Edible Landscaping The Key to Beauty, Bounty, and Well-being in the 21st Century

By: Cory Suter Farmer and Founder of BioNeighbors, LLC

Outline of This Presentation

• What is Edible Landscaping • Best for – Shady Conditions – Clay Soil – – Low maintenance – Edible • Design considerations – (DC Region) • Cory’s mistakes & • How to Select Gardening success tips Appropriate Plants Edible Landscaping

• The inclusion of food producing plants in a designed yard or garden

• A Continuum of creative options that when done well combine the productivity of gardening with the low maintenance of thoughtful perennial selection. Beans ‘Spanish Musica’ 22.3 pounds Chard ‘Rainbow’ 10.4 pounds Collards ‘Vates’ 11.4 pounds Pepper ‘Blushing Beauty’ 3.5 pounds ‘Celebrity’ & ‘Early Girl’ 121.8 pounds Zucchini ‘Raven’ 39.7 pounds For Those with Time and/or Money: For Everyone Else: Replace yard-scaping with edible ornamentals

Most fruiting & bushes have lovely fragrant flowers

The ‘Viking’ Aronia bush pictured above is an easy to grow landscape plant that produces small round black with three times more antioxidants than Benefits of Edible Landscaping

• Produces the freshest tastiest food possible. • Adds fragrance and sensual beauty to our home, outdoor spaces, and community. • Healthier, safer, and more nutritious whole foods. • Saves Energy and Money • Biodiversity creates resilience and reduces pests

Home Landscaping above by Brie Arthur, author of “Foodscape Revolution” Costs; How to reduce and avoid them

Time Consuming Work Money • Select appropriate plants • Small bare plants are for location’s microclimate. cheaper and more likely to • Cover soil with ; don’t survive bury root flare • Start plants from seeds • Use easy-care perennials • Trade with neighbors

Native Edible Ornamental

• Juneberry, Serviceberry, Shad bush, etc. – Amelanchier spp. • Grows well in clay, acidic, and poor soils • Grows well in shade, but produces more fruit with more sun • Sweet, -like fruit • Susceptible to Cedar rust

•Attractive Branch structure •Lovely fall color •Left image: (http://media.cleveland.com/insideout_impact/photo/serviceb erry--coreopsisjpg-26f706eed7e7cbd0.jpg) •Above Image: (http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/n- biq04i/1dmpk/images/stencil/1024x1024/products/175/1892/ SHADBLOW_SERVICEBERRY2__52316.1442282701.jpg? c=2 ) •Very far left image: (https://fthmb.tqn.com/yUw1_7lWP8ea9tda_4TSFB6Fzsk=/3 75x500/about/Canadian-serviceberry-Amelanchier- Fruiting Dogwood (Street) Tree • Cornellian Cherry Dogwoods – Cornus Mas • Small ornamental trees for part shade; can reach 20 ft in height • Sweet, cherry-like fruit. Wood is so dense, it won’t float.

Image on left Courtesy of: http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2012/04/permaculture-plants- cornelian-cherry.html Right Image: http://health-tips-123.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/05/Cornelian-Cherry-Dogwood-02.jpg Native Edible; Paw Paw Tree –

• Produces large sweet nutritious fruit that taste like vanilla custard. • Pest & Disease free Cultivars I’ve tried •Allegheny •Shenandoa h •Prolific • •Susque- hannah Image Above: http://www.eattheweeds.com/wp- •Sunflower content/uploads/2011/08/paw-paw-.jpg Image Above Right: http://www.fernhilllandscapes.com/blog/2012/7/14/five-great-native- flowering-trees-for-the-mid-atlantic.html Image on Right: http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/breckenridge/humble- pawpaw-tree-becoming-hip-landscape-plant-1.524095 Plants for Shady Conditions

