Edible Landscaping with Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs

I want a beautiful garden, you want a beautiful garden, your neighbor wants a beautiful garden… What’s not to like about it? It makes your entire property look amazing and it’s something to be proud of.

But what if beauty wasn’t all there is to your garden? What if, while you’re admiring your backyard, you picked a fresh strawberry for a snack? Doesn’t that sound fantastic? Edible landscaping is actually very practical because your garden has more than one job in that case. It adds to the aesthetics of your home and it produces fresh food. Think about making blueberry muffins with blueberries you grew yourself, just outside in your backyard. It’s so much easier than having to run to the store, plus it’s more delicious.

Fruits and veggies you buy at the supermarket don’t hold a candle to homegrown ones, so if you think you like blueberry muffins, just wait until you try them with fresh fruit.

But enough of me chatting, let me show you how to have a garden that can also be a source of food.

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What to Plant

Since you’re aiming for aesthetics as well as function, you can’t just plant anything. You have to keep the color and texture in mind, along with the taste of the plants you’re planting.

Here’s how to make it all come together.

1.   Fruits

Blueberries are one of my favorites because they look different in every season. In spring, they have small white or pink flowers, and in summer, they produce fresh blueberries that you can pick right off the bush. When fall comes, the leaves turn bright red and the way they stand out is just incredible.

Espaliered apple and pear trees grow flat against a wall or a fence, which means they’re perfect for small yards. If you’re in a warm climate, I’d highly recommend fig trees because their leaves are big and lush and they’ll give your garden a tropical feel.

2.   Vegetables

Swiss chards are extremely colorful, so they’ll stand out in flower beds. They’ll last for months and won’t wilt, which is great. And they keep on looking fresh and bright for most of the year. If it were my garden, I’d also add kale and cabbage because their leaves have deep green, purple, and blue shades, so they’re very attractive.

And let’s not forget peppers! They’re colorful and almost look ornamental.

3.   Herbs and Flowers

Lavender can do it all – it looks great, smells even better, and keeps the bugs away. Lavender will be happy in dry, sunny areas and it’s perfect along walkways or as a low hedge. Its flowers are stunning and you can dry them for teas, sachets, and baked goods.

Thyme and oregano can be natural ground covers, instead of mulch, and you can plant them between stepping stones or flower beds. Rosemary is one of my favorites because it stays green all year long and it grows like a hedge or small tree, so it adds structure, as well as a potent woodsy scent.

How to Keep Your Garden Beautiful and Productive

You’ll want to blend edible plants with traditional ornamentals, which means that you shouldn’t keep the vegetables in a separate space. Instead, mix them with flowers and shrubs.

For example, you can tuck vegetables into flower beds or arrange them in patterns. Deep purple kale will look stunning if you mix it with bright marigolds, and Swiss chard, with its yellow and red stems, will add contrast alongside petunias or zinnias. If you have climbing vegetables like beans or peas, they can be trained on trellises covered in flowering vines.

With raised beds and structured borders, your garden will look neater, especially if you frame walkways with herbs like thyme or if you edge a flower bed with compact lettuce species. For those that don’t have a lot of space, you can try vertical gardening and train benign plants like cucumbers and grapes to grow together with jasmine or clematis. And instead of having a traditional ground cover, think about using oregano or creeping strawberries to fill in the gaps between flowers and shrubs. Edible plants will also do well in decorative pots, and you’ll be able to move them around and mix them with other plants.

Naturally, you have to maintain your garden if you want it to thrive, and I’m not just talking about weeding and watering. The surrounding areas have to be neat, too. If you don’t already have one, buy a lawn mower – it’s a great long-term investment, especially if you have a decently sized or large yard. To prevent spending too much, it’s best to find lawn mowers for sale at your local supplier so you can keep those grassy areas under control.

Conclusion

Talk about an original way to design a garden, right? Edible gardens are popular, but not so much that everyone has them, so your outdoor space will definitely stand out with it and it will be an excellent conversation starter.

And can we just talk about how cool it is when you’re making dinner and you nonchalantly step outside to pick some rosemary to add to your food? It’s fresh, it’s practical, and it makes your dinner just a little more special.