A Victory Garden for Today - Growing Edibles Under Lockdown

We' re all in this together: the global pandemic that is COVID19 has arrived. But there's something we can do to help ourselves, our families, and our neighbors:
Grow edibles- it's a perfect time to kick start your growing project, if you haven't already. Containers work great if you don't have space or access to a garden. And make sure you plant enough to share with those who can't have a garden, if possible. 

Young children naturally love digging and planting seeds

Healthy for Body and Mind
I'm starting my veggie garden with renewed enthusiasm not only as a bit of extra insurance in case our food supply chains are interrupted, but for my mental and emotional health as well. Kids will especially need activities to engage them during this time. Even very young ones can keep entertained by filling containers to start seeds, planting seedlings, and helping to harvest the bounty. Watering is another task very much prized by kids, in fact it's my grandson's favorite!

When my grandson was only two and a half years old, he was very good at shelling dried peas from the dried vines- and to my amazement he worked at this quietly for quite some time. I like to think I'm grooming him to be a good steward to the planet, and fostering his connection to the living world around him.

By gardening you can feel good about doing something positive for the planet- the more plants we cultivate the better, although there's a right and a wrong way. Organic, regenerative gardens without pesticides and herbicides benefit everyone (and every being). My garden has native plants as well as edibles. I'm aiming for a healthy ecosystem as much as possible, because this means I don't need to use harmful chemicals. To this end I include habitat for wildlife as a priority. Think tall hedges for nesting birds and flowering shrubs for pollinators. See my post "Creating a Health Garden Ecosystem".

Shelling peas at two and half years old

Resources for Getting Started
You Tube has lots of content about growing vegetable gardens, and for lots of short helpful videos check out Peaceful Valley's Grow Organic website. They're a great source for supplies for organic gardening (based in California).

On this blog, have a look at my Gardening Index and Recipe Index, also check out the links I've listed on the right sidebar. 

And if you have a particular question you need help with, let me know in the comments.

Let's get our hands in some soil and get back to our roots!
Here's hoping you are healthy and happy in these challenging times.

                                                                      Photo credits: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Climate Appropriate Gardening and Design

Instead of "drought tolerant" I've adopted "climate appropriate" into my gardening vocabulary. Designing gardens that meet our needs in urban California involves a lot more than just saving on water use. When I'm designing a garden I always aim to create a visually richer, as well as more earth-friendly environment than what I started with. 

The word appropriate aligns especially well to our changing climate and growing conditions: this is the challenge we all face today and for the foreseeable future. And to me it implies that my climate appropriate approach to designing a garden, will adapt to meet the current needs. It's a good reminder to be flexible in my thinking, and to keep informed.

Replacing a lawn is an opportunity to add beauty and diversity

Among many inspirations, landscape architect Thomas Rainer stands out. He champions the cause for bringing more "wildness" into our urban spaces, urgently needed due to the rapid loss of wild spaces. See Rainer in this short video interview here (courtesy of the Pacific Horticulture Society).  

We have the perfect opportunity to add ecological value whenever we are replacing lawns or simply replacing and/or adding plants to our gardens. For example, plant flowering shrubs for your eyes and to feed pollinators- the gorgeous sage (salvia) below is 'Friendship Sage', also known by its original name 'Saliva Amistad'.

Sages (salvias) have lovely flowers in many colors

Hummingbirds love sages, as do bumblebees. This group of plants are generally happy with low to moderate water, even in warm climate zones such as our San Francisco Bay Area. 

In the photo below we designed a long berm with a mix of sages and other flowering plants to create a pollinator garden that would be pleasant to look at from the outdoor patio and from inside the house.  We included an herb garden for fragrance and its value in providing herbs for cooking year-round. 

This low-water garden replaced an unused pool

When replacing pools, lawns, or areas that were previously paved over, I love creating a space that enhances quality of life by being a place to relax and connect with nature. And it's a welcome bonus that adding more plants around homes results in not only beautiful, calming, environments but they mitigate the amount of heat produced by our over-paved urban spaces. Plants transpire water vapor into the local environment, especially trees. So not only do trees provide shade, they actively contribute to cooling. 

