The basis of edible landscaping, also called “foodscaping”, consists in beautifying the garden by harmoniously integrating beautiful plants that find a place on our table.
Here are beautiful suggestions of edible plants to grow in the garden… for the pleasure of the eyes!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Herbs as ornamental plants
- Growing herbs in flower beds
- Anise hyssop
- Wild chervil
- Borage
- Scented-leaved geranium
- Amaranth
- Sage
- Dill
Herbs as ornamental plants
Herbs are often grown in pots on the balcony or in the vegetable garden. This is ideal for smaller varieties that do not tend to creep. These traditional growing methods are practical, but do not necessarily highlight the ornamental qualities of the plant… Some of them deserve it!
Lavender is a beautiful example of an aromatic plant most often grown for its ornamental qualities. It looks great in pathways and flower beds, surrounded by roses and flowers.
Which aromatic plants should be planted in flower beds?
The answer is simple: all of them!
While some edible plants blend into the decor, others are so spectacular that they can be used as feature plants.
Many aromatic herbs that grow in the garden never end up on our plate. They are grown simply for their scent, for the appeal of their foliage, or for their impressive flowering.
Here are edible plants that are grown for their beauty.
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Anise hyssop grows wild in North and Central America. From June to September, its branches are covered with spikes of flowers.
It can reach a metre high. Its leaves are generally silvery green, purplish in the spring. However, some cultivars have beautiful lime-green foliage. And while most cultivars have purple flowers, others have white, blue or apricot flowers!
How to use anise hyssop in the garden
With its impressive flowering that lasts for two months, this aromatic plant fits perfectly into flower or shrub beds. Its large size and dense foliage make it a plant of choice at the back of a flower bed, although its shrubby habit also makes it possible to use it as a feature plant.
Nicknamed “hummingbird mint”, anise hyssop has its place in all pollinator gardens. Near the vegetable garden, it promotes an abundant harvest. Its flowers also make beautiful bouquets of fresh or dried flowers.
When we think of anise hyssop, we imagine purple flowers, but there are also coral, golden yellow and pink ones… Its foliage can also be a beautiful bright yellow.
The best associations in the garden
- Echinacea
- Coreopsis
- Shrub roses
- Sidalcea
- Daylilies
- Lilies
- Dahlias
- Grasses
- Gauras
- Cosmos
- Sages
- Asters
Wild chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris)
With its finely serrated foliage and delicate, white, umbel-shaped flowers, wild chervil has everything to please. From its height of 80 cm, it looks like a cross between elderberry and ninebark with black foliage.
Discover the horticultural variety Ravenswing, whose dark purple foliage attracts all eyes.
How to use wild chervil in the garden
Its decorative foliage, its bushy shape and its beautiful size are perfect in a romantic English-style garden, in a rose garden or in a flower meadow. It can easily be planted along structures and fences, in flower beds or along pathways.
Its flowering evokes a cloud of white flowers, which fits perfectly alongside shrubs, perennials and annuals in a romantic garden. Also, with both its foliage and blooms, it enhances the sophisticated flowers that don’t have much greenery.
Even without flowers, its stems are a beautiful addition to cut flower bouquets.
Since chervil does not tolerate drought well, improve the quality of your soil by incorporating a mix with a high sphagnum peat moss content, like our Organic Vegetable and Herb Mix. Also water to keep the soil fresh and moist.
PRO TIP: By removing the flower stems when they appear, you get a plant with fuller foliage.
The best associations in the garden
- Poppies
- Nigellas
- Cosmos
- Echinops
- Roses
- Tulips
- Garden irises
- Shrubby mugworts
- Lupines
- Aconites
- Hydrangeas
Borage (Borago officinalis)
Very pretty with its multitude of blue, star-shaped flowers, borage deserves to be grown for its ornamental qualities. This rustic aromatic plant measures between 30 and 90 cm, depending on the variety. Its blooms will brighten up your annual flower beds almost continuously throughout the summer.
Borage often reseeds itself, which makes it a long-lasting companion in the garden. However, it requires a certain amount of vigilance. As it is often grown for its beautiful blue blooms, removing them when they appear isn’t an option. You can use mulch to prevent the seeds from taking root.
How to use borage in the garden
Its star-shaped flowers full of nectar attract a swarm of pollinators. And, since this aromatic plant is known to repel slugs (and possibly worms and caterpillars!), borage is very popular near the vegetable garden. It can also be planted near plants that tend to get eaten!
Borage is also said to have the property of drawing nutrients deep into the soil to bring them up. It also helps to fix minerals such as nitrate and potassium. For all these reasons, borage is a good ally in the garden!
WARNING : Not everyone agrees on the level of danger of borage. The plant contains alkaloids that are toxic to the liver and its consumption could be linked to the development of certain cancers.
The best associations in the garden
- Hostas
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
- Cosmos
- Zinnias
- Daisies
- Lupines
- Hyssops
Scented-leaved geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
Beyond the famous red geranium, there is a very wide variety of scented-leaved geraniums. There are varieties with delicate flowers, others with giant leaves… They can smell like mint, lemon, rose, citrus fruit or even hazelnut. Some have a pineapple scent and fine, serrated foliage reminiscent of asparagus, others have a lemon scent and almost… curly foliage. Why settle for classic cultivars when a whole universe is just waiting to be explored!
