#Edible garden design full

However, some plants such as lettuce, spinach, greens, leafy herbs, and rhubarb can grow with three to four hours of sun a day and still be productive. Most of these plants need at least six hours of direct sun a day to produce their best. When mapping out your yard, find the sunniest open space available to plant your vegetables, herbs, and fruits. While growing edible trees and shrubs are great ways to incorporate food plants into your yard, most people still think of the fruit and vegetable garden as their main location for edible plants. Raised beds are an excellent way to maximize planting and grow beautiful edibles in a small space.

#Edible garden design full

Plant edible foundation shrubs just outside the drip line of the roof to block the full force of winter winds, and allow for breezes to circulate and cool the house in summer. Over time these edibles will produce food for you (and your local wildlife), and help with energy conservation. Just purchase the right variety for your climatic zone and provide appropriate light and soil conditions for the plants to thrive. While most landscapers plant ornamental shrubs such as spirea, yews, junipers, and lilacs as foundation plants, why not be adventurous and use this space for edibles? Blueberries, hazelnuts, bush cherries, gooseberries, natal plums, and rosemary all fit well as foundation plants. If you have a small yard with no space for shade trees, there still is room around your home's foundation to plant edible shrubs and small trees. Also, planting trees is an investment in the land and our future since these trees will help reduce our overall energy needs. Obviously, these trees will take years to grow big enough to provide energy savings, but think of the fruits and nuts you'll garner in the meantime. Select large, deciduous edible trees, such as pistachio, cherry, pecan, and walnut, for those areas. Department of Energy estimates that as few as three shade trees planted in the right location around your home will save $100 to $250 dollars in energy costs a year. If you don't have enough room to plant a windbreak of trees, consider planting vines, such as kiwi and grape, along the south side of your house to shade south-facing walls in summer, reducing the need for air conditioning.ДЄnother way to conserve energy with an edible landscape is to plant large deciduous edible nut and fruit trees on the West and Southwest sides of your home. For example, Swiss stone pines (which produce edible pine nuts) grow 40 feet tall, so plant the windbreak at least 80 feet away from your home. To be most effective, construct the windbreak perpendicular to the prevailing winds and at a distance two to five times the mature height of the trees from your home. The USDA estimates that windbreaks can reduce heating costs from 10 to 25 percent depending on the location. By breaking the wind, the yard will stay warmer and your home will use less energy. If these parts of your yard are open, consider planting edible trees and shrubs that can act as a windbreak. The coldest winds usually come from the North and West. Try to determine the direction of the prevailing winds in your yard. Some of the best ways to conserve energy are related to the sun and wind. Like any good landscape design, edible landscaping looks to conserve energy. Edible trees for energy conservationД®dible shade trees like this giant pecan reduce summer cooling costs and produce an abundance of nuts. Deciduous trees also allow for full sun in spring and fall, but create shade in summer. Remember that the sun's position in the sky changes throughout the growing season, so what is full sun during the summer solstice may be part shade by August. This will help you decide where to locate gardens and certain plants. Determine the orientation of your property and mark the amount of sun each area receives. Simply indicate the location of the house, walkways, driveway, existing plants, structures- sheds, rock walls, fences - and any other existing features. Your sketch doesn't have to be an architectural work of art. Mapping out the yardД«efore you buy any plants, map out your yard on paper. In particular, I'll look at edible trees for energy conservation, edible shrubs as foundation plants, and annual edibles for all your beds.

In this article I'll focus on a few specific aspects of garden design.

Whether you're growing edibles or ornamentals, the principles of design are the same. But before you buy out the local nursery, it makes sense to take a little time to think about where plants will go and what role they will play in your landscape.

For those interested in growing edibles this is a good time to map out what new trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, and herbs will adorn your yard come spring. Winter is the perfect time of year to sit back and imagine the possibilities in your yard.