In California where the loss of trees due to drought and fires is staggering, we can do our part by planting trees with low and moderate water needs around our homes, as many as possible. 

A quiet seating area with flowering sages replaced bare soil

Below, wildflowers in a front yard meadow garden provide a spectacular seasonal display.

I'm also a big fan of growing seasonal edibles at home, and when we save water by replacing lawns or pools with a low water garden, we can feel good about using some water on our special heirloom vegetables. Growing our own food not only connects us to the seasons but can also remind us of our heritage and culture. Heirloom vegetable seeds are readily available from many sources. It's meaningful and satisfying to learn their stories and enjoy them with our families and friends by growing them.

Many fruit trees are perfect for low to moderate water gardens: avocado, plum, pluot, apple, persimmon, pomegranate and pineapple guava. Check my gardening index for more on edible landscaping.

'Four Corners Gold' bean in my front yard last summer

For more information and resources about climate appropriate landscaping go here.

Photo credit: Patricia Larenas

Edible Landscaping Your Front Yard - Start Now

Striking ornamental kale can be planted among edible kale

Fall is just ahead and it’s the perfect time for bold action: adding edibles to your suburban front yard. If you have a conventionally landscaped front yard and you aren’t sure how to begin, here are some ideas to help you get started.

Getting Started

For the front yard there is still an aesthetic norm to overcome in lawn-centric suburbia, but that convention has been shifting steadily.  Growing vegetables, herbs, and fruit boldly in plain sight needn’t be the eyesore of the neighborhood if you give some thought to how they will fit into your garden design. In my opinion, both edible and ornamental plants coexist in a beautifully in a garden. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

America spinach with violets

To start, you'll have to consider the exposure to direct sunlight, at least 4-6 hours per day, and the condition of the soil. Check with your local UC Master Gardeners for more details on planting and soil prep for your region. They will also have seasonal planting charts. Sign up for their excellent monthly newsletter that reminds you about seasonal garden tasks, including planting edibles.

Below are some simple ideas for small additions with the potential for a big impact.

Where to Add Edibles Now

Flower Beds and Borders:

If you have existing flowerbeds, that’s a great place to begin. If not, you might consider removing a strip or patch of lawn to make a combined flower and edibles bed. This would be nice as border along a walkway or fence, or even in the center of a lawn (remove and prepare a square or round shaped patch). Small shrubby herbs such as thyme (choose from lemon or lime thyme) or sage (add a trio of culinary sage with blue-gray leaves, tri-color sage edged with purple, cream and green, and yellow sage) fit well among flowers, and they hold up to the mild frosts in our San Francisco Bay Area. Rosemary is a popular, large landscaping plant that is covered with sweet blue-lavender or purplish flowers for months of the year. 

Trailing rosemary is attractive, fragrant, and great for cooking

You can easily slip in vegetable seedlings when planting out flowering annuals or among bulbs.  Spinach, lettuces, kale (including ornamental kale), and Asian greens, can be grown in fall since they prefer cooler temperatures and can be grown during winter in our region. These leafy green veggies will add attractive foliage to a bed of flowers, and if you really want to be on your game, plant edible and beneficial flowers, such as calendulas, and add nasturtiums and marigolds for summer.

The viola family, which includes violets and pansies, are good cool weather choices for fall and are high impact for their varied colors. This group is semi-perennial in mild winter climates and provides lots of blooms fall through spring, going dormant in hot summer weather (some will reseed). For annuals such as nasturtiums, which are frost tender, wait until spring. But beware: if you buy nursery seedlings make sure they were grown without pesticides and herbicides, otherwise, don't eat the flowers!

