Avis Licht

I received my B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources, from the University of California, Berkeley. After that I studied with the great horticulturist, Alan Chadwick for 2 years. He brought French Intensive organic gardening to its height in Santa Cruz, California and many of his students have gone on to start farms, seed companies, and teach organic gardening. In 1978 I co founded the Commonweal Garden in Bolinas It was an organic farm and teaching center. Since 1983 I've been designing and installing landscapes in California. Edible landscaping is my specialty, but sustainable, native plant, and ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL gardens are what I love to do. After 35 years of gardening and designing gardens, I've decided to share my experience using the internet to reach more people. I hope you find what I have to say, useful, interesting and inspiring. Please let me know what areas you're interested in. Thanks for stopping by.

More Simple Ways to Get Rid of Pests in the Edible Landscape

Pest control organically 1 Response »

Sep 142011

What is a pest? In a garden an animal can be a pest one day and not the next. One of our most beloved members of the garden is the Bird. They’re beautiful, they sing, the eat insects, we NEED birds in the garden. BUT… they can also be incredibly damaging to our crops.

In the Spring song birds come flocking into the garden. They can absolutely devastate your early crops by pecking at the leaves and pulling them out of the ground. One way you can tell the difference between snail and slug damage and bird damage, is that a bird will leave a triangular peck in the leaf, like this > from its beak. A slug or snail will have an uneven edge eaten. The easiest and most effective way I have found to deal with birds is to cover the beds. I do this by putting a wire cover over the bed and lay bird netting over that. It allows the plants room to grow and keeps out all the birds.

Wire and netting over beds for protection from birds

The wire is cut to the size of the bed. It is then gently put over the bed like a hoop. I peg in the bottoms with wire staples or a stick. After the wire is in place, I put bird netting over it and tuck in all the corners. I don’t recommend chicken wire, because it has many sharp edges, gets rusty and you can get caught on it too easily. This green coated wire is not expensive and easy to use. The coating keeps it looking good and prevents it from rusting.

Bird netting over wire hoop keeps the birds away from your vegetables

The next photo shows how I put the bird netting over the wire. It’s important to keep it pegged in at the edges so that birds don’t get caught inside the netting.

When the plants are up to the top of the wire I take it off and by then, the plants are no longer of interest to the birds. They want something more tender.

Simple Dog Barrier

How can a bamboo stick keep a large dog out of the strawberries

How can bamboo sticks keep a large dog out of the strawberries?

I know this may seem ridiculous, but in the photo above I used small bamboo sticks to create a little fence around my strawberries. I found that my large Black Labrador Retriever would walk through the strawberries and do his stuff right in the middle. Big Yuck. Once I put up this little barrier, he walked around the bed and we never had a problem. My point here, is that sometimes you can find very simple and easy solutions to a vexing problem.

It’s also the case that a beloved member of the family can be a pest as well.

How to Get Rid of Critters in the Edible Landscape

Pest control organically No Responses »

Sep 122011

I just got a question about some really annoying critter(s) in the vegetable garden. Since pesky critters are a common problem, I will help you figure out who is doing what in your garden and how to take care of them, without poisons or pesticides. There are many challenging pests, and in this post, I’ll talk about raccoons, moles and gophers. Stay tuned for other pesty guys tomorrow.

Here’s the question: “For the last week or so there has been some critter routing around in my garden digging through the soil. What could this be…skunk, possum, raccoon, other?…and how do I keep it from digging up my vegetable plants and trampling my young greens.”

My first thought, is that it is probably a raccoon. They are notorious for rooting around in the soil looking for grubs to eat. They will also dig up new sod lawns, looking for food. Raccoons will climb trees and wreck havoc in your fruit trees, breaking branches and eating your fruit. They will open garbage cans, get into your compost and in general be a HUGE nuisance. They will also, come directly into your home and rummage around your cupboards looking for treats. I am NOT exaggerating. All these things have happened to me.

