Gardens are so… Square!

For the creative-types like myself, there comes a point when you are tired of a standard square garden and everything planted in a row. This is the moment when it is necessary to combine garden and landscape into a seamless backyard beauty.

My plan for this year is to plant strawberries under our fruit trees. They will act as a ground cover under the trees where otherwise we would have planted annual flowers or just mulch. Strawberries are good because they need a certain amount of mulch each year and this way I can mulch the trees and the strawberries all together. I will need to be a little careful about diseases with that much fruit all together, but a little bit of maintenance (picking up any dropped fruit or branches) will go a long way.

The second idea that I hope to try is starting a groundcover comprised of mixed greens. This will provide me with salad for the spring and fall while also filling up some empty holes in my landscaping. It will not be in a row but in a mass planting which will be so much prettier in my opinion!

Thirdly, I really would enjoy some asparagus. I have many wonderful childhood memories of fresh asparagus and there is not much you can buy that even comes close. As I continue to plan out my landscape, I will incorporate asparagus in the back of a perennial bed, making sure to leave a path for easy access. Asparagus becomes a tall bush after it has gone to seed, late in the season. This will act as a green backdrop for some black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers. Also, the fine texture of the asparagus leaves will make the backdrop appear further away than it really is. This, complimented by some larger leafed perennials up close, makes my small back yard appear larger than it actually is.

Those are my plans for mixing up the garden this year. There are so many other ways to incorporate edibles into your landscape. What are some you have tried? Any you want to try? Be creative and go for it!