Edible Landscape Elements: Trees

Of course when we think of edible landscaping we think of fruit trees.  But there are more than just fruit trees.  Often times the humble little nut trees are overlooked but can be very valuable to your garden.   And yet when figuring out what to plant and where to plant it, there is much to be considered in this area.

Street Trees

I love a tree lined street.  There’s just something so good and down home about it.  When choosing a tree near the street you want to be sure you are choosing a variety that has deep roots so as not to destroy the road or concrete, and one that has a high branching growth so that it isn’t taking out cars and pedestrians as they pass by.  Another consideration is to be sure not to choose ones with juicy fruits because we certainly don’t want anyone to slip on freshly fallen juiciness either!  Ok, and we probably don’t want sticky, juicy things falling on our cars either.

The following are good trees to plant near streets:

Look for smog sensitive varieties.

Lawn Trees

Sometimes it is nice to have a tree in the lawn, but you want one that won’t compete with your grassy lawn for moisture and fertilizer and won’t be injured by disease if the lawn mower or trimmer accidentally nicks them.   Most fruit trees really aren’t that suitable for planting in lawns, because they can’t handle the aforementioned conditions.  Not to say that they can’t be planted in the lawn, because my parents have a bunch in their front lawn that did just fine, just that they won’t perform quite as well.   Plus you will want one that provides enough light to pass through so that grass will still grow beneath them.  So that leaves you these choices:

Large Trees

For some refreshing summer shade, or something for a real stately feel you will want to use a large tree that can grow to at least 30 feet.   You can plant trees such as:

You can get most of these from places like Gurney’s Seed and Nursery and Henry Fields Seed and Nursery or your own local nurseries.  Coming up in the next few days or weeks we will be getting into some more unusual edible plants that I am trying to find sources for  in case you’re interested in adding them to your own yards.