If you're going to invest in bushes, trees and decorative plants for your yard, why not let them do double duty and provide free food too?
Want a tree that flowers in spring? Lilacs are pretty, but cherry trees will also provide fruit later in the year.
Looking for a fast growing groundcover that will tolerate partial shade? How about planting chocolate mint, which stays low, smells heavenly when you walk on it, and provides an edible treat for lots of recipes?
Want to plant flowering bushes? Why not plant some roses that provide lots of petals and rose hips for jellies, syrups and teas?
There are edible landscaping plants for just about any use you can think of and for any climate. Here are 50 great ones. These are obviously just a fraction of the possibilities!
(Note: these plants are suitable for northern climates like Minnesota unless otherwise noted. Plants with a * are only suitable for warm climates.)
Perennial Plants:
- Chocolate mint (this is darker and shorter than traditional mint but can still get invasive so plant where you want it to spread)
- Violets and pansies (here's lots of recipes to use them)
- Grapes (plant on chain link fences, arbors or trellises)
- Artichokes*
- Chives/allium
- Rhubarb
- Daylilies
- Dill (great as a backdrop plant)
- Strawberries (nice as groundcovers between other perennial garden plants)
- Horseradish
- Asparagus (these tall, ferny plants are good for backdrops)
- Hardy kiwi vines (a few varieties will survive as far north as zone 4)
- Tulips (yes, they're edible! here's lots of recipes to use them)
Annual Plants:
- Sunflowers (For a backdrop or living wall)
- Lettuces (great as a fastgrowing filler in window boxes and flower gardens and comes in shades of greens and even reds)
- Curly parsley, glossy green basil and other herbs (many of these reseed and return year after year)
- Calendula flowers (which are also excellent for skin care recipes)
- Rainbow swiss chard
- Nasturtiums (here's lots of recipes for these delicious flowers, leaves and seeds)
- Annual vegetables such as purple cabbage and mini sweet peppers
Bushes:
- Rugosa roses (both petals and hips can be used for recipes)
- Blackberries and raspberries (these can be trellised or can provide good barrier plantings, but look for thornless varieties if thorns are an issue)
- Red and black currants (these make wonderful jelly)
- Gooseberries
- Nanking cherry bushes
- Blueberries (be sure to keep soil slightly alkaline)
- Elderberries (find out how to make a cold and flu-busting syrup from the berries here)
- Figs*
- Juneberries
- Pomegranates*
Trees:
- Apple trees
- Pear trees (pears are often more pest resistent than apples and can bear as much late summer fruit)
- Peach trees
- Citrus trees* such as oranges, grapefruits and lemons
- Tropical trees* such as bananas, pineapples and avocados
- Cherry trees
- Nuts such as walnut and Pecan*
- Mulberry trees
- Olive trees*
- Pawpaw trees*
- Persimmon trees*
- Crabapple trees (here's a recipe for a wonderful crabapple cider)
- Plum trees
How should you use edible landscaping? Look for edible plants for whatever yard and garden role you need. If you want a decorative tree, look at various fruit and nut trees and see which ones are the right height and provide the look you desire. In your flower garden, fill up spaces with edible plants that have the size and look that meet your needs. A row of pretty purple cabbages could border the front of your flower garden, for instance, and some tall dill could provide some vertical interest to the back. You could add pops of color with some hot peppers scattered throughout.
Where to find edible landscaping plants? Local nurseries will always know what will grow best in the area. Also look at suppliers like Edible Landscaping for hard to find varieties.
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