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Vegetables and Flowers Mix in Beautiful Edible Gardens
Ornamentals, meet your edible garden mates. We know you'll get along just beautifully
I'm lead landscape designer at Grace Design Associates, a custom landscape design-build firm headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA. I’m a self-taught landscape designer and contractor with a degree in biology and minor in geology.
I’ve been hooked on gardening ever since I laid eyes on the teeny tiny Swiss Chard plant that sprang forth from the first improbable-looking seed I ever planted at the age of 10. I learned the practical side of design and construction from my very creative and resourceful (that is to say, broke) DIY parents, followed by a spate of home remodels in my twenties (seven houses in seven years!).
I definitely came to landscaping through a different door and I carry a different set of tools from my university trained colleagues. My designs are conceived as...
I'm lead landscape designer at Grace Design Associates, a custom landscape... More »
Expanses of ornamentals planted principally for aesthetics in days past were to be found exclusively in the gardens of the wealthiest land baron or royal. There was little value for the average citizen in spending time and resources cultivating plants that didn't produce something useful. The yard was a plot for raising plants used for food, medicine, seasoning, scents and more.
We no longer rely on the yard solely for its production value, nor is a garden composed entirely of ornamentals beyond the reach of the average Joe or Jane. But doesn't a garden composed of plants both beautiful and productive make sense? Say hello to the blended garden — or what I affectionately refer to as a cottage-potage garden — where fruits, herbs and veggies mix freely with ornamental species.
No need to lump the veggie garden in with the laundry line, garbage cans, compost bins and other drab service areas. Sure, a veggie garden can look a little punk in the off-season, but with a little imagination, it doesn't have to.
Beauty and Bounty
It's time to stop banishing the edibles to the back 40 and bring them front and center. Feature them. Flaunt them. Celebrate them. Mix edibles into your borders; plant veggies and herbs in beautiful containers scattered throughout your outdoor spaces, add fruit trees along the curb strip. Need a shade tree? Pick one that provides fruit as well. Need to screen something out of your view? Try a fast-growing evergreen fruiting vine.
By integrating edibles and ornamentals we get beauty and bounty — while squeezing the most out of the time and resources we spend in our modern-day yard. You're just a few strawberry plants, some lettuce seeds and maybe a fruit tree or two away from your own beautiful and highly productive cottage-potage garden.
We no longer rely on the yard solely for its production value, nor is a garden composed entirely of ornamentals beyond the reach of the average Joe or Jane. But doesn't a garden composed of plants both beautiful and productive make sense? Say hello to the blended garden — or what I affectionately refer to as a cottage-potage garden — where fruits, herbs and veggies mix freely with ornamental species.
No need to lump the veggie garden in with the laundry line, garbage cans, compost bins and other drab service areas. Sure, a veggie garden can look a little punk in the off-season, but with a little imagination, it doesn't have to.
Beauty and Bounty
It's time to stop banishing the edibles to the back 40 and bring them front and center. Feature them. Flaunt them. Celebrate them. Mix edibles into your borders; plant veggies and herbs in beautiful containers scattered throughout your outdoor spaces, add fruit trees along the curb strip. Need a shade tree? Pick one that provides fruit as well. Need to screen something out of your view? Try a fast-growing evergreen fruiting vine.
By integrating edibles and ornamentals we get beauty and bounty — while squeezing the most out of the time and resources we spend in our modern-day yard. You're just a few strawberry plants, some lettuce seeds and maybe a fruit tree or two away from your own beautiful and highly productive cottage-potage garden.
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| The cottage-potage garden. I imagine the historic predecessor of what I call the cottage-potage garden might have looked a bit like this garden, with edibles such as kale (in the foreground), herbs and squash (adjacent to the house) planted here and there alongside scented flowers and ornamentals. |
| My own blended garden. My own garden has seen a lot of change over the 20-plus years I've been tending it. I began raising produce in large, colorful containers set among flowering perennials in the curb strip and along the driveway about eight years ago. The large pots provide plenty of no-bend, clean-shoe gardening (my favorite kind). The pots are placed where there's great sun exposure and air circulation, providing structure, color and interest to the garden. They look great at the height of the growing season and in the off-season as well. I come home at the end of the day and spend about five minutes between the curb and my front door. By the time I cross the threshold with a handful of fresh fare, I've figured out what's for dinner and decompressed from the stresses of the day. Tip: To hold down costs, I selected pots from the heavily discounted "seconds, chips and dings" section at large pottery supply stores. |
A space-saving, high-density producer. Watermelon is tucked below the towering hollyhocks to squeeze the most out of the space in this free-spirited garden.
by HUISSTYLING
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Small space? Espalier and graft. Apple, pear, fig and other fruit trees are easily espaliered (trained to grow flat against a wall, a trellis or an arrangement of stakes). This espalier provides screening and fresh fruit.
