When gardens produce abundance, they create habitat for other living things. Plants, animals, insects and fungi interact with each other to create ecosystems.
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Native and Edible Landscape Design – No Lawn?
What no lawn? Yes! This landscape design for a client in Arlington is full of native and edible plants instead of a lawn!
The front contains a large vegetable garden surrounded by two layers of 4′ deer fencing with asparagus in between and native meadow plants as a backdrop.
Flagstone steps take you to a terraced plateau filled with Asian pears, blueberries, persimmons, sour cherries, cornelian dogwoods, a fig and a plethora of native flowers that attract beneficial insects.
The shady back slope is held together by serviceberries, paw paws, hazelnuts, elderberries, fragrant sumac and various native ground covers and spreading perennials.
Viburnums, wax myrtles, and a few hollies surround the property to provide privacy and bird habitat.
A couple of black gum trees (Nyssa sylvatica) provide shade for an open forest floor of edible ostrich fern and other woodland natives.
Ornamental, Edible and Native Landscape
Ornamental, Edible and Native Landscape
A plethora of plants both front and back are traversed by curved pathways and stone walls. The cut flagstone front walk leads you through a mix of classical ornamentals like boxwood, peonies, tulips, and crape myrtles with unusual ornamental edible plants like black lace elderberry, rugosa roses, aronia berry, lavender and some native ornamentals like pink turtlehead, rhododendron and virginia sweetspire.
The two mulch paths in the back carry one through a canopy of twisted and muscular American Hornbeams on one side and a tasty grove of currants and elderberries on the other both leading to a gazebo surrounded by pawpaws, and mature hardwoods.
The back contours are accented by curved retaining walls that ameliorate an eroding slope and terrace the ground for Asian Persimmons and Sweet Cherries. Sedges, edible ferns and day lilies make up a flat woodland clearing that serves as a play area for the kids.
From Invasive Ailanthus Grove to Food Forest
From Invasive Ailanthus Grove to Food Forest
The rear of the property is a daunting invasive Ailanthus grove on a steep slope. After removing the invasive species, the space gives way to a sunny slope appropriate for a food forest. It is comprised of Paw paw, Asian persimmon, Cherry and Peach. Companion plants include Indigobush, False Blue Indigo, Pink Turtlehead, Butterfly Milkweed and Anise Hyssop.
The front yard is full of edible natives like American Hazelnut, Blueberry, Elderberry and Currant paired with ornamental natives like Dogwood, Redbud, Bayberry, Echinacea, Asters and Virginia Bluebells.
Terraced Food Forest
Terraced Food Forest
We designed this food forest utilizing the sun exposure in a woodland clearing. In order to stabilize the slope we recommended terracing the slope with logs from the property. The terracing will slow down water flow and prevent erosion while the newly installed plants are getting established.
In order to maximize sun exposure, the larger trees were placed to the north and or downhill of the smaller plants. The woody plant pallet is comprised of low maintenance food bearing trees and shrubs like pawpaw, persimmon, Chinese chestnut, elderberry and blueberry. The herbaceous plants are comprised of soil building plants like comfrey and false blue indigo, insect attracting plants like echinacea and yarrow, woodland medicinals like goldenseal and american gingseng and some edible ferns.
13 Acre Permaculture Homestead
13 Acre Permaculture Homestead
We designed zones 1 and 2 of a 13 acre permaculture homestead in Purcellville, Virginia. Zones 1 and 2 refer to the most visited and maintained areas on a property. They are also the areas closest to the house.
In the immediate areas surrounding the house we included a chicken coup with surrounding paddocks. Each paddock contains plants that are harvested at similar times of year. For example, one fenced in area contains summer ripening fruits, while another contains fruits that are ripe in the spring or fall. This way the chickens can be kept out of the gardens when the fruit is ripe, but can roam freely through the gardens at other times.
In the front of the house is an extensive annual vegetable garden laid out on contour with keyhole herb beds and keyhole perennial vegetable beds.
All of the water draining off of the back of the roof fills a pond designed for edible aquatic plants and native fish. The pond captures valuable fresh water and turns it into a beautiful and productive body of water.
Extending out further from Zone 1 we designed 2 large forest gardens containing nearly every fruit and nut that can be grown in this area. Accompanying the food producing trees and shrubs are nitrogen fixing, dynamic accumulating, beneficial insect attracting and pest confusing herbaceous perennial plants. The fruits and nuts include Peach, Apple, Cherry, Almond, Filbert, Pawpaw, Persimmon and various berries.
Lining the driveway are 12 English Walnut trees and 24 Mulberry trees, creating a shaded enclosed entrance to the property. The Mulberry trees act as a buffer to the plant growth inhibiting compound emitted by walnut trees called Juglone.
Extending further out from the driveway are two single row grape trellises accompanied by Rugosa Roses and Lavender. The roses and lavender not only add beauty to the front of the property but also aid in pest and disease prevention for the grapes.
Lots of Flowers and Food, No Lawn
Lots of Flowers and Food, No Lawn
For this design, the client was ready to part with their lawn. In place of it we designed a garden with lots of flowers and food. They have a south facing front yard which is an ideal location for food producing perennial plants and a vegetable garden. The north facing back yard with mature tree canopy is the ideal location for a patio, fire pit, hammock and shade loving plants. The woody plantings are laid out on contour with infiltration swales to catch rain water. The tree species include Asian Persimmon, Sour Cherry, Asian Pear and Pawpaw. The property has a total of 18 Blueberry plants as well as Currants, Elderberry and Aronia. Herbaceous plants include Strawberry, Asparagus, Culinary herbs, dynamic accumulators, nitrogen fixers and numerous beneficial insect attracting plants.
Ecologically Friendly House and Landscape
Ecologically Friendly House and Landscape
Copyright Organic Edible Gardens LLC 2015
Organic Edible Gardens LLC just designed the landscape of this recently constructed energy efficient home. The house was designed and built by Enviro Home Design complete with large planters to catch most of the rainwater coming off of the roof.
For the landscape we designed a two tiered retaining wall planted with native Sedum and grasses to correct the steep slope on the north east corner of the property. The sunny front yard allowed for an Asian Persimmon tree paired with native red twig dogwood, a Purple Leafed Plum paired with a gold leafed variety of Ninebark. In front are Half-High Blueberries and New Jersey Tea to the sides. Liatris spicata, white Echinacea, Baptisia australis and Comfrey are a few of the perennials.
In the shady back yard we chose Redbud and Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) as the understory trees paired with Arrowwood Viburnum and Catawba Rhododendron shrubs. Beneath the shade of the understory trees we chose a dark and mysterious Snakeroot cultivar with purple foliage paired by a light and airy yellow leafed spreading St. John’s wort.
For the part shade and part sun side yards we chose Honeyberries (Lonicera caerulea), Crandal American Black Currants, and Virginia Sweetspire.
Edible Landscape in Sun and Shade
Copyright 2014 Organic Edible Gardens LLC
Edible Landscape in Sun and Shade
An edible and medicinal understory and pond designed for a shady back yard full of mature hardwoods. A small sunny patch in the front gave way to edible ground covers, perennials, berries and fruit trees. The front downspouts are piped into two rain gardens, one in the shade the other in the sun. The rain garden in the shade is full of moisture loving woodland medicinals, while the rain garden in the sun contains native insect attracting perennial flowers. Species include: Pawpaw, Fig, Peach, Aronia, Spicebush, Clove Currant, Elderberry, Blueberry, Yarrow, Anise Hyssop, Wild Ginger, Asparagus, Black Cohosh, Strawberry, Goldenseal, Ostrich Fern, American Lotus, May Apple, Giant Solomon’s Seal among multiple other soil building, insectary, and native plants.
Dog Friendly Landscape Design
Dog Friendly Landscape Design
©2014 Organic Edible Gardens LLC
The homeowners have two large dogs in a small back yard in Arlington. We designed the landscape to allow the dogs to run the perimeter and guard their territory. Plantings are in slightly raised beds surrounded by stone. Species include Apple, Serviceberry, Swiss Stone Pine, culinary herbs, Prickly Pear Cactus and various soil building and insectary plants.