• Oregon -Holly Mahonia aquifolium • Tart purplish black make tea or jelly

Evergreen, but has bronzed in fall (left picture). Above, yellow blossoms photographed in March underneath an eighty foot white oak. < https://myshadegarden.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/img_0163.jpg Plants for Shady Conditions • Golden Silverberry Eleagnus Pungens • Fragrant fall blossoms turn into tasty red berries in spring • Fruit is high in vitamin A and E, bioactive compounds, minerals, flavonoids and proteins. Their lycopene content is http://www.plumjam.com/herbarium/eshr the highest of any food. ubsa-i/images/elaeagnus-pungens- m.jpg • Plant fixes Image on left and nutrition nitrogen, handles clay, and information from Burnt Ridge Nursery: has thorns to resist deer http://www.burntridgenursery.com/Silver berry-Bushes/products/110/ Plants for Shady Conditions • Wintergreen or Teaberry Gaultheria procumbens • Native Evergreen ground cover 3 to 6 inches tall • Grows well in full shade, but fruits better with partial sun. • Prefers high organic acidic Image above from: -like soil http://vinesandgroundcovers.blogspot.com/2012/02/gaultheria- procumbens html Other Plants for Shady Conditions • Alpine • Most cultivars only set fruit when night temperature is below 50º F • Otherwise everbearing and attractive. • Dense self-seeding perennial . ‘Rugen Alpine’ fills area quickly without runners • ‘Mignonette’ has largest fruit, an inch • Small delicious long. berries • Fruits well in dappled shade under trees

Image above courtesy of: https://www.degroot- Philadelphia Orchard Project Alpine Strawberries inc.com/product/fraises-des-bois-or-alpine-strawberry/# Goumi Bush - Eleagnus multiflora • Yellow or fuschia flowers in spring bring plentiful fruit like tart Cherries (fibrous seed is edible) in June or July. • Plant fixes nitrogen from air • Thrives on neglect • Shade tolerant

Pictures courtesy of: http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2012/02/permaculture-plants-goumi.html Plants for Clay and Partial Shade Highbush Cranberry – Viburnum trilobum • Low maintenance attractive multi-season that’s very tolerant of urban pollution. Tart berries make great jelly

http://plants.minorsgardencenter.com/12100004/Plant/506/Highbush_Cranberry Hedgerow of Highbush Cranberry in Progress; Bonus: Jonathan with Tree Flowering Edible Shrub for Clay: Rosa Rugosa • Several heirloom varieties of were grown for their fruits. • Rosa Rugosa Rubra (Red ) and Alba (White rose), as well as Roses produce a tasty hip • Do NOT eat the seeds.

Right Image: http://friendsofthefarm.ca/roses/rosarugosaalba1.html Edible that do well in Clay: Red, White, or Black Currants

• Low maintenance plants blend nicely with evergreens in the edible landscape. • Sweet-tart fruits with double the antioxidants of blueberries and twice the potassium of • Popular for making jams, Image above: Flowering sauces, and syrups. Currant Bush on Pinterest • Red varieties such as Images on right: https://www.pomonafruits.co.uk/soft- Jonkheer Van Tets and fruit-bushes-/- currant-bushes/-bush- Rovada are good fresh ben-hope Edible Plants that thrive in Clay Soils

• Black Walnuts - Juglans nigra • Serviceberries – Amelanchier species • - Pyrus species • & Edible Crabapples - Malus • Black Chokeberries - Aronia melanocarpa (Aronia berries) • Silverberry - Elaeagnus commutata • Black Currants - odoratum

• Rugosa Roses – Rosa rugosa http://ep.yimg.com/ay/monticellostore/hewes-crab-apple-tree-malus-cv-6.jpg • Highbush Cranberries - Viburnum Hewes Crabapple at Monticello

trilobum Suitability for Clay Soil verified by Dr. • American Elderberry - Sambucus James B. Calkins, University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural canadensis Science, and Beth Jarvis, UMN Extension Office. Evergreen Landscaping Options: Sweet Bay Laurel • Slow growing bush with aromatic bay leafs used in soups, and European Cuisine. • Can be pruned and trained • Susceptible to mold if shaded