Tip: Want more kinds of fruit than you've got space for trees? Select "fruit salad" trees with multiple varieties grafted onto a single espaliered plant.
Tip: Want more kinds of fruit than you've got space for trees? Select "fruit salad" trees with multiple varieties grafted onto a single espaliered plant.
Ditch the orchard. Newly planted espaliered apple trees are at home in this perennial border, providing bushels of apples to go with an abundance of fresh bouquets. These trees have been trained as cordons, the familiar form of grape vines. Growth is limited to a few principal horizontal branches within easy reach.
The cordoned apples provide needed screening for this front-yard garden, and the nearby flowers attract pollinators, which enhance fruit production.
Tip: Annual dormant-season pruning increases the number and density of fruit buds, reducing the overall footprint of the tree while maintaining high yields.
This garden is located on a quarter-acre four-unit multifamily residential site in downtown Santa Barbara, California. Vegetables, herbs, ornamentals and more than 30 fruit trees joyfully, beautifully and fruitfully coexist, thriving on harvested rainwater. Talk about getting the most out of your resources!
The cordoned apples provide needed screening for this front-yard garden, and the nearby flowers attract pollinators, which enhance fruit production.
Tip: Annual dormant-season pruning increases the number and density of fruit buds, reducing the overall footprint of the tree while maintaining high yields.
This garden is located on a quarter-acre four-unit multifamily residential site in downtown Santa Barbara, California. Vegetables, herbs, ornamentals and more than 30 fruit trees joyfully, beautifully and fruitfully coexist, thriving on harvested rainwater. Talk about getting the most out of your resources!
| The modern edible. The blended garden readily adapts to any garden style. Fruit trees are seamlessly incorporated into this modern outdoor sitting area, elevating the space from merely beautiful to bountiful as well. |
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| Double-duty design. A vine-laden arbor provides shade for an outdoor dining room and heaps of fresh table grapes. These vigorous vines aren't too fussy about soil, can withstand periods of drought once established and, other than annual pruning and a little tying up, require little maintenance. Consider planting several varieties of grape on a large arbor for a cornucopia of fresh fruit. Vines are not the only fruit that can be trained to grow overhead. Although slower than vines, lemon, lime, fig, apple and pear — to name just a few — are great choices to cover an arbor or a pergola. Tip: Use a deciduous vine such as grape or kiwifruit where you want to have shade in the summer and sun in the winter. |
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| Variety is the spice of life. Look for interesting color and form in the wide variety of veggies, herbs and fruits available. A wealth of beautiful forms and colors exist to add interest to perennial beds and containers. Or try a twist on the veggie garden that you'll be thrilled to feature front and center. In this photo, colorful row crops are laid out on a jaunty angle, adding play and movement to the composition. |
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| Exploit the ornamental qualities of food-bearing plants. Artichokes, for instance, are strikingly beautiful incorporated into a planting scheme. They provide color, texture and structural interest — as well as a delicious feast. Eat them when they're young and tasty for the freshest 'choke you've ever had, and leave a few to develop into huge, dramatic purple-blue blooms to cut and bring indoors. |
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| Still prefer a traditional veggie patch? No problem — keep the veggies together but give some thought to the layout and construction of beds. Break out of the standard 4 feet by 8 feet raised wood beds lined up along the back property line. Give your beds style and an attractive layout that looks great year-round. Include a space for lounging, dining or entertaining. Low stone walls add structure, enclosure, visual interest and additional seating in this combined veggie garden and dining patio. |
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| Veggies plus play. Raised Cor-Ten beds are superstylish and play well with the steel-edged boccie court. Look for opportunities to integrate your veggie patch with other outdoor spaces to get the most use, value and joy from your garden. |
| Strong structure for strong interest. This parterre-inspired veggie garden, with its strong architectural lines, is attractive year-round. Add the playful sprinkler — which looks like an armillary sphere when not in operation — and you have a vegetable garden that's fetching enough for center stage. |
| Make raised beds a focal point. Rather than hide the veg patch from view, these homeowners chose to cultivate their produce in beautiful raised stone beds, which also serve as a focal point at the end of their backyard. The stone walls provide extra seating for large gatherings and bring crops within easy reach without the need for bending or stooping. More: Experiments Aplenty Fill Vancouver Edible Garden |
Comments
judyg FOR ANYONE VACATIONING ON THE CAPE THIS SUMMER, THE ADORABLE ANTIQUE CAPE IN THE FIRST PICTURE IS ON COMMERCIAL STREET IN PROVINCETOWN.
