Great information...aslo BeetBerry is a good one to add...looks wonderful and th eberries are greta as a snack, dried...and in salads..

It's me vegemm "So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase." 1 Corinthians 3:7

Here is a great site with some info about edible plants for landscaping!

PlantsForAFuture

 

DizzyD %-}

I'm interested in edible landscaping, too. I'm in Zone 6B, northern Arkansas, and have been gardening about three years now. There is an amazing nursery that is concentrating on bringing cold-hardy citrus to northern-er gardeners. I haven't ordered from it, but it's called McKenzie Farms ... http://mckenzie-farms.com/photo.htm also I just found this nursery that sells interesting edible-landscaping plants for reasonable prices: http://www.hiddenspringsnursery.com/plants.htm Oh yeah, and another thing that is helpful is to learn to propagate your edible landscaping plants ... by whatever method will work. I'm presently trying to start some mulberry cuttings, for instance. Will let y'all know if they root.

 I forgot about all the types of basil that are great, ornamental oregano is beautiful, Cuban oregano is very pretty and tastes delicious -- much milder than regular oregano. You can also plant garlic -- some types grow scapes and the flowers are delicious and beautiful. What about all sorts of varieties of lettuces? I have been growing Chinese Red Noodle Beans and they are delicious and the foliage is really neat looking. They need oodles of support though. Hyacinth Bean Vine is nice -- those beans are supposedly edible, although I wonder about that.......

Calendula is edible, curry has interesting foliage, bay leaves are neat, Jasmine is edible, but that's something you couldn't keep outside all year around.

Dizzy really came up with loads of stuff....Another thing, you can grow a rainbow of colors of Swiss Chard. It's pretty, delicious and really healthy!

Susan, the Texas Yankee and the Forum Manager

 

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 Here are more of my nasturtiums from this year.

[img_assist|nid=842|title=nasturtium in peach|desc=nasturtium July 07 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=238]

[img_assist|nid=839|title=nasturtium red|desc=nasturtium July 07 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=233]

[img_assist|nid=830|title=nasturtium|desc=nastiturtium July 07 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=250] 

~DizzyD %-}

My Trade List

Sharon,

My family and I prefer to have edibles in our landscapes, as well as non-edibles.  The edibles have several benefits! We grow things like:

Mints, thymes, lavenders --did you know that there are some new varieties of lavender that is reportedly hardy to -40F(lavendula stoechas Boysenberry Ruffles)

elcampane, borage, garlic, chard, beets, nasturtiums(whole plant!), calendulas, chives, monarda, fuchsia berries(just like cherries), huckleberry, kinickinick, rhubarb, sages, hazelnut, walnut, jerusalem artichokes, catnip, anise.

These all may not be hardy where you are at.  They are all hardy (except nasturtiumsand calendula, but they reseed) to about 15deg F.

Hope this helped give you some ideas

Jessica

 Zone 5a here. Some plants I will always grow now are ornamental cabbages and kale, you get great late season "blooms" from them -  November & mine are still looking great! Hot peppers are fun, decorative, and generally help keep pests away, though I tend to like the ornamental peppers as they are more colorful; all kinds of herbs are great as fillers in the gardens!

[img_assist|nid=897|title=ornamental cabbage|desc=Oranamental cabbage OCtober 07 Zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=188]

As Susan said, nasturtiums are edible and pretty. [img_assist|nid=846|title=nasturtium|desc=nasturtium July 07 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=217]

Then there are daylily flower blooms - they are edible.

 [img_assist|nid=835|title="Little Women" daylily - nocturnal bloomer|desc=Daylily - nocturnal - "Little Women" Zone 5 July 07|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=220]

[img_assist|nid=845|title=nasturtium|desc=nasturtiums in pot July 07 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=240|height=250]

I also have dwarf cherry bushes which grow lovely pink/white flowers in spring, fruits in summer, and gorgeous red foliage in fall.

[img_assist|nid=898|title=aster with white & purple cabbages|desc=cabbages & asters Oct 2007 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=249|height=250]

Onions and chives - [img_assist|nid=847|title=Egyptian Walking onion in bloom|desc=Egyptian Walking Onion July 07 zone 5|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=193]

Oh, and MINTS!! All kinds of mints are great, edible and generally have a great fragrance when brushed against. Sweet potatoe plants/vines are so cool! So are various bean vines.

[img_assist|nid=2394|title=Sweet potatoe "Sweet Caroline"|desc=Sweet potatoe "Sweet Caroline"|link=popup|align=left|width=247|height=250]

I know there are more I have all over - will think about it & post more.

~DizzyD %-}

My Trade List

Sharon, there are loads of herbs you could use. Also, nasturtiums are edible. They provide a beautiful splash of color to any dish. There are other edible flowers, too. Lavender flowers are edible....I've even seen lavender jam. What about strawberries? I can think of lots of edible things, but the majority of them aren't perennials -- especially not in your zone. You could also grow hibiscus and there are hardy varieties as well as tropical ones. If you'd like some hardy hibiscus seeds, I have some that I would gladly share with you. I harvested the seeds from a plant that I grew from seeds. Rose of Sharon (although probably considered a bush,) is also in the hibiscus family. [img_assist|nid=43|title=Pink Hibiscus grown from seed|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=167]

Susan, the Texas Yankee and the Forum Manager

 

Click here to see my trade list: http://www.gardenhere.org/node/271