What is Edible Landscaping?
Simply put, edible landscaping replaces plants that are merely ornamental with food producing plants, allowing you to create a multi-functional landscape providing returns (fruits, berries, etc.) on your investment of water, fertilizer, and time. Lets face it, adding a plant to the landscape that only offers one season of interest or one function in the garden is an unaffordable luxury on todays smaller home lots.
Edible landscaping is a general term used to describe the practice of growing landscape plants that are also edible. It is, essentially, the combination of the food garden with the ornamental garden, recognizing that many food plants are attractive in addition to bearing crops. The movement for edible landscaping has been around since at least the first World War, and have begun to see a massive revival around the United States and Europe. Historically, the idea of ornamental gardens was relatively rare, and was seen only among the wealthiest sectors of society. In the post-Industrial age, however, many people began planting lawns and flower gardens on their own properties, to create tranquil locales reminiscent of the picturesque gardens of antiquity. This trend continued through the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th century, when it abruptly shifted with the onset of World War I. During both World War I and World War II, the idea of rationing was put forward by most nat
Edible landscaping is the use of food-producing plants in the constructed landscape, principally the residential landscape. Edible landscapes combine fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and ornamental plants into aesthetically pleasing designs. These designs can incorporate any garden style and can include anywhere from 1-100% edible species (Figure 1).
What is edible landscaping? The question of whether you can grow vegetables and fruit in your yard is a no-brainer. Tidy green rows of vegetable gardens dot neighborhoods across the United States during the warmer months. An activity most popular among people over 50, the National Garden Association estimates that about 22 percent of Americans have some sort of vegetable garden [source: Fischer]. Gardening Image Gallery But one distinguishing feature among many of these crop-yielding plots is their location. Many times, people till up plots of dirt hidden away from the front lawn. Although pleasant to look at during harvest time, vegetable gardens often defer to flowering ones
The question of whether you can grow vegetables and fruit in your yard is a no-brainer. Tidy green rows of vegetable gardens dot neighborhoods across the United States during the warmer months. An activity most popular among people over 50, the National Garden Association estimates that about 22 percent of Americans have some sort of vegetable garden [source: Fischer]. Gardening Image Gallery But one distinguishing feature among many of these crop-yielding plots is their location. Many times, people till up plots of dirt hidden away from the front lawn. Although pleasant to look at during harvest time, vegetable gardens often defer to flowering ones when it comes to prominence