Make sure you are not leaving any dog or cat food outside that will lure them to the house. Be sure to close your doors at night. This may seem obvious, but we always leave our doors open at night for our cats to go in and out. Imagine my outrage, when I discovered that the raccoons had been coming through our bedroom, down the hall, through the living room, into the kitchen, onto the counter and taking my avocados back through the house outside for some evening dining. The nerve of them!

We had a cat door put into the front door of our house. The cats wore magnetic collars that opened the door. The raccoons literally tore the cat door out of the front door, bolts and all. It was like something out of a Stephen King horror novel.

But I digress. Close your doors at night. No food outside. If you have a compost bin, you need to make sure the lid and doors close tightly or they will come back nightly to raid the food.

Wire and bird netting protect vegetables

A simple wire and bird netting to protect plants (click to enlarge)

I screwed and bolted the door of my compost bin and they cannot get in now. I guess I showed them who’s boss.

The picture on the left shows a garden bed with wire over it. Draped over the wire is bird netting. In the Spring birds like to eat the tender young greens. This keeps both large and small critters out of the bed.

This next picture is a close up of the wire and netting.

Wire and netting over a beet bed

The other animals that like to dig in our gardens are gophers and moles. Gophers are serious pests and can do a lot of harm. They burrow underground in a network of tunnels. One sign of them in the garden is a raised mound of earth with a little hole at the top. This is the result from their tunneling. The minute you see a new mound is the best time to get the gopher. Trapping is the most efficient method.

gopher trap

You need to dig directly into the mound and find the tunnel underneath. It will go in two directions. You need to put a trap into both sides, as you don’t know which direction they’ll be coming from. I rub the trap with parsley or carrot greens. This takes away any human smell and also lures them. You can see in the photo, that I’ve put a rope on the trap. I peg it into the ground so that they don’t pull it into the tunnel. I also put a board or stone over the hole to keep the light out. Keep checking the trap. Sometimes they throw dirt into the hole you’ve dug, and you need to clear it out.

Set your trap carefully (click to enlarge)

Trapping is not for the faint of heart. But I’ll tell you, when they start pulling your beautiful broccoli plants under ground, you’ll be motivated.

Moles are insectivores. They don’t eat your plants, but they do tunnel underground. This sometimes creates air pockets around the plants that causes them to wilt. Push the soil back up against the roots of the plants and water them. That will usually take care of your plants. I don’t trap moles. I think they do more good than harm.

Come back tomorrow for more about pesky critters in your Edible Landscape.

Edible Landscaping with Deer Resistant Herbs

Ornamental/edible plants No Responses »

Sep 102011

The Fall season in Northern California is the worst time for deer in the gardens. The grasses and other forage in the wildlands have dried up and intrepid deer come wandering into our gardens, looking for something good to eat. If you don’t have a 6 foot fence surrounding your garden, you’ll want to know some herbs that you can count on to be deer resistant.

Lavender (click to enlarge)

Lavender is one of my favorite herbs. It is fragrant, easy to grow, doesn’t need much water and deer really don’t eat it. It does need sun and good drainage. It is a perennial plant, that in mild climates, meaning no heavy snow cover, can live for 5 – 7 years. After that, it starts looking worn out and old, and needs to be replaced.

I was surprised to taste how good a glass of ice cold water from a pitcher that had a sprig of mint and a sprig of lavender in it was. As long as you don’t over do it with the lavender, it is really a wonderful flavor.

Rosemary at the bottom of steps (click to enlarge)

Rosemary is another absolutely fantastic herb for the edible landscape. It is a multi purpose plant. It is also easy to grow, liking full sun and little to moderate water and doesn’t need much care. It’s evergreen and cold hardy to 20 deg. although some varieties are more tender. You can use it in many styles of cooking. I’ve never seen a deer eat a Rosemary plant, which can’t be said for many plants.

Rosemary varieties can be found as upright shrubs to 6 ft tall, and as low as 1 ft. cascading over walls. The flowers attract birds, butterflies and bees and produce excellent honey. I call this plant the work horse of all herbs.

Free blooming pink yarrow (click to enlarge)

Yarrow, called Achillea millefolium, is a beautiful and carefree herb. It grows in all zones in full sun, with little or no water.It has finely toothed leaves and a flower that can be used for fresh or dried bouquets.