How to use scented-leaved geranium in the garden
Enjoy the fragrance of the scented-leaved geranium by planting it along a pathway, at the edge of a flower bed or in a pot on the deck or balcony. Its pretty flowers, its varied shapes and the range of its scents are not its only qualities… Indeed, the scented-leaved geranium is also known to repel mosquitoes!
Discover other beautiful flowering plants that help repel mosquitoes and other pests here: Companion planting with repellent plants | Gardening with PRO-MIX
The different varieties and their scents
The name of the variety tells us about its fragrance: capitatum (rose and lemon), fragrans (nutmeg and pine), citronellum (lemongrass), tomentosum (mint), crispum (lemon), odoratissimum (apple)…
The best associations in the garden
- Lantanas
- Scaevolas
- Lavender
- Butterfly bush
- Mugworts
- Alliums
- Coleus
- Bidens
- Verbenas
- Lobelias
- Grasses
- Asparagus fern
- English rose
TIP: To choose your rose bush, read : 25 Easy, low-maintenance roses | PRO-MIX Gardening
Amaranth (Amaranthus)
Native to Central America, amaranth was the Aztecs' favourite cereal, but it is also an excellent choice for northern regions. Its rapid growth allows it to reach two metres in a season.
Its name, which means “immortal”, was given to a purple colour slightly lighter than burgundy. Besides the numerous shades of red, its large silky spikes, proudly erect or sometimes drooping to the ground, also come in yellow, copper, soft green, garnet, beige, apricot, pinkish white...
A MUST-HAVE
The three-coloured amaranth is grown for its flamboyant and spectacular foliage that almost makes its flowering go unnoticed.
Where to plant amaranth in the garden
Very graphic, amaranth brings volume to flower beds. Choose varieties with drooping or upright spikes depending on the desired effect. In all cases, this beautiful edible plant brings an exotic touch to the garden.
Amaranth grows quickly and reaches a good size. Give it the necessary space. Varieties with upright spikes can find their place at the back of a flower bed, although amaranth can easily serve as a feature plant. The flamboyant leaves of the three-coloured varieties are more durable than any flowers!
The flower spikes left on the plant attract birds, which love their seeds.
PRO TIP: To make dried bouquets, you must wait until the flowers are firm to the touch and the seeds begin to set before cutting.
The best associations in the garden
- Dahlias
- Coleus
- Coreopsis
- Geraniums
- Burgundy foliage
- Lobelias
- Grasses (blue fescues and sedges)
- Grey foliage (sage, bear's ears, etc.)
Sage (Salvia)
While sages are popular in the garden, ornamental sages are still often overlooked. Easy to grow, they can be low or measure up to 90 cm and have a shrubby shape. Regardless of the variety, they all have a long flowering period.
There are more than 900 varieties of sages throughout the world. Some are perennial, others annual. They are suited to different conditions: some are adapted to northern regions, others resist prolonged periods of drought. As they grow quickly, the show doesn’t take long to start with sages.
Their foliage can be green, blue, silver or variegated, goffered, ribbed or silky. Their flowering can be practically any colour, bright or pastel, and their flowers can take different forms: compact clusters, similar to those of beans, spikes…
Discover the most beautiful sage varieties: Sage: how to grow beautiful varieties
Where to plant sage in the garden
Sage can be classified as a subshrub due to its bushy habit and the fact that its stems become woody over time. Although some varieties can reach a considerable height, most do not exceed 70 cm.
Sage easily finds its place in a mixed border, alongside perennials, roses and small or medium-sized shrubs. Depending on the variety, its flowering can be long-lasting, sometimes stretching until the first frosts.
Sage can also be grown in pots. A regular supply of fertilizer will then be recommended since the substrate quickly becomes depleted.
The best associations in the garden
- Lavender
- Malvas
- Chamomile
- Yarrows
- Echinacea
- Roses
- Grasses
- Hostas
- Cosmos
- Agapanthus
- Gauras
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
The national spice of Scandinavian countries is also very popular in our kitchens. However, this beautiful aromatic plant is still little known for its ornamental qualities in the garden. Nicknamed “bastard fennel”, it is very attractive with its foliage composed of blue-green needles and its large, yellow, umbel-shaped flowers.
Dill flowers from July to September, has a compact shape and can reach more than a metre in height at maturity.
It is above all for the beauty of its flowers that we should add dill to our mixed flower beds. However, even without flowers, this aromatic plant deserves its place in our gardens with its compact shape and dense foliage. It can be used to hide an undesirable view, to add depth and height to a cluster of trees, or to create a beautiful background that will highlight flowers whose foliage is less generous.
Dill also makes beautiful clumps when planted in groups of five or seven. As a melliferous plant, it attracts bees to the garden. Finally, dwarf varieties offer beautiful results when grown in flower pots.
PRO TIP: By picking the leaves at the top of the plant, it will grow wider and take on volume!
The best associations in the garden
- Marigolds
- Coreopsis
- Osteospermums
- Coneflowers
- Grasses
- Veronicas
- Sages
- Alliums
- Purple foliage
Also discover: Moldavian lemon balm
Moldavian lemon balm is an annual aromatic plant with a lemony scent and a discreet hint of licorice. Also called “garden tea” or “dragon's head”, it has a bushy and compact shape rarely exceeding 80 cm.
