How to Landscape a Front Yard With Edible Plants

Landscaping your front yard with edible plants combines beauty and function, creating a workable solution when gardening space is limited. The combination allows you to enjoy blooms and fragrance that later transform into brightly colored fruit ready for eating. By including plants that produce at varying times, you can keep your front yard alive with color throughout the summer while putting wholesome food on the table at the same time.

Instructions

- 1
  
  Crab apple trees bloom in late spring.
  
  Replace shade trees with fruit and nut trees. Many produce a canopy of foliage that provides shade to the home. Think apples, pears, almonds and cherries for a show of color in early spring and an abundance of fruit by midsummer to late fall. Crab apple trees create a cloud of pastel pink blooms in the spring and produce an abundance of miniature rosy-red apples in the fall.
- 2
  
  Plant vining berries along fences.
  
  Plant blackberries and raspberries along fences or in place of hedges. Both produce an arch of small white blooms in the spring and an abundance of plump berries in midsummer or early fall. Foliage and canes provide a privacy shield during the summer months, until foliage dies back in the fall. Choose varieties hardy to your area to enjoy these berries for years to come.
- 3
  
  Blueberries add color and are tasty, too.
  
  Grow blueberries, goose berries or honey berries in place of shrubs. These berry plants grow to heights of 3 to 5 feet and provide delicate blooms in the spring with attractive foliage all summer. Foliage of many turn brilliant red in the fall.
- 4
  
  Grow cherry tomatoes in window boxes.
  
  Fill a window box with cherry tomatoes and let them tumble over the sides. Tuck in a few herbs, such as sweet basic or dramatic purple basil to complete the display. Other window box options include bright lights Swiss chard or a mix of garden lettuces that produces foliage in shades of green and purple.
- 5
  
  Strawberries in hanging baskets create an explosion of color.
  
  Plant strawberries in hanging baskets or containers to perch on the front steps. Strawberries bloom with showy white or pink blooms in late spring and produce ripe fruit by midsummer. For a long-lasting display, choose an ever-bearing variety to harvest berries all summer.
- 6
  
  Banana peppers add visual interest to the landscape.
  
  Line the walkway with peppers and tomatoes in a variety of colors. Pepper colors range in from traditional yellow, orange and red to deep chocolate brown. Cherry tomatoes range from yellow, orange and red to rich purple.
- 7
  
  Display an assortment of herbs in decorative pots.
  
  Tuck herbs into small corners, or pot them up and place them near the front steps. Gather an assortment of herbs in terra-cotta pots and line the side of the garage or tuck them into an unused nook to add color and fragrance to the landscape.

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