Got your attention huh?!
I must confess- I am a yard eater...and I want you to become one also.
I am about to embark on stage #2 of my edible landscaping project which will be BIGGER and BETTER than stage #1. Do you see that cute little picture of peas above? Well, the little cutie was popped right off a vine growing in one of my planters in our front walkway. The 'green' term for this new endevour of mine is called 'Edible Landscaping'.
What is this 'Edible Landscaping' you may be asking (or maybe you're not and you just want to finish reading this post so you can grab another chocolate bar. Who knows!) , and so I shall tell you!
Edible Landscaping pretty much means what it sounds like- it is the idea that you would plant your planters/beds/classy frontyard toilet planter/hanging baskets/etc. with edible plants (fruits, veggies, herbs, and even some edible flowers) instead of landscaping with whatever Lowe's or WalMart has to offer.
My reason for eating my front yard: Besides wanting to give my neighbors a bit of entertainment and something else to talk about I just really enjoy gardening. Always have. My mom can make anything grow! As a little girl I would watch how she made garden beds and walkways and needless to say around our playhouse (you know the one: yellow, pink door, plastic, bluegreen roof) I had the FINEST looking weed bed! Also, my husband and I live in a townhouse that is blessed with a deck and a backyard, yet the backyard hardly gets sun. We are living the poor-but-happy newlywed life and growing what foods we can helps us to save money. Edible landscaping is a perfect idea for people who do not have room or time for a full garden-like us! Also, not much gardening knowledge is needed to start either. Have I sold you on the idea yet???? If yes- proceed to next paragraph. If no- still proceed because the chocolate can wait! (I <3 chocolate btw)
Stage #1 Ups and Downs:
Before you embark on my same journey (because I know that all of you reading this are thinking that this is the greatest idea ever and can't wait for my next AMAZING post to come out...one can dream!) here is what I've noted so far.
Pick plants that are season appropriate. You may be an awesome person but unless you live in Africa tomatoes will not grow in your pots in the middle of winter. Also, monitor your weather because if you're having an unusually warm winter like I am you may be able to grow some un-season plants.
Water! I have about 3 pretty painted pots ( I totally rock the illiteration) that line our walkway. Unfortunately, they don't water themselves so I must. Anything that is not directly in the ground tends to dry out quickly. You'll probably have to water everyday or every other day. You can always do the technical touch-the-dirt-and-if-it-feels-dry-then-water-it test. :)
Try Seeds- Seeds= less expensive than more mature plants (See, maturity is not always a good thing!) Empty egg cartons filled with dirt make great starter planters. However, I would use the styrofoam cartons because the water cartons tend to get mooshy...GROSH!
Try, Try Again- My plants didn't do so well this season because the weather was SO warm. My poor lil brocoli plant got a tan! Do I despair? NOPE! I try again- thus....
Stage #2:
This stage has me thinking- really thinking! And you can think too!...if you try edible landscaping! (I guess otherwise you wouldn't think....hmm maybe time for coffee and CHOCOLATE for me!) My frontyard gets almost a full day's worth of sun and tomatoes love sun, so large weeping tomato plants with red fruit coming out of my pots would look nice against my baby blue townhouse. Also, I have a corner in my backyard that gets a pretty good amount of sun and something tall would look nice, so I'm thinking corn! You can also think like me! What the idea of edible landscaping will make you do is look at edible plants in a new way. As you walk through the garden section look at the aestheticly pleasing qualities each edible plant has and whether or not that would look good in your landscaping.
If you truly are interested I would also look into companion planting (what plants grow best by each other. Some plants actually act as bug repellants for eachother).
So, if you're ready to be called a 'yard-eating hippie' then edible landscaping is for you! Are you in? Or do you already eat your yard? What have been your garden experiences? LET ME KNOW
Here are some helpful links:
edible planting help/ideas
companion planting info
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