You can find varieties of Yarrow with white, pink, red or yellow flowers. There are creeping varieties and ones that grow to 3 ft tall.

Thyme is a well known herb which comes from the Mediterranean. It is a low growing, plant in the mint family. There are some wonderful flavors of different thymes, including lemon, lime, caraway scented and orange scented. I use it as a ground cover between stepping stones. It has a beautiful flower as well as being fragrant when you step on it. As with the other herbs I’ve talked about, this one also doesn’t need rich soil or much water. For maintenance it is best to shear or cut back plants after they flower.

Thyme between stepping stones (click to enlarge)

These are a few of my favorite herbs for the edible landscape. But I promise there are more to come just as wonderful.

Labor Day in the Garden – A Labor of Love

Garden Reflections No Responses »

Sep 082011

Sunflowers and Dahlias in the Fall

Mostly I’m a very practical person. My motto is let’s get the work done and then go have fun. My garden writings are meant to give you very specific suggestions for your Edible Landscape. But every now and then I feel the need to wax philosophical, and you’ll just have to excuse me.

Labor Day is an American holiday that has been recognized on the first Monday in September since 1882. We take a day off to recognize the hard work of all the people. Gardeners are one of the hardest workers. You can’t work theoretically in the garden. Either you do it or you don’t. The plants live and die by our labor. We dig, and haul and plant and sweat and at the end of the day, there’s something to show for our efforts.

This steep hillside has some real issues (click to enlarge)

A few days later, with a good plan, and some great workers we have this:

The final landscaping solution for the hill

Stairs, retaining wall, and plantings are done (click to enlarge)

The rewards of the garden are huge. I have often thought that I’m like a 5 year old, needing instant gratification from my work. My friends who are therapists and teachers can work for years before seeing the results of their labor. We gardeners on the other hand, stand back at the end of the day and can see what we’ve done. Then we go and eat what we’ve grown.

I’ve been working in my own garden for over 20 years. It has taken shape VERY SLOWLY. Most of my time was spent working and raising my three sons. And that is as it should be. I encourage you to be patient with yourself and with the growing of the garden.

Over time you get to know you home’s particularities of weather: sun, storms and wind. You will see it in all four seasons. Inch by inch and row by row, you will gradually turn your yard into a garden of delight. For me it’s been a labor of love, and worth every drop of sweat.

People come to the garden to learn and see what I've done

: NEVER GIVE UP

The Fall Edible Garden

Ornamental/edible plants 1 Response »

Sep 072011

A bumper crop of apples in the Fall

In California, the Fall is synonymous with apples. For Edible Landscaping we have many varieties that will grow, from the coast up to the Sierra Foothills. My own trees have four varieties of apples on one tree. With two trees, that gives me a grand total of eight varieties, in one small area. They ripen at slightly different times, to extend the season. Check your nurseries for types that work in your climate. If you go to Smart Gardener you can type in your zip code and they’ll tell you what your growing season is.

Sun Gold cherry tomatoes

Of all the vegetable crops, tomatoes are one of the few that almost everyone wants to grow at home, because they ALWAYS (almost) taste better than store bought. If you live in a cool climate, as in the California northern coast, or a short season climate, as in higher elevations, then you want to grow Cherry tomatoes, which ripen earlier, faster and longer than larger tomatoes. Check out the varieties of heirloom tomatoes that give wonderful taste, great yields and all kinds of colors. Organic gardening is more than a buzz word, it’s way to enjoy life.

One of my favorite Edible Landscape plants is the delicious Strawberry. Strawberries can be early, middle and late producing. Some varieties give two crops, such as the one pictured below. Some are everbearing and some are Wild Strawberries. You will get a lot of information from this site, Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, and you can order plants from them as well.

It's Fall and the Strawberries keep on coming

Delicious Delights from the Garden

Ornamental/edible plants 1 Response »

Sep 062011

Blackberry, strawberry and apples for the crisp

Going out into the garden to pick fruit is a really sweet thing to do. You can be sure the fruit is fresh, organic, and ripe. I needed something really quick to bring to a family gathering. So I stepped out into the garden and picked a bowl of strawberries, a bowl of blackberries and some wonderfully tart apples.

