Edible Landscapes

Each year, since we moved to Dinas Powys, the distinction between decorative and horticultural planting in our garden has become increasingly blurred. Rainbow chard, brassicas, beetroot, tomatoes, courgettes and herbs grow alongside flowers, and between shrubs and trees. It has become an edible landscape.

Combining food and non-food plants in landscaping is becoming more common in community and municipal gardens. The garden outside the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, for instance, has been redesigned as an edible landscape. In a previous post I said I would report back on progress. Here are some pictures I took there last week.

In the borders outside Chapter are tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans, broad beans, nasturtiums, kale, poppies, purple-sprouting broccoli and an avocado tree. They are both decorative and productive.

The idea is that the plants can be harvested by the local community. Last autumn when the purple-sprouting broccoli was ready, Chapter used Twitter to invite people to help themselves from the community garden.

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Previous Chapter garden post:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.com/2011/05/community-gardens.html