Go beyond apples and pears in the fruited landscape
By Lynn Ascrizzi
People go to great lengths to beautify the landscape around their homes. But why not introduce plants that look beautiful and provide healthy, nutritious food?
This is the credo of Tom Vigue of Kiwi Hill Farm in Sidney, Maine, an edible landscaper who has given talks on the subject at the Common Ground Country Fair. “It is possible to go beyond apples and pears to create a low-maintenance, fruited landscape,” he said.
“Instead of growing some kind of ivy or vine (like Virginia creeper, on a fence or stone wall) — grow kiwis! It’s a big vine, it‘s pretty easy to care for and it makes food, besides,” he said. There are many kiwi varieties, but Vigue likes a cultivar called Michigan State, which is rated hardy to Zone 4, so it does well in Maine. The lime-green fruit is high in vitamin C and ripens in mid-to-late September. “These kiwis are smooth-skinned and free of fuzz. You don’t have to peel them, just eat them,” he said.
And, how about growing the Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)? This ornamental tree blooms a striking, fuzzy yellow flower in the spring. “They’re basically indestructible. They don’t need pruning or fertilizer, and their edible fruit is fire-engine red and tastes like a cross between a cranberry and sweet cherry,” he said. “Get grafted varieties that produce 1 ½-inch long fruit,” he advised. The fruit also makes good preserves.
A better-known landscape edible is the high-bush blueberry. Vigue grows 16 bushes on his land and recommends the following varieties: Patriot, Bluecrop, Blue Jay, Duke and Chandler. “But don’t underestimate the elderberry (Sambucus nigra)”, he said, “a shrub that produces creamy white blossom in springtime and shiny black berries in late summer. They’re beautiful, very valid as a landscape plant. Birds love them, too,” he said, of the Zone 4 shrub that grows six to eight feet tall. The nutritious fruit is especially good as juice, elderberry jelly and wine.
Look for edible plants at your local greenhouse (see discount offers in the coupon section) or online at: www.onegreenworld.com