Images Courtesy of: http://www.plantsrescue.com/tag/sweet-bay/ Evergreen Landscaping Options: Tea Camellia • Profuse white flowers look great on this naturally rounded dark green evergreen ornamental shrub. • Reaches a height and diameter of six feet. • Grows best in dappled • shade. • Protect tea plant from strong winter winds that can make it lose its leaves. East side of building is ideal location. • Leaves are used for green, black and white teas, and can be picked throughout growing season. Images Courtesy of: www.plantsrescue.com/camellia-sinensis// Evergreen Landscaping Options: Loquat • Easy to grow, small evergreen tree that handles wide range of soils and conditions including shade, drought, and clay. • Juicy sweet fruit ripens February through May and has a flavor like , , and cherry with floral overtones. • Leaves are edible, high in vitamin B, and can be made into a healthy tea, which increases insulin production; approved by Chinese government to Image above: https://www.preppergardens.com/ treat type 2 Diabetes. Japanese-Plum-Trees-p/md-loquat.htm Loquat with Lambmowers Natural Lawncare Evergreen Landscaping Options: Nut Trees • Italian Stone Pine (pictured here) are sold as miniature Christmas trees; they produce an abundant crop of pinoli nuts • Small drought-tolerant conical shrub matures to 60’ umbrella tree • Other varieties I haven’t grown: Lacebark Pine Nut & Silveray Korean Stone Pine

Left Image : http://www.pinerytree.com/product_detail.aspx?p=1&pid=43 Right Image: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/pages/pinpin/pinpin1.shtml Evergreen Edible that is frost hardy in zone 8 and usually can survive in Zone 7:

• Feijoa ( Guava) Low maintenance attractive shrub produces delicious pineapple-mint flavored fruit. Showy white flowers are one of the best-tasting edible flowers

Image above: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/355573333063476664/ Evergreen Small Tree suitable for street tree planting with beauty every season: • Tree (Arbutus Unedo) can be grown as a 6’-8’ bush or as a small tree up to 25’ in height. Self- fertile; produces mealy red fruit that ripens in fall and winter. Birds love the fruit.

• Drought and shade tolerant • Flowers in late fall and winter Image above: http://www.boethingtreeland.com/plant-type/trees/arbutus-unedo.html Other Edible Shrubs to Consider: • Fruits have a reputation of being tart, but are sweet and excellent for fresh eating when allowed to ripen fully on plant. • Full sun or semi-shade shrub that has large thorns for deer resistance. • Invicta variety did well – produced lots of fruit the year after planting. • Poorman hasn’t produced in second year as Images above: https://www.quickcrop.ie/blog/wp- content/uploads/2015/12/Gooseberry-bush-goblet-shape.jpg expected. Poor site? Favorite Edible Perennials for DC Region; Blueberry Bushes

http://www.waysidegardens.com/vacciniu m-pink-lemonade/p/48255/

Far Right Image: (http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2 011/06/our-berry-garden.html) Right image: Low bush blueberries http://www.thegardenlady.org/should- blueberries-be-planted-near-a-wall/ Another Low Maintenance Edible Shrub: Nanking Cherry Bush

• Prunus tomentosa produce small tart cherries loved by children • Deer resistent deciduous bush that prefers full sun, but can handle shade. • Reliably profuse white or pink flowers in early spring.