Artichokes have spectacular foliage, but need space

Go Big and Bold with Artichokes

If you have the space for them, artichokes are a spectacular addition to the garden. Their bold foliage is striking, and in spring they'll reward you with edible artichoke heads. I particularly love the violet ones, such as Violetto and Purple of Romagna. Romanesco is a tightly rounded variety that is tinged with purple. The green globe types have equally beautiful foliage. Fall through early summer is the best time for artichokes. They tend to go dormant with the heat of summer, at this point you can cut them back and keep them mulched. Mine are shaded in the later part of the afternoon for the hot sun so they begin to sprout new growth if I water them occasionally during summer. Towards fall they really start to bulk up.

All of them will eventually yield huge flowers with purple stamens if you leave the heads on the plants. I always leave a few to flower, then watch the bees enjoy them!

Artichokes will eventually explode with purple flowers if they aren't harvested

Containers:

Planting into containers is another great way to experiment with edibles since containers can be moved around, grouped in different locations or used as a welcoming feature on a porch. Numerous colors, sizes, shapes and textures are available to match or brighten up your existing landscape. Containers filled with flowers and lettuce are sure to be a conversation piece. For the coming cool months you could pair lettuce, kale, or spinach, in containers with edible flowers for a beautiful display. Mix with ornamental kale for an extra showy focal piece.

Showy heirlooms: Dwarf Gray Sugar Peas date back to 1892

Trellises:

I also love growing snap peas and snow peas over winter and early spring. They are beautiful on a trellis, and you can plant flowers and leafy greens around them. I have several different trellises in the front yard of different types and sizes for climbing edibles. Lovely bicolored Dwarf Gray Sugar Peas resemble sweet pea flowers (which are NOT edible) and would be a winning combination with cool season flowers in your front yard.

Start Small, But Start Now

Eating sweet crisp pea pods with fresh salad greens and herbs, plus edible flowers from your own front yard may inspire you to expand your edible landscape into a beautiful productive kitchen garden by the time spring rolls around. A good approach is to start gradually. You can start this fall by adding these varieties that will overwinter well, then plan to add warm season edibles in spring and summer. Enjoy learning as you grow, gather ideas about what you enjoy growing and eating, and design features you’d like to add. If you are new to growing vegetables and herbs, getting some experience first will help shape your overall landscaping goals.

Note: during our cool and rainy months in California you will have to have a plan for slug and snail control. Handpicking in the early morning or evenings is effective if you keep at it. You can supplement handpicking with a sprinkle of  a non-toxic product such as Sluggo.

A earlier version of this post was published in March 1, 2012 at Eat Drink Better

Photos: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Grow Vegetables for All Seasons, a Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 10

I hope to see you Wednesday night, Feb 10th, at 7:00pm in Los Altos for the next lecture in the series sponsored by the Western Horticultural Society, (WHS)!

Vegetables For All Seasons, a Talk by Drew Harwell

Drew Harwell has been eating out of local gardens everyday for the past 13 years. He recognizes (and champions) that living in the Bay Area, we have the luxury to grow food year-round. Drew will share ways to organize and plan your garden for year-round harvest. Topics will include diversified crop rotations, techniques such as biointensive gardening and permaculture, which maximize food production and maintain soil health and fertility.

Drew Harwell, Edible Garden and Permaculture Consultant, Palo Alto, CA  

Who:

Drew is an edible garden and permaculture consultant in Palo Alto, California. He is the manager of Chef Jesse Cool’s Seeds of Change Garden and a Stanford University lecturer. He has managed the Stanford Community Farm and the Common Ground Demonstration Gardens. A native of Palo Alto, he grew up gardening with his family in their community garden plot behind the main library.

When:

Doors open at 7:00 pm & the meeting starts at 7:30 pm.

Where:

We meet at the Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos. Park in upper lot. For details go to: the WHS website. You can check our Newsletters on the website for direction and a map. We meet at the Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos. Park in upper lot. Founded in 1963, the Western

About WHS

Founded in 1963, the Western Horticultural Society is made up of horticulturists, botanists, landscape designers and architects, nursery people, students and avid gardeners & Master Gardeners.

Lectures are free to WHS members and students with current student ID, and $5 for non-members. The public is welcome to attend!

