Gardening with Nature's Crossroads

Guest post by Jami Scholl of My Edible Eden

Adding fruit trees and perennials to the garden may be accomplished in a few ways; the most common are:

1. Orchard: an area specifically for fruit trees, bushes or brambles
2. Forest garden: fruiting and herbaceous plants installed in a way that mimics a forest that contains a canopy, understory (shrubs) and an herbaceous layer.
3. Potager or kitchen garden: a more formally defined garden which is composed of perennials, fruits, herbs and insectary plants that may or may not have an area for entertaining or relaxing.
4. Edible landscaping: utilizing trees, shrubs or perennials within an established landscape or in place of a traditional landscape.

When thinking about adding perennial and fruiting plants to your property, it is useful to determine what will grow best at your site. If you have a black walnut tree (juglone/toxic to most plants), poor drainage and heavy clay soil, or low amounts of sunlight these are all factors which will help limit your choices. Doing a soil test is always a good idea and a good first step if you are unsure of where to begin. This will tell you the basics about your soil, what nutrients it has and the pH level of the soil. Although constraints may not be to your liking, they are not necessarily a bad thing as they begin to frame the scene for you.

Another item to give thought to in planning is aesthetics. Do you like a more formal and symmetrical look or is an informal asymmetrical look more to your liking? Do you dream of walking through a British country garden, or a more refined French inspired garden with espaliered fruit trees more your taste. Another aesthetic that is sculpted is an Asian inspired garden with clean lines yet a design that is inspired by natural forms. Or perhaps your taste is more toward the natural or a rustic look with split rail fences.

The last consideration is actually two questions: How much time do I have? And, how much time am I willing to spend taking care of these plants? This time factor will also provide constraints for what types of fruiting plants and perennials will be best for you to grow. It is best to think of including fruiting plants and perennials into your landscape as a process, one that will require learning the specific needs of each species in addition to the time it will take to care for it throughout its life. And don’t forget the processing, storage and/or sale of the produce when you do have a harvest.

I am going to pose a few examples to help with understanding the process. Let’s say I live in a North American city and have a small, long and narrow lot that is surrounded by either a privacy fence in some areas and masonry wall that is the building next door. I like to entertain in my garden and enjoy a more sculpted look. A French Potager (kitchen garden), an Asian inspired garden or an artistically inspired Modern garden would likely best fit my needs, lifestyle and time constraints. In fact, the warmth from the masonry wall is likely a good location for espaliered fruit trees.

In contrast, perhaps I live in a suburb on a large lot and I dream of having acres of forests surround me. Likely my best options would be to either plan for an orchard with specifically chosen clovers and insectary plants in an area not too close to the house, or an edible forest garden. Should I choose an edible forest garden then I need to consider where to place annual crops so that they will get enough sunlight for best growth and productivity in addition to the types of plants I would like to eat and which will grow well together in my location to populate my forest.

Or I may live in a neighbourhood which, because of neighbourhood covenants or restrictions, does not allow for a typical vegetable garden or fruiting orchard. In this case edibles can be chosen for aesthetic appeal and integrated into the landscape. Serviceberry is frequently chosen as a landscape plant, and has the benefit of tasty berries which if you, nor the neighbourhood children do not eat the berries, will provide food for your local bird population. With proper pruning and training, fruit trees such as pear or apple, and shrubs such as gooseberry can be integrated into an already existing landscape.

If a larger lot, then larger native trees can be included. In southern Indiana this can include a seedless Meader persimmon or pawpaws, which, by the way, will grow near a black walnut. Mint, daylilies and elderberry are also tolerant of juglone or black walnut toxicity. The mint can be made into a tea, daylily petals are lovely sliced thinly and topped on a salad, and elderberries can be made into wine or delicious as a syrup served with wild game and wild rice. For deeper shade areas and as an attractive ground cover, wild ginger can be grown.

Whatever your aesthetic, time, property or neighbourhood constraints, the longer term productivity of adding fruiting trees, shrubs and perennials is possible, without fears for neighbour concerns of lowering property values if care and time is taken to prepare the soil before planting, and with an appropriate design plan.

My Edible Eden is a permaculture edible landscaping company located in Bloomington, Indiana offering design consultations, educational programs, permaculture workshops, and a variety of garden planning tools such as their excellent gardener’s calendar and journal.

Tags: fruit, landscaping, perennial