As seen in May 2007 issue of Central Coast Magazine
By Todd Davidson of Sage Ecological Landscaping

Although historical, formal garden design segregated herbs, veggies, and fruit from ornamentals, I encourage you to break established, staunch, separatist design boundaries and mix in the edibles with the ornamentals for added interest while creating a more engaging garden: an edible landscape. 
    The idea of including edible plants in our highly ornate compilations and garden masterpieces may sound a bit strange and unfamiliar, but it is a completely acceptable and sophisticated way of enhancing your landscape design. Soothing a voracious appetite should be another added enjoyment to the entertainment, meditation, relaxation, and exercise experienced in your garden. Many edibles have stunning design applications. Play off the large, hanging, edible globe ornaments such as the apple, citrus, pomegranate, and persimmon. How about incorporating classical Mediterranean culinary keystones such as the f g, rosemary, and olive? A tropical water feature can be flanked with avocados, kiwi, hardy-banana, pineapple, guava, and dragon fruit.  Espalier a dwarf apple, pear, or peach to soften and add interest to a fl at, sunny wall. Embrace native elderberry, blackberry, gooseberry, and currants along a brambly nature trail. Train juicy table grapes over a garden gate arbor or patio pergola. 
    If you are fortunate to have ample sunlight, don’t forget to work in your favorite herbs: thyme, prostrate and upright rosemary, oregano, and chives. If you have a large, warm, sunny area to sprawl, grow a watermelon, squash, or cantaloupe: these aggressive goodies are a great way to smother weeds while providing some summer sweets. For a quick, eight-foot screen, grow some sweet corn or pole beans. The great Native American planting trio taught to settlers can be honored with sweet corn, pole beans, and squash. The sweet corn acts like a trellis structure for the pole beans, which in turn fix nitrogen for the voracious corn roots, while the squash adds a complementary groundcover to both smother weeds and retain needed moisture for the whole group. Groundcovers such as ripe, red strawberry, golden garden nasturtium, and variegated Houttuynia can be used where a colorful prostrate form is needed: next to a path for easy harvest or an accessible slope. Mix some of the above groundcovers with rose petals and your ubiquitous, weedy lawn dandelions to complete the makings of a colorful and zesty “salad.” A showy, climbing combination of tomatoes growing with annual sweet peas on a trellis can be deliciously colorful. Make dandelion wine and elderberry wine, an estate bouquet port, or homemade beer flavored with viny hops. Use the striking, bold, coarse textural form of the artichoke to draw your eye to a focal point and your taste buds to a treat. Colorful heirloom lettuces can also be sewn in a decorative pattern along a mixed border around a lawn while interplanted with spring bulbs. 
    There are so many unexplored ideas to create a wonderfully edible landscape in your garden. Therefore, let your imagination be limitless when incorporating fun food plants, while following fundamental horticultural practices.  This spring, be daring and break past segregation barriers in your garden; incorporate edible plants abundantly. The results may greatly please you as tasty rewards become a daily part of your outdoor lifestyle. A final note, don’t forget to feed and care for your soil so that it will feed you.  Bon appétit en jardin!