Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

Advantages of Edible Landscaping

Edible landscaping, such as vegetables, herbs, and fruits, can add variety and color to your yard. For example, planting a squash patch in the front yard or beautiful raspberry bushes against a fence can look attractive. Fruit trees are another option. Strawberries and herbs make excellent ground cover, and peppers and tomato plants are great accents in flower gardens.

Here are some of the advantages of incorporating edible landscape plants into your environment.

Spend less money and effort on a lawn. You can reduce the lawn size by adding more edible plants to your landscape.

Get exercise and fresh air. Tending your edible plants can be an enjoyable way to get some physical activity, helping you feel better and healthier. You can also make it a family activity.

Help the environment. When you eat what you grow, you decrease demand for factory farming and processed foods, which in turn helps the environment. Also, if you choose not to use harmful chemicals such as pesticides, you are decreasing dependence on harmful products.

Save money. Edible landscaping provides food for your family, so you can save money at the grocery store. If you have enough room, you can grow enough food to freeze or can for winter. With berries, apples, and crabapples, you can inexpensively make your own jellies and jams. During summer you may have to buy very little produce at the store if you properly planned your edible plants. Although items like citrus fruits and melons may not grow in your climate, most vegetables and berries grow almost anywhere.

The great thing about edible landscaping is that you do not need to plant everything in the same area, like a traditional block garden. You can spread many of the plants throughout the landscape for more dramatic and aesthetic effect.
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