Maximize Free Ecosystem Services in Your Garden

Carpenter bees are one of our local pollinators

By adopting certain practices you can maximize numerous free “services” to create a healthy and thriving garden, courtesy of Mother Nature. All you have to do is to make a safe home for her critters. A healthy garden doesn’t need extensive and expensive inputs such as pesticides, herbicides or even large amounts of fertilizers. In fact, you have to avoid using these toxic products.

I’m referring to ecosystem services, and what I mean is this: 

If your garden is a healthy ecosystem it is easier and less expensive to maintain, and it's healthier for you and the environment.

What are Ecosystem Services?

In a nutshell they are things that nature provides when the right conditions exist. The ecosystem services most important for home gardeners include: pollination, pest control, fertility through decomposition of organic matter, healthy soil leading to healthy plants, ambient climate control, food production, and even remediation (breakdown) of harmful contaminants.

Silver thyme in flower is much loved by bees

Here’s more on these points:

Pollination

Some edibles depend entirely on pollination to produce any crop at all, while others produce a better crop when pollinated. For example, include flowering plants that attract pollinators when you plant your vegetable garden and they will pollinate your crops for an optimal harvest. This is especially important for squashes and cucumbers which rely on pollination. Many fruit and nut trees require pollination, including certain varieties of apples, most plums, pluots, pears, cherries (except sour cherry) and nuts. To read more about attracting pollinators go to this Xerces Society page.

Pest Control

Birds, wasps, and other predatory insects will keep the “bad” bugs under control. They will also kill a certain amount of ”good bugs”, but a balance will eventually be established.  Efficient predators such as wasps prey on many insects and their larvae that feed on plants. It's critical that you don't use any toxic chemicals if you want to establish beneficial insects in your garden. Birds forage on the ground for insects and they also pick them off of foliage. Set out bird baths with water to attract them, and make sure they have shrubs and trees for their nests. To learn more about biological pest control go to this UC Davis page.

Crimson clover is another bee magnet

Decomposition and Healthy Soil

A healthy garden ecosystem is supported by healthy soil. A key process at work in the soil food web is the decomposition and recycling of organic matter. We typically remove valuable sources of organic matter when we rake up leaves, grass clippings, and other trimmings from our garden. We can return these to the soil in the form of compost, use a chipper to make mulch, or use wood chips as mulch. Mulch added around your plants to cover any bare soil, will be a source of organic material that will breakdown over time while it helps retain moisture. Composting your yard and kitchen waste is one of the most valuable practices you can do at home. There are many methods and you can find one that suits your lifestyle.

Soil is alive and teeming with microorganisms as well as larger creatures such as nematodes and earthworms, and many others. If you take time to build up your soil with good compost and provide proper amounts of moisture, your plants will thrive and be better able to access nutrients, resist diseases and insect damage. Read more about the soil food web.

A lovely flowering dogwood tree

Climate Control

Trees are essential for providing many much needed ecosystem services in suburban and urban areas. Not only do they shade our homes and offices but they also transpire water vapor, which cools the local environment around them. This added moisture creates favorable conditions for both plants and animals. Trees mitigate the "heat island" effect caused by overdeveloped areas that are low on vegetation. In dry climates like California, trees are an essential natural resource. And of course they also provide important habitat and food for birds, insects, and mammals. It’s true that when you cut down a tree you are destroying an entire ecosystem.  

Organically grown home-garden harvest- it's dinner time!

Food Production

Our food producing plants are fascinating - watching luscious tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce grow and transform into delicious food is magical. You can maximize your pleasure and quality of life by growing an endless variety of herbs, fruits, and vegetables to enjoy with your family, neighbors, and friends. Why not use your precious resources of land and water to grow at least some amount of food?
But besides food, edible plants contribute to a healthy garden ecosystem. For example, by letting herbs flower they attract scores of beneficial insects in addition to providing fresh herbs for your meal. Try oregano, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, and parsley for starters.

