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heuses inhishomemadeherbal tea, forwhichhehasplantafter
plantworthof ingredients toworkwith inhisyard.Soon, theback-
yardreveals itself forwhat itreally is: anedible landscape.
ThoughGarretthasbeenworkingedibles intohis landscapes
formore than25years,he toohasseen the trendof incorporating
vegetables, fruits, andherbs intogardensrisedramatically in the
past fewyears, somethingheattributes inpart toapublic thathas
begun toquestion industrializedproduceandwants toknowex-
actlywhere their foodcomes from.He’sevenseen the trendgrow
amongcorporateclients.At theLasColinasEntertainmentCenter
in Irving,Texas,hedesigned theplantingplan for the forthcoming
15-acremixed-usecomplex thatnotonly includesedibleplantsbut
whichwillalsobemaintainedorganically, amove thatcouldresult
in40percent lesswateruse.That’shugesince, asGarrettnotes,
“Inacommercialproject,watercanbe the largestpartof thecost.”
Creasy thinks thebiggest factor that’s led to thesurge inedi-
ble, oftenorganic landscapingcomes fromanewcrop, so to
speak, of gardenersandhomeowners, this“wholegenerationof
peoplewho’vegrownupwithenvironmental classes”andhave
beeneducatedon thebenefitsof sustainable landscapes.
Another reason for the trend, saysAmyPennington, anur-
bangardenerandauthorof
ApartmentGardening: Plants, Proj-
ects, andRecipes forGrowingFood inYourUrbanHome
, is the
surge inpopularityof foodand cooking showsover the last dec-
ade— coupledwith the increasedawarenessof environmental
politics.AsPennington says, “Itwas theperfect stormof these
two issues coming togetherat the same time.”
Penningtonalso runsGoGoGreenGarden, anedible-
gardeningbusinessbased inSeattle thatbuilds, plants, and tends
ediblegardens forcitydwellerswhowantnotonlyagarden that
provides themwithseasonal producebutone that looksniceas
well. “It isachallenge tomakeagarden lookplentiful andpretty
all year long, but it’snot impossible.”
Noteveryone, though, sees thebeautyofedible landscapes.
Somehomeownersassociationsputhomegrownvegetableson the
landscapingcontraband list, preventinghomeowners fromplant-
ingvegetablesand fruits in the frontyardoreven, insomecases,
in theirownbackyards.WhilePenningtonsees the logicof this
(“HOAsaresetup tocreateaconsistent-lookingenvironment,”
shesays), shealso feels thiswill change in timeas the trend
towardgrowingediblesbecomesevenmorepopular.Until then,
Penningtonnotes that thereareways toexerciseone’sgreen
thumb throughcontainergardeningorevenbygrowingplantson
acountertop indoors.She’sproof that itcanwork: “I live inan
apartment in thecity. Ihaveadeck.…Still, Igrowa lotofmyown
food inpots; that’swhat Ihave toworkwith.”
AndRosalindCreasy’s front-yardgarden? It, too,wasbornof
necessity. “Ihavenosun inmybackyard!”Creasysays.She found
asunnyspot in the frontyardandsaid, “Icanmake this lookgor-
geous. Iput inbasil,herbs, artichokes, peppers… then Iput in lots
offlowers.”Evenwithherplentifulbounty,Creasyhas thepretti-
estgardenon thestreet. Justaskherneighbor.
SUmmER 2011
celebratedliving.com
36
HOMEANDGARDEN
Good Enough to Eat
