Edible Gardens
Landscape Design
8 Edible Garden Ideas From the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show
This year’s event offered inspiring tips and creative ideas for nurturing edible plants in a variety of outdoor spaces
The 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show (May 23 to 27) was packed with clever ideas and inspiration for growing vegetables, fruit and herbs. From drought-proof plants to ornamental edibles, water harvesting to small-space solutions, the ideas from the London show can help kick-start your own food-growing journey.
2. Mix Edibles and Ornamentals
Many of the designers blended edible plants into an ornamental scheme, highlighting the aesthetic value of fruit, vegetables and herbs as “edimentals.” In the Hamptons Mediterranean Garden, designer Filippo Dester placed an outdoor kitchen at the center, surrounding it with a mix of edible and ornamental plants.
The School Food Matters Garden by Harry Holding, seen here, showed ways to make food fun. The designer aimed to encourage children to explore and be inspired by the idea of edible plants by creating an immersive space that could be foraged.
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Many of the designers blended edible plants into an ornamental scheme, highlighting the aesthetic value of fruit, vegetables and herbs as “edimentals.” In the Hamptons Mediterranean Garden, designer Filippo Dester placed an outdoor kitchen at the center, surrounding it with a mix of edible and ornamental plants.
The School Food Matters Garden by Harry Holding, seen here, showed ways to make food fun. The designer aimed to encourage children to explore and be inspired by the idea of edible plants by creating an immersive space that could be foraged.
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
3. Place Raised Beds Close to the Kitchen
If growing vegetables traditionally is more your style, consider the show’s classic raised beds.They formed the heart of The Savills Garden by Mark Gregory, seen here.
Although ornamentals and edibles make up the garden, Gregory kept them relatively separate with a series of raised planters for the produce.These ensured that they were easily distinguishable from the ornamental plants.
Gregory placed the vegetable beds close to an outdoor kitchen, to create a garden-to-plate experience. You can re-create this idea at home by placing a raised bed close to the kitchen door.
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If growing vegetables traditionally is more your style, consider the show’s classic raised beds.They formed the heart of The Savills Garden by Mark Gregory, seen here.
Although ornamentals and edibles make up the garden, Gregory kept them relatively separate with a series of raised planters for the produce.These ensured that they were easily distinguishable from the ornamental plants.
Gregory placed the vegetable beds close to an outdoor kitchen, to create a garden-to-plate experience. You can re-create this idea at home by placing a raised bed close to the kitchen door.
Shop for outdoor products on Houzz
4. Start Small
While some gardens at Chelsea included large vegetable beds, others introduced edible plants in a smaller way.
The Alitex greenhouse showcased small and easy ideas for branching into edible gardening. For instance, seedlings sprouted from eggshells, and cress grew in cupcake liners. Both of these ideas would be easy to re-create on a windowsill and would be good projects for children.
10 Fun Outdoor Projects and Activities to Fill Summer Days
While some gardens at Chelsea included large vegetable beds, others introduced edible plants in a smaller way.
The Alitex greenhouse showcased small and easy ideas for branching into edible gardening. For instance, seedlings sprouted from eggshells, and cress grew in cupcake liners. Both of these ideas would be easy to re-create on a windowsill and would be good projects for children.
10 Fun Outdoor Projects and Activities to Fill Summer Days
5. Get Creative With Water Harvesting
Growing food can require a lot of water. Many of the show gardens referenced this fact with creative water harvesting ideas. The Hamptons Mediterranean Garden by Filippo Dester, seen here, featured a stone water channel that collected rainwater from a roof; the water then flowed through the garden and into a storage reservoir below ground. The RSPCA Garden by Martyn Wilson, meanwhile, featured a rain chain to direct rainwater from the roof down into a water barrel.
15 Ways to Create a Beautiful Water-Wise Landscape
Growing food can require a lot of water. Many of the show gardens referenced this fact with creative water harvesting ideas. The Hamptons Mediterranean Garden by Filippo Dester, seen here, featured a stone water channel that collected rainwater from a roof; the water then flowed through the garden and into a storage reservoir below ground. The RSPCA Garden by Martyn Wilson, meanwhile, featured a rain chain to direct rainwater from the roof down into a water barrel.
15 Ways to Create a Beautiful Water-Wise Landscape
6. Choose Drought-Proof Plants
Drought-tolerant plants go hand in hand with careful water harvesting, and many of the designers took this into account.
In The Platform Garden, seen here, designers Amelia Bouquet and Emilie Bausager used drought-tolerant edible plants, such as alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca, zones 5 to 9), in conjunction with smart rainwater-gathering planters.
Elsewhere, The School Food Matters Garden featured climate-adapted edible plants, as did the Hamptons Mediterranean Garden, which highlighted the use of herbs and plants suitable for a hot, dry climate.
9 Ways to Be Water-Wise in the Edible Garden
Drought-tolerant plants go hand in hand with careful water harvesting, and many of the designers took this into account.
In The Platform Garden, seen here, designers Amelia Bouquet and Emilie Bausager used drought-tolerant edible plants, such as alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca, zones 5 to 9), in conjunction with smart rainwater-gathering planters.
Elsewhere, The School Food Matters Garden featured climate-adapted edible plants, as did the Hamptons Mediterranean Garden, which highlighted the use of herbs and plants suitable for a hot, dry climate.
9 Ways to Be Water-Wise in the Edible Garden
7. Maximize Balcony Space
Many of this year’s balcony gardens (6½ by 16½ feet) featured edible plantings, showing that edibles can be grown in a variety of spaces. The St. George “Alight Here” Balcony Garden by Emma Tipping, seen here, included pots of highly scented edible herbs, such as mint and thyme.
The Rustic Recipes Reimagined garden also highlighted plants that can be grown in small spaces. “Balconies and terraces provide ample space for plants such as thyme, dwarf [zucchinis] and other [plants in the gourd family], and alpine strawberries [Fragaria vesca, zones 5 to 9],” says Charlotte Cole, who worked on the garden, “and even slightly different plants, such as chamomile, salad burnet and lemon balm, which can be harvested and used in both hot and cold beverages.”
Many of this year’s balcony gardens (6½ by 16½ feet) featured edible plantings, showing that edibles can be grown in a variety of spaces. The St. George “Alight Here” Balcony Garden by Emma Tipping, seen here, included pots of highly scented edible herbs, such as mint and thyme.
The Rustic Recipes Reimagined garden also highlighted plants that can be grown in small spaces. “Balconies and terraces provide ample space for plants such as thyme, dwarf [zucchinis] and other [plants in the gourd family], and alpine strawberries [Fragaria vesca, zones 5 to 9],” says Charlotte Cole, who worked on the garden, “and even slightly different plants, such as chamomile, salad burnet and lemon balm, which can be harvested and used in both hot and cold beverages.”
8. Make Space for Wildlife
Wildlife gardening and edible gardening were linked in many of the gardens at this year’s show, with creative ideas for wildlife habitats woven through the edible plantings.
The Restorative Balcony Garden by Christina Cobb, sponsored by Viking, featured pollinator-friendly plants and a birdbath alongside edibles and scented herbs, as did The School Food Matters Garden, which included brightly colored pollinators and a wildlife-friendly pond.
The Rustic Recipes Reimagined garden featured wildlife habitats, such as a beehive and hedgehog homes, alongside edible plants. “Animals and insects such as hedgehogs, [ladybugs] and hoverflies are brilliant at keeping harmful pest populations down in the garden, which results in healthier, tastier and bigger edible plants,” Charlotte Cole says. “This is why it’s so important to create spaces for wildlife, such as log piles and bird feeders, and plant a variety of hedging and flowering plants.”
How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden
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Wildlife gardening and edible gardening were linked in many of the gardens at this year’s show, with creative ideas for wildlife habitats woven through the edible plantings.
The Restorative Balcony Garden by Christina Cobb, sponsored by Viking, featured pollinator-friendly plants and a birdbath alongside edibles and scented herbs, as did The School Food Matters Garden, which included brightly colored pollinators and a wildlife-friendly pond.
The Rustic Recipes Reimagined garden featured wildlife habitats, such as a beehive and hedgehog homes, alongside edible plants. “Animals and insects such as hedgehogs, [ladybugs] and hoverflies are brilliant at keeping harmful pest populations down in the garden, which results in healthier, tastier and bigger edible plants,” Charlotte Cole says. “This is why it’s so important to create spaces for wildlife, such as log piles and bird feeders, and plant a variety of hedging and flowering plants.”
How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden
More on Houzz
What to Know About Adding or Renovating an Edible Garden
Read gardening guides
Find a landscape contractor to help with your project
Shop for outdoor furniture
When you’re planning a food garden, it pays to think creatively about what constitutes an edible plant. This was the concept behind the Rustic Recipes Reimagined garden by Sparsholt College and Chris Bird, seen here. It was packed with surprising edible plants, many of which are often considered ornamentals or weeds.
“It can be estimated there are between 5,000 and 20,000 species of edible plants in the wild, yet we tend to stick to around 20 in our daily diets,” says Charlotte Cole, who was part of the team behind the garden. Some of the surprising edibles in the garden were hostas, which Cole says can be eaten like asparagus, and young leaves of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica, USDA zones 4 to 7; find your zone), which “taste brilliant in salads” she says.
“My personal favorite is wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella),” Cole adds. “Its Latin name means ‘sour.’ Its citrus taste makes it a favorite as a garnish in salads to replace plants such as cress, and it’s readily available, since it often grows as a weed in gardens.”
Many of these plants can be woven into an existing planting scheme — or may already be growing in your garden. It must be noted, however, that correct identification of plants is paramount. Always use plant identification guides and consult professionals. Also, work with your local cooperative extension offices and reputable nurseries to ensure that you don’t add invasive plants to your yard.
Caution: Oxalis can be mildly to moderately poisonous for cats and dogs. If your pet likes to chew on plant leaves, keep this one out of reach.