Flowering parsley attracts beneficial insects

Bioremediation of Soil Contaminants

Through the process of decomposition some soil contaminants are eventually broken down. This process is a feature that can be leveraged through the use of compost (through the microorganisms). It has been used in clean ups for PCB, diesel fuel, and other petroleum type contaminated soils, to name a few. However, if you suspect that your soil is contaminated, you need to have it tested. I'm not suggesting that you should attempt to clean up serious or dangerous contamination on your own. I mention it here to show the power of natural processes.
To read more go here.

In my next post: Tips and strategies for creating a garden ecosystem.

Photo credits: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Grandma Hadley's Heirloom Lettuce Lives On

Surely Grandma Hadley would be surprised to learn that I'm enjoying her beautiful lettuce in my garden in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was growing it in southern Illinois in 1915, according to her granddaughter, who passed the seeds on to her niece.

 Grandma Hadley's lettuce at a young stage

It came into my hands because this forward-thinking niece donated seeds to Seed Savers Exchange in 1988 for safe keeping.  Now, over two decades later it is being tested in a handful of gardens across the country through Seed Saver's Exchange Member-Grower Evaluation Network (M-GEN) in an effort to collect details on its cultivation and just as important, its flavor and texture. Ultimately, Grandma Hadley's lettuce will be preserved by being offered in their seed catalog. Those who grow, eat it and share it, will ensure that it will not be lost. 

To me this means more choice when I want to grow my own lettuce, which is a staple at my house!

From left to right: Grandma Hadley's, Merveille de Quatre Saisons,  Renee's Container Babies

It's thrilling to grow something in my garden that very few people have ever seen or tasted, let alone cultivated in their gardens.  It feels precious, and a privilege to be entrusted with the promise of plenty that rare seeds bring.

And this succulent, tender butter-head lettuce is worth saving- it has striking blue-green leaves edged with a delicate burgundy and it makes a lovely salad. 

Blue-green Grandma Hadley's lettuce with garden flowers 

Lettuce seeds are easy to save and I'm letting several of the plants go to seed. I'm looking forward to  sharing them with family, friends and neighbors.  I'm happy that this deserving heirloom will live on to feed and delight many more gardeners for some time to come.

Look for it from Seed Savers Exchange, perhaps as soon as next year.

Photos: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Fire Fighter Grows Community Through Gardening

A fruit tree in bloom at the fire house

Firefighter paramedic Mike Robbins, not only serves our community of Mountain View, California,  by risking his life to save others, but he serves up fresh vegetables to his teammates through his love of gardening. Mike established an edible garden with vegetables and fruit trees at Mountain View Fire Station 1, that not only provides fresh produce for the station's meals together, but he also shares the bounty with the neighbors in his residential location near downtown.

I met Mike when he and his fellow fire fighters dropped into the Chez TJ kitchen garden last Spring to chat about our mutual passion for growing food. What a great idea to have an edible garden at a fire station - because as Mike has found, it's also therapeutic and relaxing to work in the garden.

Firefighter and EMT Joe Wortham in the firehouse garden

For those in stressful jobs, the activity of growing and sharing food together is certainly nurturing, nourishing, and sustaining in many ways. I dropped by the fire house recently to how the garden was coming along and to say hello. Mike had been deployed elsewhere for the day, but I met his crewmates, Joe Worthman and Steve Desirio, both fire fighters and EMTs (paramedics). 

They were happy to show me the garden, and I even cajoled one of these camera shy heroes, (Joe) into a photo. Apparently the urban legend about all fire fighters being handsome heartthrobs is true, as you can see for yourself in the photo above. Fire fighter Steve Desirio is an avid gardener at his home in San Francisco, where he grows edibles all year-round (in the fog, no less) and even starts his veggies from seed. They both gave abundant credit to Mike by saying that the garden is all his doing.


You can read an engaging article about Mike and his garden on California Bountiful Magazine.

A big thank you to Mike and his crewmates for their service to our community!

Photo: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke.

Fava Shoots: From Garden to Plate

Fava shoots have become popular, and I think it's a great way to get the most out of a powerhouse cool-season vegetable. Fava plants grow big and vigorously, so eating the young leaves in a saute or lightly steamed is taking good advantage of this hardy legume. I noticed that my local farmer's market had bundles of them for sale last year in the spring.

