Move over, flowers . Fruits and vegetables are no longer just the hardworking part of your garden. With the grow-your-own movement gaining ground and heirloom crops becoming more widely available than ever, landscape designers are emphasizing how stunning a lush vegetable patch can be. With a careful selection of plants, a well-thought-out design, and a few pretty extras, an edible garden can look every bit as beautiful as your ornamental beds. We turned to landscape designer Lauri Kranz of Edible Gardens LA for her expert tips on planting a bountiful fruit and vegetable garden that’s also a feast for the eyes.
Plan before you plant
Where you scatter seeds or plant seedlings will determine the overall look of the garden in the weeks or months to come, so think carefully about the layout of your crops—even sketch it out—before you plant. “In formal gardens, I plant in more traditional rows,” says Kranz. “In a more free-flowing space, I interplant different vegetables a bit more, thinking about texture, color, and form.”
Choose crops for flavor and beauty
Plants can look just as good as they taste. Check seed packets before you buy, choosing crops with varying growth habits and foliage. In warm weather, Kranz likes to include several types of eggplant (including Rosa Bianca and Ping Tung); Sungold, Black Krim, and Ananas Noire tomatoes; Persian and Japanese cucumbers; and Aristotle basil, which “has a mild flavor and forms a lovely round sphere,” she says. In chillier weather, she opts for lettuces of different colors, purple cauliflower, and fava beans—“they’re beautiful as they grow in and delicious on the plate.”
Think low to high
For a tiered look, plant crops that stay close to the ground toward the front and taller ones at the back. “Growing both bush beans and pole beans, such as scarlet runner beans, adds a wonderful height and depth to the garden,” says Kranz. Use bamboo trellises for tomatoes and cucumbers to add both structure and elevation. And don’t forget the bed itself: “I like raised beds with a seating ledge around them,” she says. “The aesthetic is beautiful, and it makes for a much more pleasurable gardening experience.”
Mix in blooms
Planting flowers in an edible garden isn’t just pretty, it’s practical. “They do the vital work of bringing pollinators into the garden,” says Kranz. In summer, her favorites are dahlias, cosmos, bee’s friend, and scabiosas. In cool but mild weather, she likes sweet pea flowers, bachelor buttons, and anemones.
