The Edible Perennial Beds

In just two short months we are already harvesting from the edible perennial beds. You could be too, it really doesn't take that much space and you could be eating fresh salad greens most of the year round.

Attractive landscaping can also be achieved using edible perennials and I have roughly mapped out a plan for the planting. I plan for the green beds to contain lots of lime coloured herbs and lettuces. Over towards the back I have transplanted my Tahitian lime tree to take advantage of the protected corner and the heat bank of brick paving. The red beds will contain, well, red themed plantings.

Red Beds

Bloody dock with it's spectacular veined leaves and a real favourite in our salads. Red rhubarb and red chard, strawberries, lettuce variety "trout back"and "red oak" and purple flowering oregano rosenkuppel.

Green Beds

Lettuce varieties "lollo bionde" and green oak, green stemmed rhubarb, chervil, salad burnett with it's fresh cucumber flavour, lovage for a celery flavour and parsley. My lime tree will be the piece de resistance but it will have to have a lot of seaweed foliar sprays over the summer to harden it for winters here in town. 

As the season progresses other herbs and leaf will probably come and go and the hollyhocks will provide height for the birdhouse that is situated in the middle. You could add an asparagus crown or two to your perennials. The advantage of growing the loose leaf lettuce varieties is that they can be picked and picked rather than the hearted varieties that reach maturity and then are gone.

So get cracking, you may not have room for a corn crop but you could be selecting gourmet salad in just a month or two and living like kings.

Footnote: The paths are made from convict bricks and the edges from salvaged stone, both come from the ruined cottage from the bottom of the paddock.