Apples, blackberries and strawberries from the edible garden

Beautiful fruit right from the garden (click to enlarge)

All I had to do was rinse them off, slice the apples and put them in the pan. If you want you can squeeze a little lemon juice over the apples. I didn’t have any, and no harm was done. I confess to sprinkling a tiny bit of sugar over the top of the fruit.

The next step is the crumble for the top. You can use a variety of ingredients. I use 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup flour, both whole wheat and white, 1/4 cup sugar mixed in with 1/4 cup butter and a pinch of salt. A little cinnamon and nutmeg goes well with this. Mix these ingredients over the top and voila, you’re ready to go. Thirty minutes in 350 deg oven and you will have the best crisp you’ve ever tasted.

Fresh and organic makes a huge difference in the taste of fruit.

This was still steaming from the oven when I took the picture.

People ask me if you can really eat flowers. The answer is a definite yes. Take a look at this salad.

Nasturtiums and borage flowers in the salad

Flowers in a salad make the salad look beautiful and in this case give it a tangy flavor. The Sun Gold cherry tomatoes and Persian cucumbers are also incredibly flavorful. See what I have to say about edible flowers in another post.

Don’t be shy, give it a try. You might really like it.

The Path Well-Built

Garden Design 3 Responses »

Sep 022011

Path into the Garden

Walking up the brick path to the front door, you can see a well defined path on the left leading through an open wire fence. It just makes you want to go there. This path is made of decomposed granite, also known as DG. It is easy to lay down, and weed resistant. In this case we added a stabilizer to the granite to make it even more sturdy.

In the picture below you can see how we leveled the area and put a weed barrier down first. We did the same treatment for both DG and Redwood Bark paths.

Laying weed barrier on path below your final material

The path leading into the garden, is more informal and we used Redwood Bark. It looks like it belongs in the garden, but still leads you through easily and safely. The curve of the path adds design interest and takes you up the hill with fewer steps.

The informal bark path is still easy to walk on

Paths do much more than take you somewhere. A path to the front door should also welcome you and be safe and clearly defined. A front door gets lots of traffic, from toddlers to the elderly, who may be using canes or walkers.

You want the front entrance to be clearly identified, stable, with no tripping spots and well lit.

A well laid, flagstone path, sturdy yet still informal

Although this path is flagstone, it used large stones, is laid very flat and is clearly defined. It makes a very welcoming entrance.

Paths in the garden not only allow you access to the plants to maintain the beds, but prevent compaction and erosion. Plants need oxygen and water and aerated soil for their roots to grow. Each time you step on the soil you compact it more. After even only a few times, you will find that water doesn’t enter easily, the soil becomes hard and plants won’t get the oxygen and nutrients they need.

Here are examples of simple, easy paths to put in your garden.

Stepping stones in the garden prevent compaction

Free chips laid on a path work well too

In the picture above, you can see small stepping stones in the bed on the left. They are there to walk through the strawberry bed without compacting the soil.

Under the chips in this garden, we laid old sheets and towels to keep the weeds down. I really don’t like using plastic in the garden. Cotton is an organic material that lets water through, keeps the weeds from growing and will eventually break down into soil. Plastic weed barriers just break up into little pieces of plastic that will be there for the next thousand of years. Think twice before using plastic in the garden.

Another example of a beautiful stone stepping path. Easy to lay and beautiful to look at.

Slate stone entry and stepping stones to the back yard

Compost Made Easy

Composting Made Easy 2 Responses »

Aug 302011

Easy compost bin (click to enlarge)

Let me tell you that composting is one of the greatest things you can do in the garden. It’s the hidden treasure at your house. First of all, the ingredients are FREE. They are the scraps from your kitchen, the weeds you throw away, the prunings, scrapings and left overs from your garden. Usually, people throw them in the garbage, put them in the green bin or worst of all, put them in PLASTIC Bags and then throw them away. Yikes!

Why would you throw away your greatest asset? Because you didn’t realize that what looks like garbage will be turned into gold. It’s easy to do and you’ll love the results.