Fava Shoots Fit for High Cuisine
At the Chez TJ restaurant garden the fava beans my son and I planted last fall are now about a 3 feet high and looking lush. The funny thing is that Executive Chef Jarad Gallagher and his staff are raiding the young leaves from the tender plants for the restaurant.

Head gardener Louise Christy remarked that they might prevent flowers from forming and therefore won't get beans come springtime. But we are always happy when the kitchen garden gets used by the staff, whether it's for the restaurant or for their own meals, and we welcome creative uses of the edibles!

Pretty fava flowers attract bees in my winter garden

Simple Saute with Fava Leaves 
Pick shoots of fresh young leaves (usually found towards the top) to saute with olive oil as you would for spinach, or ask for them at your farmer's market. They taste a bit like like fresh green peas.

The flowers are also tasty in salads, but I hate picking them because that means less beans- and when it comes to favas I'm greedy!

This spring try a simple salad of  fava beans with new potatoes  

Planning for Spring Fava Harvest
In my home garden I have my usual fava plantings in both front and back yards and they are full of flowers. Fava beans love our mild winters on the SF Peninsula and I always make sure we have plenty of tender tasty beans in spring, but I think I'll go ahead enjoy a few shoots while I wait.

For fava recipes, including soup, and tips on growing them click here.
For the fava spring salad recipe, go here.

Photos: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

How to Prune Your Blackberries

Pruning your berry bushes can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be complicated. That's what I learned recently when I joined experienced horticulturalist Debbie Stern, head gardener for Rosiland Creasy, to lend a helping hand, but mostly to learn.

Since most berries are vigorous growers and will happily spread wherever they are planted, the ideal is to keep them under control from the beginning. I've been hesitant to plant any because of the potential for a berry take-over of my garden. But I got over my berry fear by learning hands-on how it's done.

See below for the basics you need to know and the four-step pruning method:

Debbie Stern finds the old fruited canes and makes the first cut

Pruning Cane Fruits - the Basics
In general, cane fruits (also known as bramble berries) such as blackberries, raspberries and hybrid berries, are pruned by cutting the canes down to the ground after they have finished fruiting.

New fruit is produced from new canes, so you must be careful to identify which canes haven't fruited, and save those for next year's crop of berries. If you wait to prune in late fall or in winter, you'll be sure to get the all of berries for the season.

Exception: for "everbearing"raspberries that fruit in summer and fall, then again the next spring, you only prune the top of the canes that have fruited, because those canes will be the spring fruting canes. Refer to:  Edible Landscaping, Rosiland Creasy, 2010.

If you can, take advantage of the thornless cultivars of blackberries, such as Black Satin, Arapahoe, Apache and Navaho. Black Stain is the variety in these photos, and a favorite of Rosiland Creasy.

You might recognize the colorful wall below from photos in Creasy's excellent book on edible landscaping. The are kept well under control in her front yard (below) by yearly pruning and produce lots of luscious berries.

Thornless "Black Satin" blackberries against a colorful wall

Pruning Blackberries in Four Steps
By pruning the canes every year and digging out any suckering canes, and uprooting any that have rooted when they touch the ground, the berries can be prevented from unwanted spreading.

Read through all of the steps first before beginning:
1. Find the fruited canes by looking for signs of fruiting (you'll see where the berries were attached and have been harvested, or find old berries the weren't harvested) and cut the cane by several feet.

2.  Find each cane that you cut and trace it back down to the ground; cut it off at the ground. Do this for all of the fruited canes. Be careful not to damage tender non-fruited canes, as they're usually all tangled together.

3. You should now have only canes that have new growth and no sign of fruiting; they are usually very green and supple. Choose three healthy canes to leave for next year's berry crop. Pick canes that are not too thin, but not too old and thick either so that they will develop vigorously.

Leave only three canes for next year's crop

4. Cut down to the ground and remove all non-fruited canes except the three that you picked. Tie these onto your trellis using twine in a figure-eight loop to create a little space between the trellis and the cane. Done!

