Here's another new book on edible landscaping that I want to tell you about.
In Emily Tepe's book,
"The Edible Landscape," I immediately felt connected to her while reading this quote:
"Food is, without a
doubt, one of the most important parts of our lives. And yet we let strangers,
thousands of miles away, on land we will never see, decide what our food must
look like and taste like, what our food is treated with to prevent disease, and
what is put into the soil to make that food grow.... Why do we accept this?"
I couldn't agree more and
know that a lot of folks feel the same away because of the increased interest
in growing our own food.
Tepe stresses the need to
have a diverse ecosystem which occurs when we grow ornamentals, veggies, fruits
and herbs together. She is a proponent of edible landscaping because it allows
us to grow edible crops in the most ideal spots in our yards.
She discusses the
importance of meeting the sunlight requirements of plants and addresses
companion planting to get the most out of one's garden space. And she talks
about the importance of not overreacting to insect or disease problems.
Instead, we need to be alert to problems as they arise and determine the most
sustainable way to deal with them.
There are attractive photos
and colorful illustrations throughout the book that are sure to inspire and
intrigue the reader.
Tepe also devotes a lot of
attention to design elements such as balance, flow and plants' growth habits.
She even addresses the advantage of growing plants vertically.
The book has practical
sections on topics like starting plants from seed, transplanting, watering,
mulching and weeding. She gives advice on dealing with insects, critters and
disease, and wraps up the discussion with information on soil preparation and
putting the garden to bed for winter.
There is a chapter on the
author's favorite plants for edible landscaping, along with their cultural
requirements and inside tips on growing them to maximize your success. At the
end of the book, there is a huge resource index that contains web addresses of
the sources she consulted with for many of the topics she wrote about. She
emphasizes the importance of going to educational web sites for the most
accurate information, something that I as a Master Gardener really appreciates!
So if you think you don't have room for growing edibles,
"The Edible Landscape" will show you how to incorporate them into
your yard. They in turn will feed you well while injecting some pizzazz into
your garden design.
Cover photo reprinted with permission.