Inside my compost bin

I’ve been using this compost bin for about 20 years. I never turn it, water it, or futz with it. I just throw those kitchen scraps inside it and cover them with some dry leaves, weeds or a little sawdust. You need to pay little attention to what you put in the bin, because there needs to be a combination of wet and dry elements. Too wet and it gets all mushy, too dry and it doesn’t break down.

Don’t put noxious things in the pile like bermuda grass, poison oak or ivy or noxious weed seed. Unless your compost gets very hot, it won’t kill these pesky plants.

It may take a little time to break down, but as I like to say, “Life composts”. Eventually everything organic breaks down. It’s just a matter of time.

The indoor compost holder

This is the can I use in the kitchen to hold my food scraps until I put them outside. It looks good, holds several days worth of food and has NO odor or flies. With the foot pedal I have two hands free to scrape the bowls. Nobody would even know you are hiding old food in the kitchen.

I call this guilt free living. Have you ever looked in your refrigerator and found bags of old, rotten lettuce, or food in containers with blue green mold? Have you felt guilty about throwing away good food? Well, never again, because all that good stuff is going into the compost and then into your garden to feed your plants. Definitely a win-win situation.

There is more to learn about composting, but the most important thing to do is get started!

Great Gardening Books

Books 1 Response »

Aug 292011

What are your favorite gardening books? Inspirational, How- to or Reference? I’ve got books in each category that I consider top of the line.

Reference Books and How-to:

Informational and interesting book on edible landscaping

Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik was first written in 1986 and is still absolutely essential for anyone wanting to have an edible landscape at home. Robert has done his homework and you will find everything from designing parameters to edible plants, planting zones and organic solutions in his book. I’ve been using it myself for 25 years. This book is neither out of date nor out of print. Get it today!

Sunset Western Garden Book by the Editors of Sunset books and Sunset Magazine, is the must have reference books for plants and plant selection for the Western United States. It has climate zones, plants selection by theme, and difficult landscaping situations, a western plant encyclopedia and a resource directory. I really couldn’t live without it.

The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy, first written in 1982 and updated in 2010 is also full of excellent information.

Inspirational

Green Thoughts by Eleanor Perenyi. First published in 1981, this masterpiece has now been updated as part of the Modern Library Gardening Series. Perényi’s lively and engaging essays address topics of infinite interest to gardeners (azaleas, onions, mulch, and pests among them) and offer a timeless glimpse of the exhilarating, opinionated world of gardening. I really love this book.

Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate, by Wendy Johnson. For more than thirty years, Wendy Johnson has been gardening and meditating at the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in northern California. She has a wealth of practical and thoughtful information on gardening, both the garden in the soil and the garden of the soul. This book is destined to be a classic in the tradition of nature writing. She is a wonderful evocative writer, and has no lack of humor.

Strong and Useful Hand Tools

Tools 2 Responses »

Aug 282011

Working in a small garden you need to have good hand tools. They should be strong and well made to last long, and easy on your back and hands. In the name of saving money, I’ve bought cheap tools, only to find that they didn’t last long and didn’t work well.

For digging in the garden I use an English spade with a D Handle made by Bulldog Tools. They’ve been doing this for more than a hundred years and really know how to make a great tool. I’ve had mine for 40 years, and it is still as good as the day I bought it. The wooden handle is sturdy and hasn’t come loose in all those years.

I also use a digging fork. Especially useful in rocky soils and wet soil, the fork is a great tool.

A long handle fiberglass shovel, my old digging fork and a new spade, my most important tools

The Felco Pruners are well made and come with a variety of handles that are made to fit your hand. Keep them sharp for easiest use and best results in pruning.

A long handled shovel is also necessary. The one I use has a fiberglass handle which won’t rot like a wooden handle, if you leave it out in the rain. Not that I would ever do that, oh no. Well, maybe a few times.

This is a Haws watering cans. Let me tell you, all watering cans are NOT created equal. You can see that the Haws has a long spout. A gallon of water weighs 16 pounds and it is difficult to carry that much water with a regular watering can, it always wants to tilt forward. But with the Haws you can carry it by the spout, which evens out the weight, and then it pours very well from the spout. You can get it in metal or plastic

Keep your tools clean, sharp and in the shed, and they will last a long time.

