10 Container Gardens That Mix Edible and Ornamental Plants
Fruits, flowers, herbs and vegetables come together in potted combinations that are as pretty as they are productive
Having limited space for potted plants doesn’t mean you need to give up flowers in order to grow tasty tomatoes or a pot of herbs. Ornamental plants in potted edible displays not only look beautiful but can also attract pollinators and, in the case of marigolds, ward off pests. Take a look at these 10 potted vignettes by landscape designers on Houzz that combine ornamental and edible plants in fresh ways.
2. Rooftop Garden
For this Boston rooftop garden designed for a home cook, landscape designer Jean Brooks cleverly worked vegetables, ornamentals and pretty culinary herbs into side-by-side containers. Two tomato plants occupy the largest planters, with culinary parsley, sage, variegated thyme and (nonedible) purple heuchera plants for foliage contrast. Brooks planted nonedible stonecrop (Sedum sieboldii) in the container closest to the ground.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
For this Boston rooftop garden designed for a home cook, landscape designer Jean Brooks cleverly worked vegetables, ornamentals and pretty culinary herbs into side-by-side containers. Two tomato plants occupy the largest planters, with culinary parsley, sage, variegated thyme and (nonedible) purple heuchera plants for foliage contrast. Brooks planted nonedible stonecrop (Sedum sieboldii) in the container closest to the ground.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
3. Baskets of Herbs and Boxwood
This tiered courtyard garden in London’s Chelsea neighborhood presents potted boxwood and herbs in a fresh way. The display features alternating baskets of evergreen boxwood and culinary herbs, adding pleasing swaths of green to the patio that are easily accessible for clipping.
Water requirement: Moderate (for boxwood) to regular (for herbs)
Light requirement: Full sun
Work with a landscape designer on your edible garden
This tiered courtyard garden in London’s Chelsea neighborhood presents potted boxwood and herbs in a fresh way. The display features alternating baskets of evergreen boxwood and culinary herbs, adding pleasing swaths of green to the patio that are easily accessible for clipping.
Water requirement: Moderate (for boxwood) to regular (for herbs)
Light requirement: Full sun
Work with a landscape designer on your edible garden
4. Pops of Color
In a compact veggie garden in Massachusetts, red and pink zinnias provide hits of color and are attractive beacons for pollinators amidst plantings of sprouting broccoli, romaine lettuce and sweet basil.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
In a compact veggie garden in Massachusetts, red and pink zinnias provide hits of color and are attractive beacons for pollinators amidst plantings of sprouting broccoli, romaine lettuce and sweet basil.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
5. Edible Flowers
Edible blooms can be a great way to add color to edible container gardens. Edible flowers like nasturtium, pictured in this design by Margie Grace growing alongside a purple aeonium, do double duty in containers: They offer blooms that look pretty and can be clipped to use in preparing dishes. Other edible flowers to try: pansy, borage, calendula, lavender, violet and rose. The flowers of culinary herbs, such as chives and thyme, can also be added to salads or used as a garnish.
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Edible blooms can be a great way to add color to edible container gardens. Edible flowers like nasturtium, pictured in this design by Margie Grace growing alongside a purple aeonium, do double duty in containers: They offer blooms that look pretty and can be clipped to use in preparing dishes. Other edible flowers to try: pansy, borage, calendula, lavender, violet and rose. The flowers of culinary herbs, such as chives and thyme, can also be added to salads or used as a garnish.
