An edible landscape can bring your garden to the next level. Here are some tips and considerations to get started…

There are so many benefits of growing your own food. Gardening is a fulfilling activity that helps you get physical exercise and soak up vitamin D outside. Plus, by growing your own produce, you can spend less at the grocery store while getting valuable nutrients right from your own backyard.

One type of gardening especially celebrates both the healthy, edible qualities of food plants while also embracing how beautiful they can look in your yard: edible landscaping!

In an edible landscape, you plant all the vegetables, fruits, and herbs of your choice out in the open with your ornamental plants. There, they become not only part of your garden but also part of your aesthetically pleasing landscape design.

So, what do you need to know when starting an edible landscape? Begin by choosing just a few vegetables, fruits, or herbs that you know you’ll actually want to harvest and eat. Unless you have an entirely fenced yard, make sure they are plants that can withstand being planted out in the open and won’t quickly get eaten up by hungry wildlife. For example, alliums like onions and chives often help repel critters, and eggplants have prickly leaves that can help keep animals away, while adding vibrant color to your yard.

Do some planning and decide where in your landscape you’d like to place your food plants. Work them in among your flower beds or along a walkway. Create a focal point for your yard with a vibrant fruit tree or currant bush. You can even choose a color scheme, such as a purple one with chives, red kale, and lavender, and create color pairings across the landscape!

You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t treat any plants that you’ll eat with chemical pesticides. Instead, you can practice companion planting to ensure that your food plants thrive.

It’s also important to make sure that you have access to all areas of the garden for easy tending and watering. You can install a charming walkway around your edible landscape, separated by a beautiful rock border.

Finally, if you’re planning to start your edible landscape this fall, think about starting off with cool-weather crops such as onions and kale. These plants grow well when temperatures drop. Before long, you’ll have an abundance of tasty salad ingredients right in your yard!

To read more benefits, planting ideas, and design tips for your edible landscape, check out the infographic from Angi below:

Source: Angi.com

(Photo by Nina Luong on Unsplash)