More Great Herbs in the Edible Landscape

Ornamental/edible plants 1 Response »

Aug 262011

Nasturtiums cascading over wall (click to enlarge)

There are some beautiful, easy to grow and fun to use herbs for the edible landscape. In the photo above, you see the Nasturtium (Traepolum sp.) hanging over a concrete retaining wall. This is one of the multi- purpose edibles that everyone should know about. It is pretty, it grows easily and different part of the plant can be used. Leaves of nasturtiums are tangy and great in salads. The flowers have a spicy flavor and you can use them to decorate many dishes and also eat them. In mild climates they last through the winter, and in cold climates you should treat them as an annual.

Close up of Nasturtiums

Mixed herbs in the landcape

In the photo above, you will find thyme, sage, basil, both green and purple, parsley and tarragon. You should place these herbs close to the house where you can come out of the kitchen while you’re cooking and harvest them right as you need them. Fresh herbs are SO much better than dried herbs.

They make a nice edging along the deck and are easy to reach.

Purple and Green Basil

This is a close up of purple Basil. It has a dramatic color in the leaf, but tastes the same as traditional Basil. Green Basil can be seen in the background starting to flower. Like Nasturtiums, Basil does not overwinter in cold climates. If you plant enough, you can make a great Pesto sauce and freeze it for a wonderful winter Pasta dinner.

Follow this simple recipe: so easy and so good!

1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons Parmesan, grated

3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

1 clove garlic, sliced

Salt

Put the basil in the blender with the olive oil, cheese, walnuts, and garlic. Blend until smooth: then season with salt.

This pesto can also be used to garnish pizza, soups or vegetable dishes.

More great herbs to follow, check back soon.

Even More Great Herbs in the Edible Landscape

Ornamental/edible plants No Responses »

Aug 262011

Parsley (click on picture to enlarge)

Parsley (Petroselinum sativa), seen in the picture above is a very under rated herb. Most people just use a few leaves for decoration on the plate, then throw it away. But in fact, it is tasty and incredibly nutritious. There are two types of parsley. Flat leaf, as shown above, is the tastiest type for cooking. You can substitute some parsley for basil in making pesto sauce. Curly varieties make the most attractive garnish and are appealing as a low border in a flower bed.

It is a a biennial, meaning it last 2 years and grows in all zones. It is usually treated as an annual and planted every year. It is a great plant for containers and for small gardens.

Parsley is low in calories, high in fiber and high in Vitamin A,C and K. It is high in minerals, Iron and Calcium. For more information on parsley read about it here:

Lavender

Lavender is one of the best ornamental herbs. It doesn’t need much care. It grows in poor soil, doesn’t need much water and pretty much takes care of itself. It does need sun and good drainage.

Our local Ice cream store makes an unbelievable Vanilla lavender ice cream. It’s not too strong, and tastes divine. Most people know lavender for its use in perfumes and sachets. But when I visited my sister in law last week she had put a spring of mint and a stalk of lavender in a pitcher of water. Ice cold it was one of the most refreshing drinks ever. I can still be surprised how many new ways people find to use herbs.

Destinations Inside Your Garden

Garden Design No Responses »

Aug 242011

Leading to the Gazebo in the garden

: Look through the fence to find a place to sit

(click on pictures to enlarge)

: In a small garden, you can sit on the raised bed

Even the smallest gardens can have destinations. Once you’re in the garden, it is nice to have a place to go and sit. Different times of the day offer different sun/shade options. In the morning you may want to sit outside with your coffee in the sun, but later in the day when it gets hot you’ll be looking for some shade.

A quiet shady place to read

I encourage you to look for places to put a bench, chair, rock or log to sit on.You’ll be amazed at the new views you’ll have of your garden.

This chair is under the canopy of a flowering crab apple. In the Spring it is full of flowers and in the summer, a cool and tranquil spot to look at the garden

This bench under the oak catches early morning sun and looks down on the garden. The picture below shows the view down into the garden from the bench on the left.

