The Edible Garden
Kiwi Vines,Peach,Nectarine and Cherry Trees - and How to Use Them
Fruit trees and vegetable plants are great garden choices but should be blended into the landscape. In other words you may not really want a totally edible garden.
Throughout the ages man has toiled with the ground, and grown food to provide subsistence for his community and family. In some parts of the world, still, this practice is a daily chore and often a great struggle. Drought, floods, or insect pestilence can tip the scale between life and death.
In modern life, the simplicity allowed is seen everywhere we look. To put food on the table, one no longer has to trudge behind the oxen, set snares in the forest or spear-fish. Today man faces the laborious task of deciding which grocery store to shop at. Life has become easy in relative terms.
Man will always desire to till the ground, grow, and enjoy the fruits of his labor. Landscape designers are very often confronted with the needs of clients, who want to grow produce in their backyard. Indeed, if you too plan to install a edible landscape, the following may prove fruitful.
Do You Truely Desire a Totally Edible Garden?
Depending on your landscape desires, the degree to which you are devoted to edible planting requires much thought. First, one must realize that installing a "totally edible landscape" will somewhat limit the aesthetic outcome of the landscape. Not that fruit bearing plants are unpleasant to the eye, but without the normal variety of plant species, color, contrasts, plant shapes and ultimate growth size, the design challenge is on.
The bare bones of the landscape structure - the tree - is usually the dominant plant element in the garden. Many fruit trees, (peach, nectarine, cherry) may be short lived, which can create "holes" in the landscape within a short time. These trees require pruning and spraying for insect and disease prevention. Peach leaf curl, leaf spot, wood-boring insects are often encountered with the above varieties.
If one is not prepared for these "landscape duties", plant a strictly ornamental tree. In landscape areas where shade or screening is not a concern one may want to opt for fruit tree planting on the seldom used side-yard. The reasoning here is not to discourage planting fruit trees, but to educate. If one is not fully prepared for orchard gardening, there is often disappointment with the outcome.
Those who are indeed up for the challenge, and lucky enough to have a large yard, the orchard is more appropriate, and can be situated as its own entity. One may enter the orchard after passing through a arbor dripping with pole beans, hidden behind a grove of trees, or down the secluded side of the home. In the winter, when dormant and in need of pruning and spraying, the orchard allows ease of movement (you won’t be stepping on or spraying chemicals on shrubs and groundcover). One may also plant the vegetable garden in this area as well.
If a raised garden is desired and you can place it down the obscure side of the home, build a raised box. If it is to be situated in main living space, don’t use wood - as it will be a future eyesore, when the wood ages and warps. Instead build a raised bed with interlocking blocks, stacked stone, or other non-wood stone products. Fill with a good soil blend and make sure a hose-bib is nearby - then plant away .
Edible plants can be strategically blended into the landscape. When designing the garden with ornamental plants, spaces can be left for a tomato or two,cucumber and basil. Add a prostrate rosemary- which doubles as a beautiful ornamental as well. This careful blending prevents the "winter garden boneyard" that one might find in a totally edible garden.
Other choices for the edible landscape include a grape espaliered on the otherwise ugly, dry fence. Kiwi growing over a detached patio cover provides shade and bears the fruit of "down under". Note that female plants must be planted at least one male plant for pollination and that it usually takes five years or longer to bear fruit. The pomegranate (variety called ‘Wonderful’) is often overlooked, but is a beautiful landscape plant - especially in a Mediterranean style landscape. The large red fruit, tropical looking flowers and chambered fruit make it another candidate for the edible landscape.
