day (root vegetables and lettuce can stand partial shade or morning sun) and they need well drained loose soil. You may need to add compost, manure or worm castings to improve drainage and nutrients. They also need water every two to three days. So make sure the hose reaches!

BOUNTIFUL CONTAINERS

Raised planter boxes on wheels, window/deck planter boxes, and containers allow you to have veggies grown in quality soil, with better weed and critter control on your deck, patio or balcony! The Mustard Seed is also carrying a new line of contemporary styled and insulated metal containers meant for Minnesota’s drastic range in temperatures as well as a line of various sized galvanized feeder troughs for that Modern Farmhouse look. Once again make sure you’ve got 6 hours of sun and drainage holes in your containers. Vegetable garden pots should be at least 12 inches tall and deep. Many veggies perform better in pots, such as peppers. Tomatoes are popular as are space saving varieties of cucumbers. Herb window boxes can be just as pretty and productive as flowers. Plant some tri-colored sage , golden thyme, or lavender for variation in color and under plant with flowering edible pollinators such as nasturtiums and marigolds. Themed gardens are fun. Why not plant a large Salsa container filled with peppers, tomatillos, and cilantro? Or a breakfast smoothie container with Chard, spinach, strawberries and cucumber? There’s something especially satisfying about picking and snipping fresh vegetables for gatherings at home or as gifts to give!

RAISED BEDS IN THE FRONT YARD

Vegetables don’t have to be relegated to the back yard. If you only have sun in the front yard then put your veggies on display out front! Timber framed or raised stone beds are aesthetically pleasing enough for the front yard. They look especially tidy when surrounded by an English garden fence and formalized with metal trellis’s or obelisks for pole beans, cucumbers or peas to climb. Statuary or fountains in the middle provide nice focal points amid raised beds of less formal zucchini and walkable pathways of mulch or gravel. Place a bench inside to rest and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Ah! Now that’s a functional oasis. Time now to look at that yard and figure out where to tuck in those vegetables for a productive and delicious summer! We are happy to help you plan it out at The Mustard Seed Garden Center!

Lisa Engstrom - TMS Container Design Mgr.