Feature Article - for release the week of  December 7, 2008

Angela Sachson – Florida Yards & Neighborhoods

Your Edible Landscape

 There have been books written about edible landscaping and there’s a reason for that.  It is great to have a pretty yard but a pretty yard that’s good eating is even greater.  And when we are experiencing sticker shock in the produce aisle the idea of raising crops seems like a good one.  Here are some reasons to integrate food into your landscape: 

•         To save money

•         To reduce your carbon footprint

•         To eat fresh produce and know where it came from and how it was grown

•         To savor the exceptional taste of fresh picked fruits, herbs and vegetables (instead of tomatoes ripening in the back of the truck on the way here from far away)

•         To let your landscape give back value

Just about any landscaping need can be met by a food-producing plant.  If you need a large shade tree, think pecan.  Other large trees include avocado, loquat, or mango.

Smaller edible trees include citrus, persimmon, lychee, deciduous fruit and papaya.  All good looking and tasty.  And if you need a hedge or a large shrub, consider figs, cocoplum, mulberry, custard apple or Barbados cherry.  Oh, and don’t put the mulberry over the driveway!

Medium shrubs include blackberry, blueberry and Carissa or natal plum—already one of the most popular shrubs around.  If you choose blueberry be sure to select a variety for south Florida and give it plenty of acidity.  Planting in pots is a good way to do that and blueberry pots on either side of the door look pretty.

If you need a smaller shrub or an attractive border pineapple plants are nice and taste good too.  Herbs, lettuce and artichokes all look nice by a path or driveway.

Here are some vines that will cover your fence or your arbor and feed you too: passion fruit, peas, legumes, grapes and cucumbers.  And ground cover can be provided by lettuce, strawberry plants, greens, beautiful low growing herbs, or colorful kale and chard varieties.

Of course you still want beautiful flowers and ferns and ornamental grasses----they will look especially good interspersed with edibles.  Here are some things to remember about landscape plants you eat:

•         Edible plants need six hours of sun each day

•         Vegetables need food every couple of weeks

•         And water at least once weekly if it doesn’t rain

•         Check periodically for pests and treat if needed

Take a little care with your edibles and they will pay you back with beauty and food.

If you need additional information on edible landscaping, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469. In Highlands County call 863-402-6540 and in Glades County call 863-946-0244.  Okeechobee residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons. GO GATORS!

-30-

Trade  names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean. Last update: 12/08/2008.  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert