Cooperative Living March/April 2018 - 16

CoverStory | Stories and Photos by Sari Carp, Contributing Writer
A
merican gardening used to be all
about the edibles. Early Americans
needed to eat and didn't have time
for " pretty " gardens. They grew flowers
and ornamentals only when useful for
medicine, dye or other essentials.
Gradually, though, especially during
the 20th century, priorities changed. Fruits
and vegetables became readily available
in supermarkets. Gardens, no longer
indispensable, metamorphosed into a
source of middle-class homeowners' pride.
It was considered déclassé to grow edible
plants, implying that the gardener couldn't
afford to pay farmers to do the work.
Ornamentals, many imported and
eventually invasive, dominated American
gardens. The most notable among these,
of course, has been fescue (yes, lawn
grass!), still the most widely grown " crop "
in our nation.
For much of the past hundred years,
if gardeners grew fruits and vegetables at
all, they relegated them to the back,
where judgmental neighbors wouldn't
see. Fortunately, this mindset is now
evolving, as the Edible Landscaping
movement blooms.
The cost of store-bought produce
daunts consumers, who also worry about
ingesting toxic chemicals and genetically
modified crops. Even urban gardeners
try to produce a few edibles here and
there, while those of us fortunate enough
to live in rural areas have far more options.
This doesn't mean we have to give up
the pretty. Contemporary gardeners
understand that many edible plants are
exquisite as well as tasty, delivering far
more visual interest and conversation
value than old standbys like boxwoods,
ivy or liriope.
Edibles don't need to be segregated
from ornamentals. Intersperse them boldly
for garden interest. Imagine, for example,
the delicate flowers of a fruit tree, or the
bright pop of tomatoes and peppers,
against a hedge of dark evergreens.
This strategy fits perfectly with classic
14 | Cooperative Living | March-April 2018
www.co-opliving.com
Join the Growing Group of Virginians Who
Are Gardening for Taste and Beauty
landscape-design principles.
You don't want a landscape of sameness:
Beauty grows from variety, challenging the
eye. Contrast plants of different heights,
textures, leaf shapes and colors. Spiky
artichoke looming above a sea of soft,
fluffy lemon balm makes a statement. Try
yellow tomatoes, red chard and whitepetaled
daisies together.
What about ethereal blue borage among
orange habanero peppers or crimson
strawberries (whose flavor the borage will
improve)? Or zinnias with almost
any vegetable, for a riot of exotic
color and shape. The options are
endless, and since most vegetables
and many flowers are annuals,
you can experiment with a new
palette each year.
Even different shades of the
same color appeal visually. If you
plant herbs together for ease of
harvesting, juxtapose fleecy silver
Left: Nasturtiums help protect
pumpkins from squash bugs.
Bottom: Fernleaf tansy and bronze
fennel protect roses from harmful
insects while the tansy attracts
late-season pollinators and the
fennel feeds vital swallowtail
butterfly larvae.
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Cooperative Living March/April 2018

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