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Notes From the Garden

In the Garden

Landscaping With Edible Plants

By Kimberly Christensen


Cherry blossoms in spring--delicious fruit in late summer.
Apr 11, 2002 -- Last spring I did something radical: I tore out my lawn and replaced it with native, medicinal and edible plants. I didn't do it because I thought it would be fun. In fact, digging up big chunks of lawn for a succession of weekends wasn't a great time. However, I was continually inspired by dreams of self-sufficiency and living lightly on the Earth.

According to the Crescenta Valley Water District, the average American lawn uses 18 gallons per square foot annually. For a 20' by 50' lawn that adds up to average 18,000 gallons of water used annually. In comparison, vegetable and fruit plants use 10 gallons per square foot annually. Thus, by replacing your lawn with fruits and vegetables, you can save 8,000 gallons of water each year, in addition to providing fresh fruit and vegetable for your table. Eight thousand gallons is the equivalent of 128,000 eight-ounce glasses of drinking water, 200 showers, 400 baths and 178 loads of laundry.

I realize that not everyone is going to run outside and pull out his lawn. However, landscaping with edibles can still be a fun way to add some variety to your yard while saving water. It can also be a good way to grow vegetables that need more sun than we usually get here in Seattle. Many front yards get more hours of sunlight than backyards. Additionally, growing edibles in your front yard is a great way to build community. My neighbors and I have found it much easier to talk when I am working the soil, and the progress of the veggie plants always makes for a good conversation starter. And when I have an abundance of fresh veggies, they always let me know that they are willing to help eat them!

When you decide to turn over part of your lawn to edibles, the first thing you should do is cover it with a black tarp for a couple of weeks. This will start the process of killing the lawn and make it easier for you to dig up. When the grass has browned, you have two options. If you plan to use a mulch cover, you can leave the dead lawn where it is and dig holes into it for seedlings and plants. The former-lawn's roots will hold soil in place, help trap water for the new plants, and leave your earthworms' habitat intact. After you plant, make sure that you spread thick mulch over the grassy remnants to prevent them from returning to life. Alternatively, you can make use of your spade and dig up dead grass and its roots. You will lose topsoil with this method, so make sure to replace it with compost and potting soil. It would be wise to add mulch for good measure to stifle any errant lawn, to prevent your new soil from erosion and to trap water for your new plants' roots to absorb.

When selecting your edibles, you will have countless options: fruit trees and shrubs, native berries, your favorite veggies and edible flowers. Edible vines, like grapes, squashes, beans and climbing roses can be used on trellises and arbors. Herbs and salad greens like purple cabbage, red leaf lettuce, Thai basil and rainbow chard can contribute bright colored foliage. Fruit trees can be purchased in dwarf sizes that will allow for planting in small yards. Berry bushes can be used as hedges.

Edible flowers are both pleasing to the eye and tasty in salads. In my house, "flowers salad" is a popular summertime dish. Many well-known flowers (or their seeds) are edible: roses, calendula marigolds, sunflowers, Johnny-jump-ups, nasturtium, borage, dandelions and bachelor's buttons are just a few.

When planting veggies in your landscape, make sure you assess the yard for the amount of sun it gets. You may also want to consider how tall the plants will grow, what color the flowers and veggies are, and how easily accessed the area can be when it comes time to harvest. I try to intersperse shrubby plants, like berries, with annual plants, like tomatoes, so that when winter comes, the yard doesn't look too bare.

For edible garden ideas, visit Seattle Tilth's demonstration gardens in Wallingford. May 4 would be a great day to do that, because Seattle Tilth will also be holding its 20th annual edible plant sale from 10:30 am to 4 pm. Seattle Tilth is located at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle. The Sierra Club publishes The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy. Internet users can try Ben Sharvey's edible landscaping site at www.efn.org/~bsharvy/edible.html or the "Tips and Techniques" section at www.gardenguides.com.

Kimberly Christensen lives and gardens in Wallingford.


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