Fruits From the Front Yard

Plants that produce food for the family are often relegated to the back of the backyard. They're put out of sight because they are "utility plants," not proper landscape plants. Plants to be harvested, but not admired. I have seen some lovely vegetable gardens-as-landscapes. From vegetables to fruits, there are a number of plants that would make handsome contributions to the front yard and the dinner table.

Consider this: our modern landscape plants and the fruit and vegetable plants often have a common wild ancestors. People have used selective breeding to develop and strengthen specific characteristics in their cultivated plants. Fruit and vegetable plants plants need to produce high quality produce. If that plant also happens to look pretty, that's nice. On the other hand, with landscape plants, looks are everything. In all cases, selections are also based on plant shape and size, resistance to disease, pests, cold and heat, and many other factors. That right combination of looks and bountiful harvest is more common than you may think. Now that you're wondering what would be attractive as well as productive, here are some annual and perennial "edibles" to try in the landscape.

Ornamental peppers have become popular as potted house plants for the winter holidays; the desired "look" is bright red fruits against deep green foliage. Peppers go through color changes as they ripen, and red is often the end result. On the way to ripeness, though, there are some interesting effects. Starting out green the various cultivars can have fruits that go through pale or deep yellows, oranges, pinks, and purples. At any given time, a plant in full production can have a multitude of colors due to the different stages of ripeness. Peppers are also available with various leaf markings--yellow, white, cream, reddish, purplish and so on. Peppers are easy and fun to start from seed. A limited selection will also be available in starter packs or individual pots at the garden center. Ornamental pepper plants form neat little annual shrubs, so they make good edging plants and work well in a perennial border. Give them full sun in a well prepared soil. Water them weekly during hot weather, and use a half strength liquid fertilizer every other week. Pepper plants are remarkably free of major pest and disease problems. One note of caution, however: while ornamental peppers are edible, they are usually fiercely hot.

For a vine with flair, try Actinidia arguta (Tara or Bower Vine) or Actinidia kolomikta (Kolomikta). Each produces 1" oblong fruits on vigorous twining vines, Tara Vine being a bit larger. Sweetly fragrant exotic-looking flowers appear May through June. The sweet fruit flavor is reminiscent of strawberry, banana, gooseberry, or kiwi (they are cousins to the gooseberry and kiwi), depending upon the plant and your taste buds. One male plant is required to pollinate up to eight female (fruit-bearing) plants. They prefer full sun but can tolerate partial shade. Tara vine has dark lustrous green and remarkably pest and disease-free foliage. Kolomikta has lovely purplish, pink- or white-variegated foliage. You need to provide a sturdy support structure such as an arbor or espalier. Winter prune the plant back to 8 to 10 buds per stem.

Blueberries are my personal favorite and front-yard-resident fruiting shrubs at my home. If you pay attention to soil pH (very low), organic matter (very high), water (very moist) and mulch (very deep), it's hard to go wrong. In a full sun landscape, blueberries leaves give fine texture and stunning scarlet fall foliage. Other than ravenous birds, pest and disease problems are minimal. Blueberries set the most fruit when at least three different cultivars are planted nearby. Try Bluecrop, Bluetta, Blueray, Herbert, Berkeley, Patriot or Eliot.

Prinsepia sinensis (Cherry Prinsepia) is a pest and disease resistant alternative to conventional cherry trees. This shrubby native of Manchuria grows in a rounded mound 6 to 10 feet high and wide, making it a good candidate for screening or hedges. The bright green leaves are borne on spiny branches, and contrast nicely with the orange-red 1/2 inch cherry-like fruits. This plant requires little more than a sunny, open location and fertile, well-drained soil. Overgrown plants respond well to renewal pruning.

For more information on home lawns, gardens, and pests, call The Garden Line at 302-831-8862 or email Garden-Line@udel.edu

-Jo Mercer, Horticulture & Environmental Science
Originally published in "Newark Outlook," The Newark Post

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