Foodscaping: the Newest Trend in Gardening?

Foodscaping by adding elderberry, raspberry bushes, and rhubarb in an ornamental garden.

One of the newest trends in gardening is foodscaping or edible landscaping. Or is it? The reality is that incorporating edibles into the landscape design has been around since the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. Separating ornamental and vegetable gardens did not occur until Europeans began the practice during the Renaissance. Foodscaping is enjoying a resurgence with individuals who want to eat locally, home-grown grown food but do not have sufficient space for traditional vegetable gardens.

Regardless of how one views this phenomenon, it is not your grandmother’s vegetable garden; there is no big square plot or raised bed in sight. Instead, edible plants are tucked in here and there. This urban farming concept truly optimizes the use of land and resources.

When foodscaping, the landscape is the canvas. Nothing about it is unattractive; instead, a productive, aesthetically pleasing, diverse design using fruit trees, herbs, vegetables, ornamentals, and berries graces the area.

This time-saving, money-saving method is ideal for busy younger people with limited time, great for older people who don’t need a large garden, and beneficial for pretty much everyone in between. Herbs are good gateway plants. Consider tucking some basil along bed edges. It will keep its compact shape and as an annual, when it is done, simply remove the spent plant, smooth over the mulch and go back to a pure ornamental garden. Chives surrounding a hardscape will add beauty with the bright pink/purple flowers and continuous green foliage. Thyme is an attractive, low growing plant that is a wonderful culinary herb and will attract pollinators when in bloom.

Onions, garlic, dill, arugula, carrots, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and other greens can also find their way into the edges of the ornamental beds with ease. A fence or trellis may be used for cucumbers, small squash, pole beans, snap peas, or ornamentals gourds that will twine up or along just as easily as an ornamental ivy or blooming plant.

Once the foodscaping venture has begun, moving further into the realm is almost a guarantee. Tucking in a tomato plant or a pepper plant among the coneflower, iris, and ornamental grasses is visually appealing and a wise use of space. Remember that fruiting plants need at least 6 hours of sunlight for good production when placing them in the landscape.

Rhubarb is an exceptionally beautiful plant when mixed into an ornamental garden. The use of berry bushes and fruit trees in a landscape yields a bonus of a sweet harvest and beautiful spring blossoms. Berry bushes make excellent hedges in an urban farming landscape.

Using pots to expand the garden is another good choice. Do not limit the pots to either ornamentals or vegetable or herbs. Mix pansies with cabbage and a grass spike in the middle for a striking visual effect. Scattering pots of herbs, whether annual or perennial, among the landscape is another way to expand the foodscape. Just keep in mind that tender perennial herbs like rosemary will need some winter protection and would do best if moved to an indoor space during the colder months.

Foodscaping is a time-honored method of maximizing space in the landscape with the proven benefit of having homegrown, affordable produce right outside the back door. Start small and give it a try; you don’t know what you are missing.

Carol Shirk

Certified Master Gardener