We had a great class here this morning lead by Carl Grimm, Natural Gardening Specialist at Metro – he had terrific advice about gardening in a natural, sustainable way, working WITH nature rather than trying to coerce it to do our bidding.  He had suggestions for ways to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and had concrete reasons why we should care which course we chose.  We have leftover brochures from Metro if you are interested in these topics – feel free to ask for one the next time you are here.

We had hoped Carl would spend more time discussing how to incorporate edibles into existing landscapes, but since many of the class questions centered on the basics of organic gardening, we didn’t get there in much depth.  Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE that folks want to truly understand and embrace organic gardening!  But I thought I’d try to fill in the gap with a few suggestions for ways you might think about incorporating edibles into your landscape, if that is one of your goals this year.  Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Think about reducing the size of your lawn.  Oftentimes, the lawn is in the sunniest part of the yard, and this is prime real estate for vegetables and fruits!  Carl touched on this topic briefly in his description of how to put a raised bed over existing lawn.   Lay several layers of cardboard down directly on the lawn, and fill your raised bed box with a good planting mix with lots of compost.  This should effectively kill the lawn underneath, while still allowing proper drainage for your raised bed.
• Consider a container garden for some of your edibles.  Small trees such as columnar apple trees or fig trees, can do very well in a large decorative container on your sunny deck.  Others to consider:  herbs, lettuces in a large bowl, and even tomatoes in a large container.  Remember the mature size of the root ball of your plant and choose a container accordingly.  For instance, tomatoes should go into at least a 15 gallon pot.  Another thing to remember with containers:  they are completely dependent on you for water and nutrients, and therefore need more of both than an in-ground garden. 
• Horizontally-pruned espaliered fruit trees can provide a beautiful decorative fencing between areas of the garden, or along a fence or wall.  And as a bonus, you get fruit!  We even have espaliered trees that have a variety of apples on one tree – you don’t get a lot of harvest of any one kind, but you get a very nice assortment over a longer period of time.
• Think outside the box when it comes to how to train grapes.  Conventionally pruned grapes didn’t work in my garden – took too much space – and so we trained our grape vine along a sunny back wall of our garage,  high over our heads.  We used large decorative wrought iron hooks on which the vine rests. It doesn’t block our walkway, gets plenty of sunshine up there, and we get a huge harvest.  Downside: we need a ladder to pick them, but we don’t mind!
• Think about substituting edible shrubs for some of your ornamental shrubs.  Blueberries, for example, are great in a mixed border.  They are beautiful all year long:  beautiful blooms in the spring which attract beneficial insects; gorgeous blue fruit throughout the summer months; and brilliant red foliage in the fall.  I think even the bare branches are attractive in my beds throughout the winter.  Evergreen huckleberry is also a great addition to a mixed border, and it provides much-needed filler during the winter.  Other good options:  Elderberry or Jostaberry currant.
• Think about replacing the typical hanging basket of geraniums or other annuals in that sunny spot, with a pot of strawberries, or cherry tomatoes, or herbs. 
• There are excellent options with small trees too — replace some of your ornamental small trees with great dwarf fruiting trees.  The columnar apple trees are extremely narrow, and would provide a nice vertical element in a border, as well as fruit.  (fyi: we just planted a couple of columnar apples in our demonstration vegetable garden for just that purpose – check it out as the season progresses to see how it looks).
• Think about growing vertically whenever possible – you reduce the plant’s footprint, making it possible to grow more intensively.  Something as simple as a rustic tee-pee of bamboo or grapevine trimmings can provide structure for beans, small squash, or cucumbers to climb upon.  It also creates a great focal point in the garden.
• Many of the vegetable plants are beautiful.  Bright Lights Swiss Chard has brilliant, multi-colored stems of reds, oranges, and yellows – the colors really pop in the garden.  They can be used as you would any tall annual.  You will harvest them repeatedly until frost, and then more sporadically through the winter.  Frilly kales are a beautiful textural addition to the ornamental garden, as well as being tasty and nutritious.   Eggplant, with its dark purple, shiny fruits, are another elegant addition to a flowerbed.  Artichoke (and its similar cousin Cardoon) provide delicious eating as well as beautiful silvery arching fronds in your flowerbed.  Don’t be afraid to incorporate veggies with your flowers – please just give them the room they require.  If they are too crowded, they will be more susceptible to disease and will have reduced harvests.

I hope this gives you some ideas for ways to incorporate edibles into your garden.  Think creatively, and try tucking your favorites into your landscape.  Mixing edibles and ornamentals is really fun and easy and creates such an interesting garden.  Just remember to put the right plant in the right place — those that require lots of sun will not thrive under a shade tree!