Images of Nanking Cherries courtesy of: http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2012/03/perm aculture-plants-nanking-cherry.html Plant Selection Considerations 2. Sunlight A. Full Sun? B. Shade tolerant? C. Prone to sun damage? 3. Soil A. Well-draining soil? B. PH range tolerance? C. Is plant a heavy feeder? 1. 4. Susceptibility A. Frost tolerance? A. Disease prone? (DC is Zone 7) B. Pest resistant? B. Heat tolerance? - (handles zone 8) C. Deer & Herbivore C. Drought tolerance? resistant? Where to Buy Edible Plants

1. Local Plant Nurseries 3. Edible Landscaping A. DeBaggio’s Farm and 361 Spirit Ridge Ln Nursery Afton, VA 22920 43494 Mountain View Dr. Ediblelandscaping.com Chantilly, VA 20152 4. Raintree Nursery B. Burke Nursery 9401 Burke Rd. Burke www.raintreenursery.com C. DePaul's Urban Farm 5. Burnt Ridge Nursery 2599 Chain Bridge Rd Vienna www.burntridgenursery.com

D. Merrifield Garden Center(s) 6. One Green World 2. Seed Savers Exchange https://onegreenworld.com/ www.seedsavers.org Landscaping Favorites; Fig Tree ‘Brown Turkey’, ‘Celeste’, ‘Spanish Mission’ or ‘Chicago Hardy’

http://ediblelandscaping.com/ products/shrubs/Figs/images /site/Fig%20English%20Bro http://www.ourhappyacres.com/wp- wn%20Turkey.jpg content/uploads/2012/09/figfarm.jpg Native • Some cultivars such as • Rosa Rugosa Rubra (Red Star and Nikita’s rose) and Alba (White Gift are self-fertile rose), as well as Apple • To avoid astringent taste, Roses produce a tasty hip leave fruit on tree until soft • Do NOT eat the seeds.

Above: https://s-media-cache- ak0.pinimg.com/originals/dc/90/11/dc90110efa6edfdc56548b98da4facf 3.jpg Right Image: Three year old Persimmon at Suter’s Glen Fairfax Favorites; ‘Purple Passion’

http://www.gardening-guy.com/wp- content/uploads/2012/01/Asparagus-patch.jpg Vines and Climbers

‘Golden Sweet’ Peas • Yellow pods are edible snacks like snap peas • 6’ climbing plants have beautiful purple flowers • Dry seeds are good in soup

‘Black Satin’ Thornless • Lavender flowers cover the in May • Produces over 8 quarts of tasty berries each year ripening in late June until mid August. • Leaves turn vibrant yellow in Fall Used by Permission from Rosalind Creasy (http://www.motherearthnews.com/- /media/Images/MEN/Editorial/Articles/Magazine-Articles/2010/10-01/Create-an- Edible-Landscape/MEN-ON10-edible-landscape-3.jpg ) Native Edible Flowering Vine Maypop Passion

• is a fast-growing native perennial vine that freezes to the ground each winter. Can be grown in five gallon pot. • Lovely scented flowers bloom from July until fall • Fruit tastes tropical like Passion fruit • Prefers well-drained soil (mix sand along with compost into planting medium) • Self-fertile • Pest-free • Butterflies love the flowers

Image above: http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2012/03/permacul ture-plants-maypop.html Image on Right: Hala’s Hen at Cory’s Garden Gate Annual Flowers with Edible Flower Petals  Stella D’Oro Daylilly yellow flowers followed by edible pods; both make a great addition to salads. Blooms for months in sun  Nasturtium  Bee balm  most / Marigold  Borage attracts beneficial Image above: Stella D’Oro Daylilly http://www.waysidegardens.com/stella-de-oro- pollinators and has flowers that daylily/p/44043-PK-10/ taste similar to Image on right: http://www.wikihow.com/Use- Nasturtiums-in-Food#/Image:Nasturtium- Salad.jpg Bottom image: Close up of Borage Flower http://www.homeremediess.com/wp- Perennial Flowering plants for Tea • Purple Coneflower or attracts pollinators for most of Image above: Monarch on Purple Coneflower Chamomile: See Image below summer.

• Spear Mint (Pineapple and Strawberry Mints do not make tasty tea) • Chamomile (low-growing alternative) • Yarrow attracts pollinators and aphid-eating insects into garden Image on Right: Swallowtail butterfly on Milkweed with Common Yarrow in background Native Tea Tree Franklinia • Not an easy edible • Rosa Rugosa Rubra (Red landscaping plant, but rose) and Alba (White quite beautiful and makes rose), as well as Apple a nice tea Roses produce a tasty hip • Likes acidic well draining • Do NOT eat the seeds. soil. Does not like compacted soil in typical urban environments.