From just three canes you will get lush growth. You may be tempted to leave more, but it may lead to more work than you planned for next fall to untangle and prune your berries. Experiment and see how your particular berries grow.

Tie the three remaining canes to the trellis - done!

For more about pruning berries and lots of other valuable information on growing edibles refer to:
 Edible Landscaping, Rosiland Creasy, rev. ed. 2010.
Pruning and Training, Christopher Brickle and David Joyce, the American Horticultural Society, rev. ed. 2011.

Photos: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Rosalind Creasy's Garden: Edible Landscaping with Color

Anyone familiar with Rosalind Creasy's landscaping design savvy knows that she is a champion of color in the garden.  As the guru of edible landscaping - her first book on the subject was published in 1982 and she has since published numerous others - she integrates edibles beautifully in stunning arrangements throughout her front and back yards. 

Recently, I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a few weeks working in her remarkable gardens and meet Creasy and her knowledgeable, amiable staff.

Rosalind Creasy welcomes APLD members on a tour of her garden

It Takes a Village 
When the opportunity arose to assist her regular gardeners in preparing for a tour of her garden by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) last September, I jumped at it. My friend and budding landscape designer, Susan Stansbury, and I were welcomed warmly to the prep team. 

The Creasy prep team (left to right): Valerie Williams, Susan Stansbury, Debbie Stern (Gudi Riter in background)

There we met head gardener Debbie Stern, intern Valerie Williams, and Gudi Riter, gardener and personal assistant to Creasy. Besides meeting and chatting with Rosalind Creasy, making new gardening friends was the highlight of my time spent in these beautiful gardens.

Detail of front arbor with hops

Our mission was to prepare the substantial garden beds, including every nook and crany, to be inspected by knowledgeable landscape designers. Many of the designers were not likely to be familiar with landscaping with edible plants, therefore the pressure was on to impress and demonstrate that edibles have a place in the suburban landscape. 

Entry to front yard garden

A Feast of Color
Creasy has devoted her career to educating others about the the beauty and utility of including vegetables, fruits and herbs in the home landscape, including the front yard. Creasy's gardens are lovely, and although the various garden "rooms" are lush with edible plants, they are not immediately obvious since the first thing you notice are the brilliant colors. 

The hybrid Enchantment tomato is a Creasy favorite for sauces

She has a special talent for using edibles in unexpected and delightful ways, like the hops that frame the front yard arbor, and another arched arbor covered in  luscious climbing "Enchantment" tomatoes, gorgeous hybrid roma-type tomatoes, of which Creasy is particularly fond (seeds available from Burpee).

Front yard feature: an archway of trellised Enchantment tomatoes

Flowers are bountiful throughout, and besides a riot of color, they provide food for pollinators and a lush habitat for birds, elements that are important for a balanced, healthy, ecosystem for the garden.

The Queen Elizabeth heirloom iris blooms twice a year

Gardening for a Small Planet
Why such passion for landscaping with something you can eat? As resources such as water and fuel become increasingly precious, and our agricultural lands are burdened with serious pesticide and herbicide contamination, producing food locally increasingly makes good sense.

Creasy has been determined to spread the message of gardening (and cooking) with edibles since the 1970's when it was not fashionable to show off the veggie garden in front yard suburban landscapes.

Creasy has designed a serene sanctuary in her heavily shaded backyard

I asked her how she had the fortitude and sheer guts to keep up her work when it earned her a reputation as an oddball in landscape design circles. She stated flatly that she simply "knew it was the right thing to do".

Rosalind Creasy's head gardener Debbie Stern, and APLD tour group

Not one to rest on her laurels, Creasy is as busy as ever, gardening, lecturing, and writing.  And as she enjoys the rising popularity of gardening with edibles in suburbia, she has every right to shout from the rooftops: 

I told you so!

A cleverly designed "tomato house"makes a surprisingly lovely feature in the backyard

Just call me the "hedge whisperer"

Photos: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke