Invite vegetables and fruits into the landscape

comments (0) October 25th, 2009

GardenGates, member

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Colorful stems of Swiss chard

Photo: Photo by GardenGates

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What is a vegetable?

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines ‘vegetable’ as: “a usually herbaceous plant (as the cabbage, bean, or potato) grown for an edible part that is usually eaten as part of a meal.” A ‘fruit’ is defined as“the usually edible reproductive body of a seed plant; especially : one having a sweet pulp associated with the seed -- the fruit of the tree”. More often, the accepted concept is that a vegetable is the edible roots, stems and leaf parts of a plant whereas a fruit is the seed-containing part of a plant – whether sweet or savory in flavor. That means that a vegetable may be sweet and used for cooking deserts like rhubarb stems while a fruit can be savory like a tomato. The term ‘fruiting’ is frequently used in gardening to refer to seed pods on inedible plants as well.

So what does all this matter? Probably not much. But it does mean that we need to keep an open mind when dealing with fruits and vegetables. Just like the terminology, edible plants can be used both in and out of the garden in more ways than those that first pop into mind. After all, a good cook will use sweet fruit as a sauce for a savory meat dish and often throw in unexpected flavors into desserts. So, too, the garden itself can be designed using those edibles in many ways. You might want to consider liberating vegetables and fruits from the vegetable patch and invite them into the flower garden or other parts of the landscape.

The vegetable can be ornamental in the garden.

In the garden, fruits and vegetables do not have to be looked at as the ugly practical plants that must be banished to a hidden vegetable patch where they should be grown in rigid rows. A little open-mindedness can make these plants proud residents in other parts of the landscape. There are a number of benefits of planting edibles in with flowers and other ornate parts of the garden. First of all they can actually add interesting colors and textures to the design. Secondly, by mixing in edibles with ornamentals many pests that prey on specific fruits or vegetables have more difficulty finding their victims. And third, it’s fun to meander around your garden discovering things you can pop into your mouth – or onto the kitchen stove – while enjoying your garden.

Some fruits and vegetables are downright good looking. I’ve often mentioned how the big, bold leaves of rhubarb, with their colorful red stalks and mid-veins create a great tropical feel if you have a space in full shade with rich soil. In full sun consider planting Swiss chard. There are varieties with brilliant pink, red or yellow stems that all make excellent spinach substitutes. The artichoke can have the same large-leafed effect in the full hot sun. Leave lots of space because this tasty beauty can easily reach six by six feet in size. The buds are the part we eat and they are one of the earliest spring crops ready to harvest. Leave some buds on the plant if you want to enjoy the showy purple brush-like flowers that decorate the plant when the buds open. Seeds parachute away on silken feathers once the flowers dry out. These big plants are somewhat drought-tolerant and offer a strong statement in the design of the garden. On the down side, prepare for ants to try farming aphids on the buds so if you spray them early with an insecticidal soap, you can thwart the problem before it gets severe. July and August are months when the artichoke looks positively dreary. Once done blooming the old stalks whither away. If you surround your artichoke plant with other green shrubs or flowering plants to distract from this rest period, you will find big healthy leaves offering a light green, lush look sprouting from the base of the plant by September.

Okra is also very ornamental. If you like the fruits (ah yes, not a vegetable) of this plant to cook up soups or interesting Creole dishes, you’ll love to grow this one. The okra is in the hibiscus family and the flowers do indeed look like cheery yellow hibiscus flowers. They stay open for only a day or two and they tend to stay more furled than the average hibiscus, but their sunny yellow petals with red-blotched bases are very ornamental. There is a variety available with red-tinged leaves and red fruit that will offer even more color. A happy, well grown plant can grow about 18” tall and produce a nice little crop of goodies for the cook. If you forget to crop them, they are still decorative enough to let grow along with the other garden flowers.

There are edible sages that will grow into neat one-foot shrubs with a wide range of colorful – and edible – leaves. You can buy the plain green plant or choose one streaked with white, yellow, purple or a combination of these colors. All will still produce lovely purple spikes of flower and, as perennials, will grow year after year in the same spot. These plants can compete with any other garden flower for color and beauty. But they’ll also offer a wonderful herbal scent and spice for cooking.

Some climbing vegetables (or fruits if you want to be exact) are highly ornamental. Climbing peas – peas grow best as a winter crop – mostly offer white flowers that are almost as showy as sweet peas. Sweet peas are not to be eaten, so don’t mix the two. You don’t want to get confused and eat the toxic one, though sweet pea pods are leathery and hairy so there isn’t much likelihood of a mistake! Climbing/runner beans grow best as an early spring crop. You can find varieties with big ornamental red, pink or white flowers. Let these climbers twine around fences or twine up supports or poles.

The asparagus pea is a less known edible. It grows as a low groundcover and gets studded with bright red pea-like flowers. The edible seed pods are curious winged little sausages and the flavor I find to be between a bean and a pea, though clearly whoever named these plants thought they tasted like asparagus tips. Whatever your preferences, they are good in flavor and very ornamental to grow.

One year I had an area that had been cleared and looked quite bare. Growing squash and pumpkin vines filled the space fast with big wide leaves. These plants trailed all over the surface offering up showy four-inch bright orange flowers followed by cheerful fruits in the autumn. Although squash family members thrive on rich soil, if you toss in some compost and let the plants ramble, they can cover up a number of eyesores in the garden while offering tasty treats as a bonus. When the plants die back in the winter they dry up and provide excellent material to offer back to the compost heap. And in my case, I used the cooler months to plant the newly vacated space with the perennials I didn’t have a chance to get in the year before.

Some suggestions....

There are a number of vegetables that you can plant in the flower garden. If you have a garden that is well watered with plenty of sun, most vegetables will do well there. Peppers have rich green foliage and many peppers are so ornamental that there are varieties that have been cultivated for decoration only. Tomatoes tend to get large and sprawl if not caged. Neither the plants nor the cages look really pretty so I’d only grow them in the flower garden if I had space at the back where they will go somewhat unnoticed. Corn and asparagus plants should also be relegated to the back where their tall growth can blend in as a backdrop to your flowering plants. And don’t forget fruit trees. There are small trees that take up little space for smaller gardens, big varieties that offer shade like any other shade tree, and an assortment of sizes and shapes in between. Most have very showy spring flowering periods in addition to changing leaf color in the autumn.

So if you don’t have the space to create a vegetable garden, that doesn’t mean you can’t grow edibles. And even if you do have a vegetable garden, maybe it would be interesting to pop in a few edibles into other planter areas just for the fun of it.