Above Image: Franklin Tea Tree at Suter’s Glen Other Edible Perennials that have done well in Fairfax County

• Apple ‘Devonshire Quarrenden’ • Wild Blackberries • ‘Atomic Red Flowering’ Nectarine • ‘Sweet Bagel’ Peach • ‘Double Dandy’ Pluot • Strawberries & • Wild Wine Rasberries • Wild Black • Illinoise Everbearing Mulberry • Hal’s Hardy Almond • Combo Cherry, Pluot, and Plum trees from Raintree Nursery Easiest Fruit Tree for the Beginner: Japanese

• Easiest fruit tree for beginner to grow; reliably productive. • Fruit can be red, yellow or purple. • ‘Hollywood’ and ‘Cocheco’ varieties have red leaves

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/japanese-plum-tree/ • ‘Emerald Beaut’ highest rated in blind taste tests and fruit is ripe on tree for two months; stays crisp, grows sweeter Design Considerations

3. Form A. Growth Habit? B. Shape of plant? C. Accent plant that needs space? 4. Color A. Complimentary colors B. Leaves can have different shades of colors

Drawing by Phil Forsyth, Executive Director of C. Repetition of same fruit and Philadelphia Orchard Project flower color is eye-pleasing 5. Texture 1. Size A. How tall? A. Hard-scape considerations B. What diameter? B. Size and shape of leaves? 2. Deer & Pest Resistance C. Spacing between leaves? Think outside the box. This is a treehouse Restaurant in New Zealand But, Don’t Make these Mistakes

1. Leave Soil uncovered 5. Experiment with non- i. Nutrients erode and beneficial natives that haven’t been microorganisms get scorched proven in our climate: ii. Fungal diseases splash up i. Monkey Puzzle Tree ii. ‘Red Star’ 2. Ignore the sunlight iii. Blacktail Mountain requirements of a plant 6. Ignore the potential fruit 3. Plant the right plant for a and bird droppings in the location in the wrong future season. 7. Overprotect your plants 4. Underestimate the from winter temperatures persistence and athleticism of hungry deer 8. Ignore health of soil

Easiest Easiest Annuals Herbs

• Pole Green Beans • Mint* • Potatoes* • * • Indeterminate Tomato* • * varieties • * • Kale • Parsley • Lettuce • Sage* • Marigolds • Echinacea (Cone • Flower) • * • Lavender* • Rhubarb* *Indicates Deer • Sunchoke Resistance Gardening In Limited Spaces • Take advantage of vertical space with trellises & tall plants • Use deep Containers that echo or compliment plants

http://www.plumjam.com/herbarium/eshr • Pictured: ‘Hungarian ubsa-i/images/elaeagnus-pungens- Wax’ Peppers, ‘Red m.jpg Image on left and nutrition Flame’ , information from Burnt Ridge Cilantro & Nursery: http://www.burntridgenursery.com/Silver berry-Bushes/products/110/ Daniels Run Peace Church • Blueberry – ‘Pink Lemonade’ • Fig tree – ‘Celeste’ • Thyme – ‘Golden Variegated’ • Echinacea – ‘Purple Coneflower’ • ‘Golden Silverberry’ – Eleagnus • Japanese Plum Trees – ‘Emerald Beaut’ – fruit hangs ripe on tree for 2 months – ‘Hollywood’ - purple leaves, showy pink blossoms, tasty dark red plums – ‘Beauty’ – Richly flavored melt in your mouth fruits come quickly • Yarrow – • Serviceberry – ‘Autumn Brilliance’

Edible Landscaping The Key to Beauty, Bounty, and Well-being in the 21st Century

By: Cory Suter Permaculture Farmer and Founder of BioNeighbors, LLC