A Guide to an Edible Garden in Spokane

One idea that’s gaining in popularity in landscaping is using your outdoor space to grow food. It’s called an edible garden or urban farming, and it’s not just gaining in popularity in Spokane but in other areas of the country as well. Our landscaping team has put together a quick guide to help you get started with turning your yard into a gorgeous, food-producing space you can be proud to share with the community.

The Benefits of Urban Farming

Using your lawn to grow food has a lot of benefits, not just for you but for the community as a whole. First, it uses a precious commodity (space) and uses it in an active way, instead of just passively looking pretty. The food that you produce can be used in your own cooking or donated to food banks for others who might not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. You’ll have total control over the food that you produce, too, so you can be sure that it’s not touched by pesticides or other chemicals you wouldn’t want in your food. It’s a great way to meet neighbors, too, because you’ll likely have more than you can eat and need to share with your neighbors!

How to Find the Right Plants

Creating an edible garden will take some planning. The goals that you have for your space will help determine what plants you pick, too.

• If you want your edible garden to still look gorgeously landscaped, choose plants that can grow close together and look beautiful. Flowering plants are a good choice, too. Gorgeous leafy herbs, strawberry plants that put on pretty white flowers before turning into beautiful berries, and even marigolds are great choices when visual beauty is a factor in your edible garden.
• If you are less worried about the look and more concerns with growing a lot of fresh produce in a small space, go for veggies. Cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes can all be grown in a relatively small space and produce a good amount of food. Make sure you have a plan for donation, though, because you’ll likely end up with more veggies than you can eat on your own.

The Drawbacks of an Edible Garden

There are some drawbacks to turning your lawn into an edible landscape, though. First, it will require a great deal more work than a typical garden. Our landscaping service in Spokane designs and installs low-maintenance garden beds for homes and businesses all over the Spokane area; they typically don’t include any plants that need to be harvested because they are a lot of work. You’ll also be sacrificing some or all of your outdoor space, meaning you may have less area to enjoy a BBQ in the backyard or a game of  catch with your kids. Weight the pros and cons and determine if this is the right choice for your landscaping.

If you want a beautiful lawn without all the hard work, our landscaping team in Spokane can make it happen. Give us a call and get a free estimate on all of your landscaping needs today!