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Writer's pictureKristi Duffy

Perennials: Landscaping with Edible Plants

Perennials are the sensation of the garden. They provide eye catching color, unique style and fill in the spaces between the larger trees and shrubs. Perennials are plants that provide seasonal interest, die back in their dormant season and regrow when conditions are favorable again. Commonly recognizable perennials include bulbs, dahlias and echinacea among many others. Due to our mild winters in the Central Valley, many perennials can live through the winter without much dieback or winter damage. Other perennials, such as California poppy will have a summer dormancy period having growth through the fall and/or winter and blooming in the spring. 


Oregano

This well known herb is incredibly beautiful if allowed to flower. The leaves will have less of the flavorful oils once it has flowered but the flowers themselves have a unique and yummy taste that is just as useful. Different varieties will get different sizes but most stay under 2 ½ feet. Oregano is great for the middle to front portion of border plantings. These will ‘walk’ if you let them so just be aware of that. They are not aggressive spreaders like mint but if left to their own devices they will happily fill an area. Certain varieties are more ornamental than others and some are more prostrate being a great option for ground cover or hanging baskets. 


Asparagus

Asparagus takes some patience before you can harvest but it definitely rewards you when it is time! You should not harvest any of the spears the first year. The second year will be very light in production so asparagus is not a quickly rewarding crop, but it pays off if you love this veggie. They also produce beautiful frilly fronds in fall that are decorative and add some whimsy to your landscape. Its ornamental value is highly seasonal, but these can be placed behind or mixed in other plantings, and the fronds enjoyed in their season without too much of a bare area during the rest of the year. They do get rather tall, so put them behind your medium sized plants in the borders, or along with ground cover to prevent bare areas. They can also be interspersed with other plants to create a meadow effect.


Chive

Chives are incredibly beautiful if you let them bloom. The same goes for any in the allium family (onions, garlic, leeks). Chives do great in the lowest level of your garden and border plantings or in pots. Plant chives instead of a shorter grass such as blue fescue or annual bedding plants. Standard chives will produce a purple flower that hovers just above the leaves where as garlic chives have a white flower. 


Sage

is a fun one as different varieties will have different leaf colors. They all have beautiful flowers and are great for sunny areas in your yard similar to chives and other herbs. They do great in the front section of border plantings. For instance pineapple sage is a wonderful herb, evergreen (in our climate), hardy, beautiful scarlet flowers in late fall and early winter, but it very quickly reaches 5 feet. Much taller than your average garden sage. 



Artichoke

artichokes are very striking plants that are great for either a large pot or in ground plantings. Large silvery green leaves add a unique texture to your landscape while their big purple flowers are a bee magnet! If you allow them to flower you will be rewarded by seeing bees constantly tumbling around in the flower heads getting covered in pollen. These do need quite a bit of space and the leaves are rather pokey so plan placement accordingly. 


Lemongrass

lemongrass is a great edible grass to add to your landscape. They get about 3 feet tall and can handle full and partial sun. Without protection, these will go dormant in the winter but personally I don’t add additional protection as my plant is in a fairly sheltered location and will maintain some green until the growing season comes again. If you want longer and thicker stems to use for cooking or for tea I recommend that you cover your plants during the winter to protect them from frost. I have had young unestablished plants not make it through the winter so be sure to plant in spring or early summer to give it enough time to be well rooted. This is a great replacement for any medium sized ornamental grass in your landscape. 


There are many other food producing perennials that could make this list. For instance both rue and some geraniums are edible. I did not add them to my list as they are not as widely used in the kitchen. However both are beautiful and worth considering as additions to your landscape. Figure out what you like to eat and then do some research, or send me a message, to see how you can best incorporate edible perennials into your landscape. 

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