Edible Landscaping

Edible Landscaping
It’s nice to be able to have a garden with fresh fruits and vegetables.  They are healthier and taste better than store bought.  It takes a little bit of work, but most people learn that they enjoy being working outside.  

Safety
Don’t just eat anything.  Many edible plants have not been eaten in abundance and, in a sense, are unproven.  In addition, you must have the right cultivar.  Get a good botanist to work with before you start eating every weird thing imaginable.    

Nurseries spray their plants with insecticide and so do your neighbors.  You need to be careful that you aren’t eating something contaminated.   

Fruit Trees
Apple and Citrus Trees are very popular.  Fruit trees require little effort to maintain and they can produce a lot of fruit.  If you don’t want too much fruit, consider a dwarf variety. 

Garden Vegetables
Fresh tomatoes are probably the favorite for the garden. It is also fun to plant pumpkins for Halloween and watermelon for summer.

Ornamental Edible Plants
Some people have vegetable gardens and some people have ornamental gardens.  How many people have an ornamental edible garden?

Nasturtium
The nasturtium is very beautiful.  It is a flower that looks similar to a petunia; only larger.  Some upscale restaurants put it in salad for color.  However, you can grow them at home and it’s quite fun.

Other Edible Flowers
Daylilly Buds, Mallow, rose hips and rose petals, violets, Carnation Petals and squash blossoms.  It can make for a colorful and interesting salad.  Remember stores sell items that are economical to produce and sell for a profit.  Many quality items don’t make it to stores.  They must be homegrown. 

Dandelion  
You will always think of dandelions differently after reading Ray Bradbury’s book Dandelion Wine.  It’s a book about high school students who learn from their teacher how to make wine out of dandelions.  It’s brilliantly written. 

The dandelion root is quite bitter and doesn’t taste that great.  You have to know how to cook with it.  However, it’s considered very healthy to keep your blood clean.  The leaves can be used on a salad. They are easy to grow, are drought tolerant, and like acidic soil.

Blackberry
In Oregon, they grow wild everywhere.  You can see people out on summer days picking the blackberries from road sides. 

To obtain a longer list of edible plants, please visit   http://www.anapsid.org/resources/edible.html