This swing is nestled in the shade of a leyland cypress hedge, near a year round creek. A good place to read a book and listen to the water.

Look around your garden and find a new place to sit and enjoy the view. You might be surprised with what you find in your own backyard.

There’s a even a lounge chair in the vegetable garden! Who has time for that?

Edible Landscaping a Small Front Yard

Garden Design 1 Response »

Aug 052011

Fruit trees, herbs and flowers in the front yard(click on pictures to enlarge)

Creating a beautiful front yard is always challenging, and adding the parameters of “Edible” and “Deer Resistant” can make it even more challenging. At the house in the photo above, the houses were close together, all had white picket fences, and home to roaming, munching deer.

This is what the yard looked like before we started:

Where's the front door?

From the side walk you can’t get through to the front steps without going into the driveway. An oak tree also hid the front entry.

This is looking at the yard from the corner of the yard standing in the driveway:

Weeds and a picket fence block the front yard

Once you clear out everything you don’t need/want, it is easier to imagine the changes that you can make. Here it is all cleaned up:

A clean slate

At this point, we decided where to put in a front path leading to the stairs, so that people visiting didn’t have to walk onto the driveway. We also laid out a side path to the backyard. By removing the picket fence, we made more room for planting, but more importantly, made a small front yard seem much larger and more in proportion to the two story house.

Here’s what the yard looked like right after we planted. On the left of the walkway is a Pineapple Guava bush, which is a flowering, evergreen, fruit baring shrub. It looks good all year long. It is planted with deer resistant flowering shrubs. I always recommend plantings in front that look good most of the year. Avoid large plantings of annuals and perennials that die back in the winter.

An inviting path leads you to the front steps

To the right of the path is a pear tree and farther right is an apple. The rest of the yard is planted with native California plants, California strawberry and Pt Reyes Creeping Manzanita. These plants require little water and make a neat carpet under the trees.

Here’s what is looks like from the corner.

Corner view after one year

The paths were interplanted with creeping thyme, which is beautiful, fragrant and also deer resistant.

Stepping stones with creeping thyme

Although the yard is quite small, we managed to put an apple, plum, pear and pineapple guava in with herbs and natives and it looks good too! The kids can’t wait to eat the fresh fruit from their own trees.

Here’s what it looks like two years later.

Fruit trees, herbs and flowers in the front yard

The side path reflects the front entry, but is smaller.

Slate stone entry and stepping stones to the back yard

One final design note. We planted fragrant jasmine to climb up the front posts. It adds one more quality to the welcoming entrance.

Most of the yards in this neighborhood had lawns in the front. Here is one plan that can inspire you to try something different.

Edible Flowers – The Perfect Solution

Ornamental/edible plants 1 Response »

Aug 032011

You can decorate and eat these flowers

Nasturtiums and borage flowers are easy to grow, flower over a long period and are wonderful to use in preparing food. You can decorate the plates or put them in salads.

Honey bees love borage, but won't bother you

What could be more perfect for an edible landscape, than flowers that you can eat! Borage is also a wonderful plant for honey bees. It blooms early in the season and is excellent for the health of the hive.

Another flower that I love is the delicate viola. In addition to using as decoration it can be crystallized with sugar. This site, called Baking 911 gives excellent directions on how to make candied flowers. They also tell you which ones to use and which ones to avoid.

These violas have been blooming for 5 months

Roses have always been used in the classic landscape design, but we can use them too in our edible landscape. Middle eastern recipes often call for Rose water. Putting a few drops in a fruit salad is simply divine. Not only can you use petals in your food presentation, but Rose hips are filled with Vitamin C and make an excellent tea. You can see that there are probably many more traditional plants than you would have imagined that your new garden can happily include, without feeling guilty.

Sweet Honeysuckle

With the old fashioned Honeysuckle, we have a flower that provides incredible fragrance to the garden in addition to it’s flower. I remember growing up and taking the honeysuckle flower apart and sucking the nectar from it. Try it, it’s not only for the hummingbirds.

Older Entries Newer Entries