• Rosalind Creasy - Edible Landscaping

    Gardening can be easy, healthy, inexpensive, and best of all, in can be done just about anywhere. As far back as 1970, Rosalind Creasy was a pioneer in the field of Edible Landscaping.Her work has since revolutionized the way that many of us think about gardening. Cooking from the garden, eating organic, and eating fresh are all possible and not as hard as you might think.

    In this website, you can see some of Rosalind's best tips on making the most of your home garden, along with various recipes and advice.

    Rosalind's new book, Edible Landscaping, was published in November of 2010 and is now in its third printing.

Edible Gardening Questions: Low Water Edibles

Monday, August 15, 2011

Ros frequently receives emails from her readers. In the new Edible Gardening Questions posts, she will publish some of her answers so that we can all benefit from her experience!

Question:

Hi, I live in San Diego where water is in limited supply. My hubby and I took out our front lawn and planted low- water, drought tolerant plants. I would like to add some edibles to my front yard. I have rosemary, lavender and artichoke. Can you recommend some other low-water edibles suitable to coastal San Diego? -Loc

Answer:

I’m so glad you want to grow a few more edibles! As far as drought tolerant edibles are concerned, there are a number of aspects to be considered. The fact is, every time you grow an edible plant and harvest from it, you are saving water. The home gardener uses far less water than the farmer does. It’s not obvious to the average gardener, but I actually occasionally lecture for the Denver Water Company and the State of New Mexico concerning ways to save water in the global sense, not just at the end of your own hose. When you harvest lettuce from your garden you save 3 or 4 times the amount of water that the farmer and the grocery store would use to grow, water, harvest, wash, and keep fresh that head of lettuce.
You stated that you grow rosemary, lavender, and artichokes, which is great, the rosemary and lavender are drought tolerant, but to grow tender artichokes it actually takes a fair amount of water. You didn’t state how close you are to the ocean, but as you are in USDA Zone 10, if you are more than 10 miles away and not in a cool fog pocket, you could grow the drought tolerant plants: figs; pomegranates; pineapple guava; and the Mediterranean herbs, oregano, fennel, sage, sweet bay, and thyme. Another way to save water is to grow super productive edibles like: lemons, strawberries, tomatoes, summer squash/zucchini, chard, peppers, collards, lettuce, and kale, and basil in the summer and cilantro in the winter. Just think of all the trips to the grocery store those would eliminate. These plants give you a large harvest for the water used.

 

*posted by Jean Ann Van Krevelen

Posted in Reader Questions

by Rosalind Creasy

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August 15, 2011 - 6:10 pm

Dale - With proper design and elements, even desert areas can grow edibles that don’t need to be drought tolerant.

Greening the Desert with Geoff Lawton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTHjlueqFI

February 2, 2012 - 9:06 am

Belgard Pavers - Rosalind thank you so much for shared gardening experiences with us, i love your posts

Remembering Our Loved Ones: Cemetery Plantings

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Early June I visited my in-law’s grave site in Honesdale, PA. My Aunt Flo, cousin Gale Gammerdinger, and I were all frustrated to find that the marigolds that Flo had planted there Memorial Day had been eaten down to 1/2“ stubs. Was it deer or rabbits, or both-in either case they didn’t leave a single leaf. What to do? I put on my landscape designer hat and said, “Why don’t we plant some culinary herbs instead of annual flowers?” And they thought it was a great idea. We went to the nursery and I chose two oreganos, one a golden one and two variegated ones; a purple variegated sage; and an English thyme. Not only would they look beautiful, but there’s a good chance they might make it through the winter and not need to be replaced every year. Flo and a friend were able to plant them the next week and made sure they were kept watered.

photo by David Mill

For years I have planted culinary herbs in my clients gardens when they have critter problems. Deer, rabbits, chipmunks, and woodchucks seem to avoid these intensely fragrant plants. And while it’s a bit unusual to plant them in cemeteries, I knew that my mother-in-law wouldn’t mind this choice in front of their gravestone as she had helped me type my first manuscript for The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping. She was a fan of edible landscaping!

A month later I contacted Gale and asked for an update. She sent along this photo with a note that the oreganos on each end look slightly cut back. So now the question is: are the cuts nibbles by critters or sloppy weed whacker damage? We don’t know yet. We do know that the sage, golden oregano and thyme seem to be untouched. Tune in, we’re going to keep an eye on this planting and follow it until we know for sure. Culinary might be the answer for many families who lose their cemetery flower plantings on a regular basis. Who knows, harvesting a few herbs may give us another excuse to visit with loved ones.

Posted in Edible Gardening

by Rosalind Creasy

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August 3, 2011 - 5:20 pm

Geri Miller - Love this post! Thank you for the reminder that the edible plants we love can help us send love to those no longer with us!

August 21, 2011 - 8:43 pm

sheri - Something to keep in mind when growing anything edible is toxins in the soil. Cemeteries are FULL of chemicals and are generally some of the most polluted soil around. Please use judgement when deciding whether to eat anything grown in or near a cemetery. It would be wise to have the soil tested for contaminants in any edible garden, but cemeteries even more so.

Seed Savers Annual Campout 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011

by Jean Ann Van Krevelen

Right now, Ros is at the 31st Annual Seed Savers Campout. In fact, Ros is a member of the board for the Seed Savers Exchange and thoroughly supports their efforts to save and share heirloom seeds. If you aren’t familiar with SSE, I highly recommend you head over to their site and take a look at the gorgeous edibles you can grow from the seeds they offer. Without a doubt, I am most excited to receive their catalog every winter.

Each year, SSE hosts a campout. In addition to being a wonderful time, it’s packed with heirloom experts from across the country. Here’s a bit about the event:

“It’s time to put down your hoe, scrape the mud off your boots and leave your garden behind for a few days for the Seed Savers Exchange Annual Conference & Campout, Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 17.

We’ve invited all of the Seed Savers Exchange advisors to the farm this year–experts in their respective fields who regularly advise SSE on a range of horticultural and policy topics, people like Clive Blazey from The Digger’s Club in Australia and Suzanne Ashworth, from California, the author of the classic book “Seed to Seed.”

Herb and Flower Garden at SSE

Ros is speaking several times about edible landscaping. Just a few of the other topics include:

  • Apple Bud Grafting by Lindsey Lee
  • Dry Seed Cleaning by Will Bonsall
  • Herbs, Plain and Fancy by Ira Wallace
  • Heritage Poultry by Glenn Drowns
  • Selecting Varieties for Seed Saving by Suzanne Ashworth
  • Garden Photography by Christa Neu

If you are interested in heirloom edibles and seed saving, you should plan on attending next year’s campout. You’ll have a great time and build great relationships within the community.

tee pee of runner beans, 'Sunset' and under planted with 'Bull's Blood' beets

Posted in Edible Gardening

by Rosalind Creasy

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