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Environment Blog
03/18/10
Incorporating edibles into your landscape
 Building a sustainable future starts with the development of an interactive relationship with our environment. The natural cycles of life and the connections between healthy soil, air, and water and the well-being of ourselves and our families become obvious to the gardener. In this day of modern technology many of us have lost the connection to the earth. In an effort to regain our relationship to our planet I’m challenging everyone to consider starting their own organic, edible garden. Ornamental gardens are beautiful, but lack the engagement of one of our senses – taste!
Besides just providing us with tasty meals, edible gardens also provide other benefits such as:
- Lowering the cost of providing your family with healthy, organic food sources
- Reducing the environmental impact of transporting and warehousing food
- Providing a fun activity for your family to connect with their environment
- Giving children a sense of ownership (they may even enjoy eating their veggies!)
If an area for a ‘garden’ is not available consider incorporating edibles into your landscape. For instance,  Viburnum dentatum (Arrowwood Viburnum) is a great shrub for screening but also has edible fruit. Though they need an acidic and well-drained soil, blueberries make a great landscape shrub. Their flowers and fruits are very attractive and their fall color ranges from a brilliant orange to red. Although not quite as ornamental, currants and gooseberries are effective in the residential landscape. When selecting an ornamental tree, consider apple, edible crabapple, cherry, plum or hardy pear. All are beautiful when in bloom. If you are looking to add some texture to an existing garden, not many leaves are as bold as rhubarb and for a narrow, upright texture, asparagus is a tasty spring treat. Strawberries make a great groundcover for a sunny location and grapes are very effective to hide an unsightly chain link fence. There are many other possibilities. Visit your local garden center or call a landscape professional to plan your personal farmer’s market right in your back yard. by Elizabeth Wynne
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