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
6. Yellow on Blue
In another edible container design by Pamela Crawford, the designer stuck to a striking yellow-and-cobalt palette to show off potted ‘Yellow Pear’ tomatoes flanking a doorway. Crawford mounded long-blooming melampodium at the base of the tomato plants and in the wall-mounted planter.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular; keep the soil moist
Light requirement: Full sun
In another edible container design by Pamela Crawford, the designer stuck to a striking yellow-and-cobalt palette to show off potted ‘Yellow Pear’ tomatoes flanking a doorway. Crawford mounded long-blooming melampodium at the base of the tomato plants and in the wall-mounted planter.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular; keep the soil moist
Light requirement: Full sun
7. Lush Lettuces
The partially shaded area at the base of potted trees or large shrubs offers a perfect niche for growing leafy salad greens in late spring and early summer. Here, landscape consultant Noelle Johnson in Phoenix used a combination of bright green lettuces and blue-flowering lobelia to create a beautiful and productive underplanting for a potted tree.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular; keep the soil moist
Light requirement: Partial shade
The partially shaded area at the base of potted trees or large shrubs offers a perfect niche for growing leafy salad greens in late spring and early summer. Here, landscape consultant Noelle Johnson in Phoenix used a combination of bright green lettuces and blue-flowering lobelia to create a beautiful and productive underplanting for a potted tree.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular; keep the soil moist
Light requirement: Partial shade
8. Sorrel and Pansies
As another option for partial-sun gardens, consider red-veined sorrel (Rumex acetosa), which looks highly decorative in mixed containers. Gardeners generally grow sorrel as an annual, snipping young, tender leaves. The plant can also be treated as a perennial, as it comes back year after year in the ground or in containers. Here, sorrel grows alongside edible pansy, which could easily be swapped for nonedible waterhyssop (Bacopa spp.) or edible variegated thyme for summer.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
As another option for partial-sun gardens, consider red-veined sorrel (Rumex acetosa), which looks highly decorative in mixed containers. Gardeners generally grow sorrel as an annual, snipping young, tender leaves. The plant can also be treated as a perennial, as it comes back year after year in the ground or in containers. Here, sorrel grows alongside edible pansy, which could easily be swapped for nonedible waterhyssop (Bacopa spp.) or edible variegated thyme for summer.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
9. Fruit Tree Espaliers
One would not expect to be able to harvest orchard fruit from a Parisian rooftop, but this potted landscape design by Alexandre Duval-Bossennec allows just that. Espaliered pear trees grow in large planters, underplanted with evergreen foliage plants and bee-friendly purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis).
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
One would not expect to be able to harvest orchard fruit from a Parisian rooftop, but this potted landscape design by Alexandre Duval-Bossennec allows just that. Espaliered pear trees grow in large planters, underplanted with evergreen foliage plants and bee-friendly purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis).
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
10. Sweet Surprise
If you add one edible plant other than herbs to containers this summer, make it a strawberry plant. Easy to grow and perfect for tucking into corners of full-sun container plantings, strawberries offer pretty three-leaved foliage and delicious berries from June through fall, depending on the variety. For partially shaded spots, choose alpine-type strawberries, such as bright chartreuse ‘Golden Alexandria’, that can tolerate lower light.
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
If you add one edible plant other than herbs to containers this summer, make it a strawberry plant. Easy to grow and perfect for tucking into corners of full-sun container plantings, strawberries offer pretty three-leaved foliage and delicious berries from June through fall, depending on the variety. For partially shaded spots, choose alpine-type strawberries, such as bright chartreuse ‘Golden Alexandria’, that can tolerate lower light.
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Your turn: Do you like to mix edible and ornamental plants in your container gardens? Tell us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
10 Easy Edibles to Grow in Containers
Get more container garden inspiration
Find a landscape designer near you
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More on Houzz
10 Easy Edibles to Grow in Containers
Get more container garden inspiration
Find a landscape designer near you
Shop for gardening tools
Glazed containers and attractive trellises provide growing space for a trio of pepper and cherry tomato plants. The potted gardens seen here, by landscape designer Pamela Crawford, are just as decorative as ornamental-only versions yet offer the sweet rewards of a summer harvest. The bright zinnias that fill in around the edges attract pollinators — great for producing high tomato and pepper yields — and beneficial insects like ladybugs.
Water requirement: Moderate to regular
Light requirement: Full sun
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