A:
Scott Stiles, horticulturist with
Raintree Nursery
in Morton, Washington, and a specialist in edible landscaping, replies: For ground covers, I suggest alpine strawberries, wintergreen, and lingonberries. Alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca ‘Semperflorens’) produce sweet and delicious small fruits from early summer through fall. They grow well in full to partial sun, and most strains are completely runnerless. This makes them a perfect choice to define flower beds or borders where regular runner-producing strawberries would be rather untidy. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is a pretty evergreen ground cover for shady areas that produces attractive, red, blueberry-sized fruits that taste just like wintergreen mints. Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) are widely considered the very best of the cranberry-type fruits. They are produced on a spreading, evergreen plant that grows about 1 foot tall. They grow well in full sun, but in hotter climates they prefer midday shade and are happiest in well-drained, acidic soil.
For shrubs, how about blueberries? They are multi-stemmed shrubs that grow about 2 to 6 feet tall, depending on the variety. Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) have attractive little bell-like, white flowers in spring, delicious fruit in summer, and red or yellow foliage in autumn. Another really nice shrub is the ‘Crandall’ currant (Ribes odoratum). This variety was developed from the wild currants native to the Midwest and grows to about 3 to 4 feet tall. In the summer, it produces delicious, sweet, tiny black fruits. In the fall, the leaves turn a fiery orange-red. Best of all, the abundantly produced yellow flowers have a delicious clovelike fragrance in spring.
Crabapple trees (Malus spp.) have pretty white or pink flowers, and many varieties also produce tasty fruits that are wonderful for jellies or for cooking. Some varieties, for instance, ‘Centennial’ and ‘Kerr,’ are also sweet and delicious picked right off the tree.
A really unusual and attractive fruit-producing tree you could grow is the pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Pawpaws are native to the U.S. and are found growing wild from Georgia to Ontario, Canada. The fruits look like short, stubby bananas and have an exotic taste—something like bananas crossed with mangos. Wild trees can grow to 35 feet tall or more, but in a residential landscape they can be kept under control by pruning.
Serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.) produce fruits that look and taste like blueberries. They are excellent fresh and superb in pies or preserves. Either shrubs or trees, serviceberries have pretty white flower clusters in the spring and beautiful leaf color in the fall.
The hardy kiwi (Actinidia kolomikta ‘Arctic Beauty’) is an attractive woody vine that tolerates shade. The male has lovely red, white, and green variegated leaves and fragrant, small, cream-colored flowers. This species needs both a male and female plant to produce the sweet-tasting, grape-sized fruit. They have no fuzz, and the skin is soft and tender. Don’t bother peeling them, just eat them—skin and all.
All these plants are hardy through Zone 5B (–15°F), and some are hardier than that. For more information on edible landscaping, I suggest Robert Kourik’s excellent book, Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally.
