Mastering the Art of Edible Landscaping for a Feast of Sights and Bites

An outdoor space that yields both sustenance and visual delight is an attainable dream, regardless of the square footage at hand. From urban balconies to expansive lawns, the transformational journey to an edible and visually arresting landscape is not only fulfilling but also practical. The ensuing guide shared by Hibiscus and More delineates seven critical approaches that aim to cultivate an outdoor oasis where produce meets design seamlessly.

Incorporate Grasses that Serve Dual Roles

Ornamental grasses have always been a garden favorite, but their edible counterparts offer a fresh perspective you should consider. Grasses like Lemongrass can be strategically planted to function both as eye-catching borders and functional barriers. In addition to providing structural integrity to the garden, these grasses have culinary uses, making them a savvy choice for the modern-day cultivator. The most popular varieties for cooking are West Indian Lemon Grass – Cymbopogon citratus, East Indian Lemon Grass – Cymbopogon flexuosus, and Citronella Grass – Cymbopogon nardus.

Choose Plants with Culinary and Visual Benefits

Why settle for plants that only serve one purpose? Garden denizens like Swiss chard offer a feast for the eyes with their vibrant stalks, while their leaves bring nutritional value to meals. Similarly, the delicate flowers of the nasturtium are not just visually captivating; they are also a colorful addition to salads. Thus, these plants tick both boxes: they are visually appealing and provide nourishment.

Chronicle Your Experience Digitally

Expanding the reach of your edible landscape through digital platforms like YouTube opens the door to myriad opportunities, from community engagement to potential revenue streams. If contemplating the venture from a business perspective, discussing the merits of structured planning, such as forming a Limited Liability Company, can offer valuable insights to your audience. An LLC can offer a number of different benefits, include liability protection and certain tax advantages. There are several companies that can help you register all the right paperwork and documentation with the state.

Integrate a Spectrum of Sensory Elements

Creating a colorful landscape involves more than planting a row of tomatoes next to herbs. Integrating plants with various shapes, textures, and hues can give your garden a lush, layered look. A juxtaposition of the deep red tomatoes, the slender and subtle greens of dill, and the architectural allure of artichoke leaves, for example, will lend a sense of rich visual diversity to your outdoor space.

Harmonize Plants Based on Necessities

Strategic grouping of plants according to their individual sunlight and water requirements can streamline maintenance and minimize resource wastage. By planting sun-loving herbs like basil on the sunny sides and allocating shadier spots to moisture-loving leafy greens like spinach, you're setting the stage for each plant to flourish without excessive care and attention.

Optimize Space through Smart Design Choices

Space constraints are not a limitation but an opportunity for creative gardening solutions. Raised beds and container gardening can be perfect solutions for compact areas. Apart from maximizing the available area, they offer enhanced control over soil composition and drainage, making them ideal choices for urban gardeners who want to grow a variety of edibles on a smaller scale. For more information on container gardening.

Adopt Sustainable Pest Management

Harmony with nature is a core philosophy of edible landscaping, which extends to pest control. Chemical pesticides might offer quick solutions but often at the expense of environmental well-being. Natural deterrents like planting geraniums or African marigolds can offer a sustainable yet effective alternative to keep troublesome insects like Japanese beetles at bay. Or one can use a combination of natural deterrents and environmentally friendly sprays such as Safer Soap, Neem Oil, or Dormant Oil.

Achieving an outdoor space that is as productive as it is visually striking is not just an aspiration but a realistic goal. By adopting multi-functional plants, documenting your journey digitally, infusing variety in sensory elements, optimizing space, and embracing sustainable practices, your landscape will not merely be a backdrop but an interactive, enriching part of your life. This melding of utility and aesthetic allure ensures that your outdoor space becomes a wellspring of both inspiration and sustenance for anyone who encounters it.

©Larry Waters 2023.

 

November Gardening Calendar and Gardening Gifts

November Gardening Calendar

Blow or rake fallen leaves from lawn areas. The leaves left on the lawn block the sunlight to your grass and will create bare spots. Don’t forget to compost the leaves. Spray each layer with water. Need a composter? There are several composters on the market today, but deciding which one to buy may be confusing to some. Composters are designed for gardeners and homeowners with several designs to choose from. Some are designed to be mobile and when the compost is ready the gardener can take the composter to the area where it is going to be used. Other composters are deigned to be stationary. When deciding on a composter think about what you want the composter to do for you. For my information on composting Click Here.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs now and add bone meal to the planting hole. Depending on how south you garden in some spring bulbs can be planted in December. The key to planting spring flowering bulbs is the ground needs to be cool enough, so the bulbs remain dormant until spring arrives. For more information on fall bulbs Click Here.

You can save your Elephant Ears, Dahlias, and Caladiums by digging them up now. Let the tubers dry out before storing for the winter. Store tubers in boxes layered with peat moss or vermiculite, then layer tubers on top of your choice of medium. Store boxes in a cool, dry place.

Spring and summer perennials can be pruned back and mulch. After the flowers have faded on Chrysanthemums and Asters prune to 4 inches and mulch. Clean up Hellebores. Trim dead and yellowing leaves. Hellebores grow from the center and by removing the dead and yellowing leaves increases more pups.

To encourage winter songbirds in your garden, get a birdfeeder. It is recommended to use the black oil sunflower seed for most birds. Black oil sunflower seeds make a nutrient-dense snack for birds. The seeds have a higher oil content which translates to more nutrition. The shell is thinner, which makes it easier to break open for the birds. Fill bird feeders with black oil sunflower seeds.

Plant New Shrubs and Trees: Have you been thinking about replacing a few shrubs that just did not quite get established in the landscape, or planting a new shade or flowering tree that you just cannot live without in your landscape? Now, is the time to start thinking about making that purchase? The fall season is an excellent time to add new shrubs and trees to your landscape. This time of year will let your newly planted shrubs and trees get a head start by developing and establishing new root growth in the soil.

You still have time to plant your winter color such as: Chrysanthemums, Pansy, Viola, Snapdragons, Stock, Cyclamen, Dianthus, Sweet Alyssum, Flowering Cabbage and Kale provide winter color through the spring and should be still available at garden centers. For spring blooms plant Bluebonnet and Poppy seeds this fall. For more information on fall and winter annuals click here.

Holiday Plants that you kept last year need to be placed in a dark room during the evening hours for the plants to bloom this holiday season. I remember this gardening ritual when it is time to turn back our clocks; it is time to give my holiday plants total darkness until I see buds or bracts forming. Christmas Cactus and Poinsettias are night dependent plants for them to bloom; these plants need so many hours of darkness to bloom. The cooler weather also helps in the blooming process. If you purchased new holiday plants, try to place them in the coolest area of your home.

Have you ever tried forcing Paperwhites for the holidays and the stems and blooms became leggy? Here is a link to an article about what to do to prevent the legginess from occurring. Click Here To Read More: http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/cultivation/growing-paperwhites?et_mid=525016&rid=2111517

House Plants that were brought indoors need a ¼ turn to prevent leaning towards the light. To prevent this, turn your house plants once a week. House plants do not need as much water during the winter months, water when the top one inch of the soil is dry. Another way to decide to water is if you had several days of cloudy weather check your plants on the normal day you usually check, if the soil feels wet wait a week. Houseplants do not need as much water during cloudy, winter months.

The Blogger, Cheryl Ann Meola, has several Links to share with you featuring her fine art plant photography and merchandise. Click on the links below.

For Gardening Books: Butterfly Gardening Click Here. 

House Plants Click Here.

Landscape Gardening Click Here.

Fine Art America Portfolio for Prints and Household Merchandise.

Society6Portfolio. Society6 has more Household merchandise.

For Cheryl Ann Meola’s Shutterstock Stock Photography.

For Cheryl Ann Meola’s Adobe Stock Photography.

For Live Herbs and Live Plants.

Cheryl Ann Meola © 2023.

All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this newsletter are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated or copied.

Certified Texas Nursery Professional #1282

November Gardening Calendar 2023

 

November Gardening Calendar

Blow or rake fallen leaves from lawn areas. The leaves left on the lawn block the sunlight to your grass and will create bare spots. Don’t forget to compost the leaves. Spray each layer with water. Need a composter? There are several composters on the market today, but deciding which one to buy may be confusing to some. Composters are designed for gardeners and homeowners with several designs to choose from. Some are designed to be mobile and when the compost is ready the gardener can take the composter to the area where it is going to be used. Other composters are deigned to be stationary. When deciding on a composter think about what you want the composter to do for you. For my information on composting Click Here.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs now and add bone meal to the planting hole. Depending on how south you garden in some spring bulbs can be planted in December. The key to planting spring flowering bulbs is the ground needs to be cool enough, so the bulbs remain dormant until spring arrives. For more information on fall bulbs Click Here.

You can save your Elephant Ears, Dahlias, and Caladiums by digging them up now. Let the tubers dry out before storing for the winter. Store tubers in boxes layered with peat moss or vermiculite, then layer tubers on top of your choice of medium. Store boxes in a cool, dry place.

Spring and summer perennials can be pruned back and mulch. After the flowers have faded on Chrysanthemums and Asters prune to 4 inches and mulch. Clean up Hellebores. Trim dead and yellowing leaves. Hellebores grow from the center and by removing the dead and yellowing leaves increases more pups.

To encourage winter songbirds in your garden, get a birdfeeder. It is recommended to use the black oil sunflower seed for most birds. Black oil sunflower seeds make a nutrient-dense snack for birds. The seeds have a higher oil content which translates to more nutrition. The shell is thinner, which makes it easier to break open for the birds. Fill bird feeders with black oil sunflower seeds.

Plant New Shrubs and Trees: Have you been thinking about replacing a few shrubs that just did not quite get established in the landscape, or planting a new shade or flowering tree that you just cannot live without in your landscape? Now, is the time to start thinking about making that purchase? The fall season is an excellent time to add new shrubs and trees to your landscape. This time of year, will let your newly planted shrubs and trees get a head start by developing and establishing new root growth in the soil.

You still have time to plant your winter color such as: Chrysanthemums, Pansy, Viola, Snapdragons, Stock, Cyclamen, Dianthus, Sweet Alyssum, Flowering Cabbage and Kale provide winter color through the spring and should be still available at garden centers. For spring blooms plant Bluebonnet and Poppy seeds this fall. For more information on fall and winter annuals click here.

Holiday Plants that you kept last year need to be placed in a dark room during the evening hours for the plants to bloom this holiday season. I remember this gardening ritual when it is time to turn back our clocks; it is time to give my holiday plants total darkness until I see buds or bracts forming. Christmas Cactus and Poinsettias are night dependent plants for them to bloom; these plants need so many hours of darkness to bloom. The cooler weather also helps in the blooming process. If you purchased new holiday plants, try to place them in the coolest area of your home.

Have you ever tried forcing Paperwhites for the holidays and the stems and blooms became leggy? Here is a link to an article about what to do to prevent the legginess from occurring. Click Here To Read More: http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/cultivation/growing-paperwhites?et_mid=525016&rid=2111517

House Plants that were brought indoors need a ¼ turn to prevent leaning towards the light. To prevent this, turn your house plants once a week. House plants do not need as much water during the winter months, water when the top one inch of the soil is dry. Another way to decide to water is if you had several days of cloudy weather check your plants on the normal day you usually check, if the soil feels wet wait a week. Houseplants do not need as much water during cloudy, winter months.

The Blogger, Cheryl Ann Meola, has several Links to share with you featuring her fine art plant photography and merchandise. Click on the links below.

Fine Art America Portfolio. Click to View.

Society6 Portfolio. Society6 has more Household merchandise. Click to View.

For Cheryl Ann Meola’s Shutterstock Stock Photography. Click to View.

For Cheryl Ann Meola’s Adobe Stock Photography. Click to View.

For Live Herbs and Live Plants. HibiscusAndMore.

Cheryl Meola © 2023.

Cheryl Ann Meola

Certified Texas Nursery Professional #1282