Spring is here at last, meaning it’s finally time to get your edible garden in the ground! For some of us, that might look like loading our raised beds with hordes of veggies, while for others, it may be as simple as popping a few seedlings or starts into patio pots and calling it a day. Whatever edible gardening looks like for you, I want you to remember that it’s not just about feeding you and your family; edible plants can double as stunning decorative elements in your garden and landscape, too!
I’ve chosen five of my all-time favourite spring and summer edibles I think you should incorporate into your landscape this year, both for their beauty and flavour. Let’s get started!
Beautiful Basil
Basil is a tried and true decorative kitchen classic, and looks amazing planted in pots, raised beds, or directly in your front or back yard. There are tons of different varieties to choose from, each with their own unique flavours and visual characteristics. Some of my favourites include those with dark purple leaves, variegated green and white leaves, leaves that look like big leaf lettuce, and even a variety that looks like it’s had a set of pinking shears taken to it!
Basil can act as a filler or a thriller in your spring and summer planters, depending on the variety, the other plants you include, and whether or not you let your basil go to flower – which you should! When buying any herbs, remember to buy extra, at least one for you and one for the pollinators. The one for your cooking will get trimmed routinely, while the one for the pollinators should be allowed to flower beautiful blooms!
Charming Chard
Much like basil, there are a million different kinds of chard, and they all have something unique to offer visually and gastronomically. Chard prefers cooler weather, making early spring the perfect time to start this awesome leafy green! Even if you eventually grow tired of the taste of chard, its brilliant pops of green, red, yellow, and more will add a gorgeous leafy element to your raised beds, container designs, and landscape borders.
Perfect Peppers
If you’re into the classics and are looking for a more traditional vegetable to incorporate into our garden displays this spring, the seemingly limitless potential of peppers makes them some of my personal favourites! They are great thrillers in a container design, or you can add them to your flower beds for a contrasting pop of colour. Hot peppers are unique and beautiful ways to spice up your family dinners, especially if you turn them into an incredible homemade hot sauce! If spicy isn’t your thing, sweet peppers also come in gorgeous hues and are so delicious you’ll want to pick them straight off the vine and eat them like an apple.
Dill & Parsley – It’s a Herb Party!
If you’re looking for stunning spring fillers for your pots, beds, or landscape that the pollinators will love, I strongly recommend tossing in some dill and parsley. These two herbs are great to grow together because they’re both adored by our pollinator friends, especially swallowtail butterflies. Like the basil, this is another case where you’ll want to grab a few extras: one for you, and one to let bolt for the pollinators!
Dill and parsley add a fantastic pop of texture to both your garden and your favourite spring dishes! I personally like to keep them in containers on the deck right by the barbeque and the kitchen door, so they’re easily within reach when I need them. I find that if my homegrown herbs and produce are further away, I’m less likely to notice and use them, so by keeping them close, I’m constantly reminded of their tasty offerings and encouraged to use them all spring and summer long!
Greens for Guelph
Spring greens make fantastic additions to any garden, from both a decorative standpoint and a culinary one! Lettuce is a particularly fantastic choice for Guelph gardeners because you can start them easily in early spring from seeds and can sow them every two weeks, allowing you to constantly change things up throughout the season! I prefer a bit of variety in my meals, so I love growing lettuce because it lets me add different flavours and textures to my plate every week!
Not only are lettuce and other spring greens great to grow from a culinary standpoint, but they also make incredible fillers and groundcovers in your landscape, perfect for growing under your tomato plants or lining the front of your raised bed. I like a bit of colour in my garden, so I love using lettuce as a border plant due to its wide variety of colours and consistency in shape and size.
I’m a big believer in the idea that edible plants don’t need to be confined to a tiny bed in some corner of your garden; instead, I would much rather see pockets of spring and summer veggies, herbs, and greens spread out across the landscape! By incorporating edibles into your landscape, you’ll increase your biodiversity and avoid monoculture, all with the added benefit of healthy, delicious flavours close to home.
As you’re prepping your Guelph garden for spring edibles, stop by and visit us at Royal City Nursery to snag some of our favourite veggies, herbs, greens, and more; we’d love to help you create the garden or landscape of your dreams this spring!