11 months ago · Like
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mcd53 My husbands grandfather lived in Broward county and he could grow anything, and he did. He had a scupanong arbor, pineapples, tomatoe, peppers spices...you name it he had it. And all on a 1/2 with his home. My children loved to go out back with gramps and 'help' him. He immigrated from Sicily when he was 11 and he loved growing anything. Me, I can do cucumber and squash but I'm afraid to try anything else. Beautiful gardens, beautiful memories.
11 months ago · Like
mcd53 My husbands grandfather lived in Broward county and he could grow anything, and he did. He had a scupanong arbor, pineapples, tomatoe, peppers spices...you name it he had it. And all on a 1/2 with his home. My children loved to go out back with gramps and 'help' him. He immigrated from Sicily when he was 11 and he loved growing anything. Me, I can do cucumber and squash but I'm afraid to try anything else. Beautiful gardens, beautiful memories.
11 months ago · Like
Beth Sadly some areas of the states don't allow any food plants to be grown in the front yard so check with your county/town to see what the laws are, and if needed change them so you can grow vegetables, berry bushes and trees in the front card with flowers.
11 months ago · Like
mcd53 Thank you for telling me because that would have never even crossed my mind. I always check where lines are buried etc, but I had never even though of that.
11 months ago · Like
Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates Regarding the "no food growing in the front yard" ordinances: I say a little civil disobedience is called for! Plant it, make it beautiful and if you attract the ire of the city fathers, demand the change that's needed. You'll have my support,
11 months ago · Like
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Diane L garbage can spoils the picture
11 months ago · Like
Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates Ahhhhh. Perhaps it does... Every year we work with a well-known publisher which publishes over 50 titles, including 12 "lifestyle" magazines, one of which has circulation of 8 million, another with 5 million subscribers. The editor of the largest lifestyle magazine has for the past three years been including the hose, the tools, the real stuff of a working garden in the shots they take of our gardens. We used to sanitize the shot while staging it; never would you see the "working bits" of a garden. I think I like the honest shot better...
11 months ago · Like
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mcd53 Margie grace ...I like you. I used a wheelbarrow to haul my working tools until the day I decided to make it a really big pretty planter. Now it's usually a bucket on each arm. And my cucumber vines are so pretty.
11 months ago · Like
samandella Wow. Ur gorgeous garden would have been raided here in staten island, ny. Love the watermelon idea. May try the pots up front next year if I win lotto. Great ideas.
11 months ago · Like
mcd53 I hope I don't get in big trouble. I have beautiful blueberry bushes out front too, about 9 growing around a pine tree.
11 months ago · Like
Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates Su-weet! Let me know if the blueberry police show up --- we can chain ourselves to the bushes in an act of civil disobedience.
11 months ago · Like
zombieknit I agree with Margie Grace, civil disobedience in the front garden, or just say that the plants may look like they are edible, but are actually the non-edible, ornamental variety that is toxic if eaten in large quantities, and specially bred to be pretty but useless. After all, some flowers are put into salads and the heart of the cabbage tree is edible (hence the name). And tomatoes are part of the nightshade family. Who is to say what is a food plant and what isn't. Apart from hemlock.
11 months ago · Like
Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates I'm with you, zombieknit. And remember, this article is pointing to the idea of a blended garden - a mixture of edibles and ornamentals. Need a shade tree - put in an apricot! Integrate some edible greens and herbs with your flowers! Go with something more subtle than a bunch of raised beds plunked down in the front yard...
11 months ago · Like
imissliberty Watch out for City ordinances! Know your rights before you start. Keep an eye on the city council, because they tend to revise ordinances in the direction of less freedom. Mine was about to approve an absolute ban on "cellulose debris" (e.g., mulch, chips, compost), anything that attracts vermin (insects included!), and personal property visible from the public right of way (e.g., your car, garden hoses, drapes, welcome mats, flower pots, clothing). If I hadn't alerted the neighbors to the proposed illegality of rose bushes, mulch, and freedom, they would have passed it. The existing ordinance only banned those things if they brought down the neighbors' property values "substantially" or represented a danger to the public; the new one severed that tie, and would have banned "plants that attract insects" etc., outright. The new ordinance banned "unsightly attics, mezzanines, and basements," too. Private property requires constant defense. My city also had limits on the parkway (strip between sidewalk and street) and prohibits anything that blocks passage across it from car to sidewalk (only selectively enforced, however).
7 months ago · Like
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ajdt Imissliberty- where do you live?! That town sounds like it needs an uprising!
8 weeks ago · Like
Ideabook updated on July 22, 2012.
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