Planning Your Edible Landscape
Inside: An edible landscape can be a lot of work, but they are great fun and highly fulfilling with fruits, vegetables, herbs, and more!
An edible landscape can be a lot of work, but they are great fun and highly fulfilling. They are becoming quite popular, as they combine beauty and functionality. Here are some tips for planning an edible landscape garden that you will treasure for years to come.
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Planning Your Edible Landscape
When you have an edible landscape as a project you wish to embark on, there is a lot of planning you will want to do in order to give it the best outcome possible.
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Collect Ideas
You will likely have a great number of ideas that you have seen and liked – whether actual landscapes or photos on websites and in magazines. The first thing you will want to do in regard to planning your edible landscape is to collect all these ideas.
Make clippings, or prepare a folder on your computer with all your favorite plants and landscape designs. Pinterest is a huge source of ideas. I love to look through the images alone for inspiration to hit.
Decide on an Edible Landscape Goal
Think about what you love to look at.
- What are your favorite colors?
- What plants make you feel happy and relaxed when you see them?
Make a list of all the plants you wish to have in your landscape and decide upon your must-haves and your simple wish list. There is a difference between a wish list and a must-have list. I have to grow tomatoes because they go towards reducing our grocery bill all year long. I want to grow snap sugar peas because I love snacking on them.
Decide on the Edibles Desired
Consult Local Landscapers or Gardeners
You may wish to have a cherry tree, but is it feasible in your geographic area? When you make your lists of desired plants, do some research and find out what is likely to grow in your area.
Don’t set yourself up for failure and risk losing time and energy on something that is doomed from the start. Blackberries and blueberries are going to grow great in my area and they are something we can use.
For every location, there are many plants that will thrive there, so consult friends and garden center staff to find out which plants are likely to do well where you live.
Make a Landscape Design
Now that you have your wish list, you get to decide on your goals and do your research on plants.
Then it is time to make a design out of your final ideas. You will want to get the exact dimensions of your yard and draw up a simple outline of where you will plant everything.
If you are like me and need a more visual aid, you can cut small pieces of each photo you have collected and paste them onto the design page in the appropriate section. This will also come in handy as things grow and you try to remember where you planted what.
Now you are ready for the next and final step of making it happen. You have planned your landscape and are ready to physically put it together.
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