Around the world each country has a particular flair for country flower gardens. When we think of them we will often think of a cottage garden that’s half-wild in England or the symmetrical pomp of a jardin a la Francaise.
We don’t always think about the stunning use of stone in an Arabic garden or the heather and alpine in a Scottish flower bed.
The elements in flower gardens vary as much from country to country as from one person to another.
At Chisel’d Creek Farm, we believe our flower gardens ought to contain as many tasty aspects as fragrant ones. Let’s explore the elements of a charming, edible flower garden.
Permaculture Flower Gardens
Loads of colorful flowers decorate a country flower garden, mixed with greenery and textured stones, arches, walkways. Pollinators keep the garden thriving because they can’t resist the colors and fragrance. And we keep returning to visit your garden to to rest in it and cultivate it.
At our farm we have several flower gardens that double as fruit gardens. Some of the gardens were planted before our time and some we’ve cultivated. In our vision for a better world, the best gardens welcome you with scent and flavor. That blooming plum tree can live near the peonies (which also happen to be edible), who shade the hostas bushes. All the plants flower at different times as well, luring in the loveliest pollinators and leading to our visual enjoyment from spring and to early fall.
Mixing edible plants into landscapes we cannot eat or with varied types of plants isn’t a new concept. It’s been around since Adam and Eve walked through God’s garden and plucked that dangerous apple, but the concept was given a specific name in the 1970s and gained a dedicated following. A gentleman named Bill Mollison is generally credited with coining the term “permaculture” which is essentially creating ecosystems that are productive, require little work from the gardener, and as sustainable as possible. Permaculture can be practiced anywhere. You can read some general information about it here. Or if you’d like an in-depth dive, you can pick up one of our favorite books like Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway.
Words of Caution
Research before you start eating any plants you’ve never tried before. Never eat plants treated with chemicals, growing hormones etc. If you aren’t sure what it is, don’t eat it. If you’re allergic to something in it’s same family, don’t eat it and maybe don’t even plant it! Also, some plants have medicinal or surprising health benefits or side effects so look into that before you munch. Most all the flowers in your flower garden are best enjoyed in small amounts and we’ll share some of what we do with our edible flowers in a later post. You can also pick up books on edible flower gardens, safe foraging, or simply identifying edible plants.
Choosing Flowers
Here in southern Maine, the climate fluctuates from 90s in the hottest summer to negatives in the colder winters. There’s rain throughout the year, and snow all winter into early spring. Our zone is 5 and if your zone is warmer, you may have additional options to the ones we mention here. Edible flowers that grow well for us are listed below.
- Peony
- Rose
- Pansy
- Dahlia
- Sunflower
- Bee Balm
- Daylily
We also grow lavender in our edible flower gardens and those are outdoors in late spring and summer, but brought inside a greenhouse or the farmhouse in winter.
There are so many other edible flowers you can add to your garden. Find some that are perfect for your zone and chose the color scheme you want. I personally love whites, pinks, and reds in my flower garden.
Adding Shrubs
The edible shrub is essential in the flower garden because it adds visual appeal, fills up empty space where weeds would grow, and provides yet another tasty treat. Here’s a list of some that grow well for us. A word of caution that some of these plants are quite prolific and must be carefully pruned back to keep them from taking over your little flower garden.
- Burdock
- Blueberries
- Mint
- Forsythia
We grow Rosemary in our greenhouse or in pots so they can be transferred indoors for winter. You can also get dwarf fruit trees and keep them pruned to a lovely shrub size with the help of a skilled arborist. They’ll add a lovely brush appearance in the flower garden while adding fruit at the perfect height for snacking.
Tree Choices
Depending on where your flower garden is located, the wrong tree choice can destroy the work you’ve done. Be sure the plants that go beside your trees can handle some or total shade. Some trees that thrive and improve the beauty in our shade-filled flower gardens:
- Dogwoods
- Dwarf cherry, plum, or apple
- Native plums
- Ornamental maples
- Sugar maples
Not all these trees have edible aspects. Dogwoods and ornamental maples have zero food value but they do look lovely. At our farm, we love sugar maples in gardens or groves. They do get large so it’s best to keep that in mind when you’re planning for the next fifty years.
Structures and Decor
An essential part of every flower garden is texture and variation of height. Whether it be from stones, mulch, sculptures, trellises, ponds or anything else, it breaks up the greenery and adds visual charm. Not to be neglected is the shape of the garden itself. Permaculture principles suggest that using shapes found in nature are more effective for growing and accessing your garden. For example, a spiral shaped garden can allow you to utilize a long growing space and even a vertical one, without losing much in the way of a pathway. And in itself, that is visual appeal.
At our farm, our main flower garden surrounds the house, with stones at the edges. The prior occupants planted circular gardens here and there. We plan to cultivate those into horse-shoe shapes or keyhole gardens, perhaps protected by short stone walls One small entrance with access to everything around you reduces wasted space and means you have to work less to reach those lovely flowers.
Overall Planning
Every flower gardener must plan and it’s best to think long term when you plant perennials. In our planning, we always consider these factors when selecting our plants:
- Are they hardy in our zone?
- Do they need shade or more sun?
- How tall and wide will they get?
- Are any parts of them poisonous?
When selecting our location of planting we observe and ask:
- Do I want to walk out in slippers to reach my garden or trek farther?
- Will this spot flood or drain too quickly?
- Is this location always in sun or shade?
- How close is our water source and how close are buildings?
- Do I need this spot for anything besides my flower garden?
- Is the soil acidic, basic and how do I need to prepare the soil for my plants?
- What will this look like in five years, ten years… fifty years?
This isn’t an exhaustive list of course. It gets us started and we hope it will help you too.
Grow Your Own Edible Flower Garden
Now you know some of the flora we enjoy at our farm. We’re always researching new plants and trees to add to our landscape, for flower gardens or tree groves. We love plants that can provide food for us and our neighbors.
If you enjoyed reading drop a comment below and tell us what flowers you love in your garden. Be sure to check back for future garden posts and visit our website to learn more about our farm. We’ll be talking lots more about flower gardens, tree care, and permaculture in future.
Cheers!
Mary & the Chisel’d Creek Farm Family