Unexpected Edible Gardens

Denise Vilim Great post! I never would have thought to include herbs or veggie plants in my landscape/garden before! Thanks for the idea!

sharivars Nicely done. I love to mix veggies and herbs into my landscape. It's especially nice in a hot climate (I live in Texas), where you can grow your winter crops (like broccoli, lettuce and spinach) in your beds where you have cut back deciduous perennial flowers for the cold season. Keeps things green year round, not to mention practical.

lindseyakin We have blueberry bushes with strawberries as ground cover either side of the path to our front door. We've also planted lemon, meyer lemon and nectarine trees already (closed on the house - a fixer-upper - last June), and various herbs in the front garden. At the side of the house, we have peas, kale, and chilis at the moment, as the peas and kale die back we're replacing with tomatoes for the summer.

We plan on doing another 10 or so trees, so that they are approx. every 10ft down the length of the property, front to back, its south facing so we're very lucky. We're going to put in blood orange, orange, fig, pomegranate, apple, cherry, kaffir lime, avocado, peach and others. Can you tell we're in CA?!

Becky Harris You are soooo lucky lindsey! And resourceful. Blueberry bushes are one of my all-time favorites, and I've always dreamed of having a fruit tree.

Molto Bene Studios yeah, mint is wonderfully prolific. I highly recommend it for any gardeners who think they have a black thumb. I am working out how to get my vegetable garden going, so this was very helpful. My backyard gets no light, so whatever veggie gardening I do has to look pretty

Danielle I am designating a front garden plot to herbs this year...it seems to have the perfect conditions for it so the new owners are going to get a lovely treat!

dgbeig You don't need a huge garden to plant vegetable and fruit.
I've been gardening in the Bay Area for almost 10 years and use containers as well as the ground. You can grow almost anything in a container if big enough.

Some vegetables are also quite beautiful and can add a lot of color. See my purple peas, for example.

http://www.plantitgrowitcookit.com

halai I live in Dubai and here it's so difficult to get anything to grow. I wud love to have herb gardens

cmwms We are constructing wooden raised bed style SIPs (sub irrigated planters) for outdoor vegetables. (Info via insideurbangreen.org) Another option would be commercial products like Earthboxes or various DIY alternatives. For inside gardening, we have ordered three Aerogarden units to provide fresh small vegetables, herbs and/or flowers all year. A less expensive or DIY option for small indoor spaces (urban dwellers) can be found at windowfarms.org.

lwarren2 When our old veggie garden was rendered useless due to invading roots from nearby trees, we ordered some boxes with bottoms. We stacked 2 boxes on top of the old veggie bed which makes it a convenient height, and ordered one with a pedestal which raises the box to a height of 39". The boxes are lined with plastic; holes are punched for drainage. It's just getting going, so there are lots of blank spots at the moment.

Sue Fiorentini This is a hot trend with my clients too. I have been incorporating fruits and vegetable in the traditional landscape. Thanks Becky for a timely post.

Julie Earnest Becky, I ALWAYS love your posts! When I moved to Portland, OR 2 yrs ago from Calif. I had to get used to a new way of growing things....so I hired yourbackyardfarmers.com to come install a veggie garden on my lawn - it was amazing. I got to choose what I wanted to eat from an online menu, and they plopped the whole thing down on top of my grass (which I detest). Now I know how to do it, and have had a thriving veggie/ornamental garden for 2 years myself. Slowly doing away with all the grass....Most recently installed a blueberry hedge with strawberry border along the street so the neighbors will be able to graze as they walk by!

dancingfish As someone who lives in a wooded setting the only spot that gets full sun is on our Deck! We purchased GrowBoxes (planters that water from below) and have Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers growing on the deck--

Gail Love this set of ideas, so enjoy seeing how others garden, such a wealth of ideas.

I like to use wine barrels for my tomatoes. Have raised beds for other veggies. I have sticky black dirt that is very high in alkaline so having the raised beds helps. Am working on amending the soil, which takes time.

Gina Amazing post! Thanks for sharing. You've inspired me to give an herb garden another shot. :)

Becky Harris Hey Urban Gardeners! I'm so glad everyone is having so much fun with this post! One thing I should add is that if your house pre-dates lead-paint, have your soil tested. I remember reading that a lot of the soil in the Prospect Park neighborhood had a high lead content because of paint-scraping projects.

mamadama I too have a raised garden bed, potted herbs, and blueberries waiting to be planted. I've heard that some places in America have outlawed backyard gardens! Can't imagine a more oppressive law, is it true?

Becky Harris mama, I heard that about clotheslines but not gardens, though it wouldn't surprise me in gated community Stepford world!

CJ Sebert Great ideabook! I love the idea that a functioning garden can look good as it tastes!

marissa camacho I am very lucky to have a maid who has a green thumb and spends her afternoons puttering in our garden--quite a small space--so i just love it when passersby ooh and aah as they see all the vegetables and herbs she has managed to cultivate. The garden looks lush and the edibles mix with the flowers for added interest. We have dill, oregano, basil, mint, arugula, mixed salad greens, bok choi, cherry tomatoes, limes, bell peppers, carrots, garlic, onion and ginger. Needless to say, salads are a cinch to prepare and the savings are great. We planted chipotles, jalapenos, bird's eye and Korean chili in pots which we bring into the house as they look very ornamental and add a pop of color. We have no kids so chilies in the house are no problem.

mikimootk Great post with simple ideas that have huge possibilities! I've enjoyed reading the comments as well! Thank you!

girlwhorocksutah.com I am in Utah, and have a flat roof. My goal is a rooftop strawberry patch.

Robert Mace b: I am one of your "lurking" fans. Love your posts! -r.

Becky Harris Thanks so much for everyone to commenting on this ideabook, and especially for sharing your own images!

sherrivaters I love all of these ideas to add edibles to your garden. I will be working on being creative this spring. I saw another idea recently where they had taken lengths of gutters and capped the ends and hung them from the exterior wall of the garden shed. Planted with varieties of lettuces it looked marvelous!