The key to creating a visually appealing edible landscape is the artful combination of annuals and perennials.\u00a0 Most edibles are going to substitute for the use of annuals but there are some options for shrubs, vines, and small trees.<\/p>\n
Annual Color:<\/strong>\u00a0 Rainbow chard, purple mustard, kale, lettuce can all add dramatic affect with their foliage and mid-rib color variation.\u00a0 Calendula and nasturtium are both edible flowers that can add color to salads and nasturtium leaves can be used in pesto.\u00a0 Basil comes in many varieties and colors, consider the dwarf boxwood variety to create more formal lines.\u00a0 Taller plants like corn, okra, and Jerusalem artichokes can be planted at the back of a garden to create height and screening.<\/p>\n Ground cover:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thyme, oregano, and savory make great evergreen ground covers. Goldberg Golden Purslane and New Zealand spinach (or tetragonia) have succulent leaves and a sprawling growth habit.\u00a0 Strawberries will also sprawl out and cover an area as well.<\/p>\n Shrubs and Perennials:<\/strong>\u00a0 Blueberries have become a major cash crop in Georgia but are beautiful plants that have spring flowers, summer fruit and fall color.\u00a0 Pomegranate, figs and jujubes are all great plants that grow well in our area. American Hazelnut is deciduous shrub\/small tree that grows well in our area.\u00a0 \u00a0Rosemary is a great addition with its evergreen, needle-like foliage.\u00a0 Garden sage is also evergreen and has a wonderful softness to its leaves like a \u2018dusty miller\u2019 or lambs ear.<\/p>\n Edible Vines and Climbers:<\/strong>\u00a0 Structures like arbors and trellises are a great way to add interest in your garden and there are some great substitutions for the climbing rose or clematis you may have in mind.\u00a0 Muscadines are extremely hardy and have few problems compared to many of the bunch grapes.\u00a0 If you want an annual plant that is easier to control you can consider Malabar spinach which has delicious greens and beautiful red stems.\u00a0 There are all types of beans that will grow rapidly and cover a structure.\u00a0 The Chinese Red Noodle bean will produce one to three foot long burgundy beans that will amaze.<\/p>\n Trees:<\/strong>\u00a0 Apples are well suited for Cherokee county and can maximize a small space with a few espaliered trees. The serviceberry (juneberry) is a great alternative to a crapemyrtle and the birds will love it.\u00a0 Mulberries are delicious and very easy to grow, just make sure they are planted in an area where you won\u2019t mind a mess.\u00a0 \u2018Montmorency\u2019 and \u2018Balaton\u2019 are varieties of Pie or \u2018sour\u2019 cherries that are great small trees that perform well in our area as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During a vacation in France last year I had an awakening of sorts in terms of my philosophy on garden design and plant selection.\u00a0 A number of the gardens and public parks that we visited incorporated vegetables like Swiss chard and kale in with annual flower plantings.\u00a0 As an avid gardener and even more avid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,4,6],"tags":[13,9,8,11,10,12],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-annual-plantings","category-herbs","category-home-landscape","category-trees","tag-annuals","tag-cherokee-county","tag-edible-landscaping","tag-herbs","tag-north-georgia","tag-perennials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions\/16"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Back-Winter](\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/cherokee\/files\/2015\/06\/Back-Winter-Savory-Caladium-Rhubarb-Hydrangea-Hosta_Front-Savory-Sorrel-Dutch-Shallots-Rudbekia-Stokes-Aster-Coneflower.jpg\")
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