Landscape gardening is using plants that blend in with your landscape, so that you don’t look like you have an actual garden, and it can be a great form of gardening for many people. For example, landscape gardening might be an important way to garden for those who live in neighborhoods with strict home owners’ associations and codes, or for people who only have sun in their front yard, and don’t want a traditional garden in the front of their house.

Landscape Gardening in Action

My mother in law has a beautiful yard. Last year she started adding edible plants to create an edible landscape. It really is amazing how beautiful some vegetable, fruit and herb plants are. You can easily blend in these plants with your flowers.

I personally use landscape gardening because of lack of sun. I only have one 30 foot area that receives sun, but between trees there are a few spots where I can squeeze in a few edible plants. I always make sure that any plant or seed that I buy is edible when I am trying to add color, flowers or something to my yard.

Herbs in Landscape Gardens

Many herbs have beautiful flowers. I plant my perennial herbs out in my flower garden. They produce beautiful flowers and stay green most of the year. I explain how to grow perennial herbs here. The purple flowers on my sage bush are actually my favorite flower.

Lettuce is also a beautiful plant. Lettuces come in a variety of colors and can be planted in front of bushes for added color. When you harvest the lettuce, just use scissors and cut the leaves. This way the lettuce will not bolt, continue to be sweet, plus look nice in your yard. Click here for more information about how to grow lettuce.  (Katie jumps in: I always want to plant lettuce near my house, but I’d need a fence for the wascly wabbits!)

Don’t Forget Fruits

Rather than planting traditional bushes, consider planting berry bushes. I have blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry and huckleberry bushes that produce so many berries, and I am able to freeze them and enjoy them year round. Also, the next time that you plant trees, consider planting fruit or nut trees. I have more information about how to grow trees here.

Here are a few other ideas:

• If you are looking for a groundcover plant, consider strawberries. Perennial strawberries have cute flowers, and of course delicious berries. If you would like more information about how to grow strawberries, click here.
• Carrots have beautiful, feathery green tops. These actually have been used traditionally in flower gardens.
• Multiplier onions have light green stems that look similar to decorative grasses that you might buy. So have fun, be creative, and see how you can transform your landscape into edible landscape.

Thank you, Rene from Budget Saving Mom, for sharing your wealth of knowledge and practicality!  Rene already discussed traditional gardening and raised bed gardening last week, and look for container gardening later this week.

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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.