Edimentals, Providing Sustenance on Multiple Fronts

Have you heard the term “edimentals” yet? I just did, and now I plan to plant them. Edimentals are plants that often have good looks that rival the attractiveness of plants we add to the garden for their beauty. But not content to simply look good, edimentals take things a step beyond and offer parts that are edible and desirable for snacks, salads, and more. 

Stephen Barstow, credited with coining this term, has devoted much of his life to focusing on plant food sources. These ever-giving food sources would not come to mind for many of us when we think of foraging and harvesting. And many more of us would never think of planting them—take, for example, dandelions, scapes, and chicory. But for all of us who aim to be more creative with our gardens and to think more broadly about what we are planting, time spent thinking about edimentals is time well spent.

I am not quite ready to plant chicory, even though I have seen how beautiful its pale bluish lavender flowers are. And I must admit I dig out dandelions from my lawn with no regard for what they can offer, even though years ago, I had a friend who used them in salads and teas. But I have just learned of a wonderful edimental strawberry, a plant that has non-stop fruiting power at the same time it shows off visible pink flowers, and this seems to be a good first step toward taking my garden in a direction in which it can provide sustenance on more than one front, pleasing my eyes and also my taste buds. Learning about this strawberry has gotten me thinking that edimentals, Small Fruits and more, are some of the plants I most want to add to my garden for the summer ahead. 

In addition to Small Fruits, edimentals that come to mind right away for me are culinary herbs. I grow lavender and sage in my garden and find both of these plants to be as pretty to look at as they are delicious to eat. But I consider these to be flavor enhancers and not quite the crop-producing beauties I aim to plant this year. Similarly, nasturtium blooms are gorgeous when strewn atop salads. Add a few to a bowl of simple greens, and you will think a Michelin star is in your kitchen's future. But what else…? What else?

Looking at good listings of Small Fruits that do well in my region, I know I will find attractive options to plant. Currants are not my favorite berries to eat, but the look of the flowers and fruit on a mature currant bush may change my mind about their taste. With a manageable size and a lot to offer, these Small Fruits would provide me with enough of a “crop” to snack on, decorate plates, and perhaps even make a bit of jam in years to come. Among the many other Small Fruits to consider are patio blueberries, bred to be compact but very able to put on a show with flowers, fruit, and foliage.

Stepping out of the Small Fruits realm, I think of chard with its near-rainbow of colors. Could there be a more decorative “foliage plant” to add to the garden? I also think of artichokes and cardoons with their blue-purple blooms of magnum proportion, and even potatoes with sweet little flowers and healthy green foliage which is pretty in its own right. Like the Small Fruits which more readily come to mind when I think of edimentals, potato plants can do double-duty in a garden, looking good and serving as food for the gardener to enjoy and share.

On the topic of potatoes, I must say that I planted them in open spots around my garden for three years in a row, loving their petite flowers and not minding the space their lush greenery took up along borders around my backyard… borders I had previously used only for flowering annuals. I knew I should amend the soil that would become home to my seed potatoes, and I knew I should gradually build up mounds in which the tubers could grow optimally. But instead, I engaged in casual planting, tending my spuds as I would any other garden plant and wondering if anything would come up (and more importantly, develop underneath the soil). 

I placed the seed potatoes along a strip that would border one tall garden bed, trusting that the (eventual) foot-high potato foliage would not block out what was behind it. The foliage that sprung up from this effort was attractive enough, and made better during flowering time. I marveled at the simplicity of the potato flowers, with their unusual centers that poked out in bright yellow, as though stretching to be seen. But all of that first summer, I wondered if foliage and flowers were all that I would get. 

The first autumn after I allowed the humble potato to enter a garden that I thought should be all flowers, I pulled annuals and cut back perennials as I did my fall clean-up. As I worked, I avoided disturbing the potato foliage until the last minute in an effort to remember where I had planted my praties. Then, I dug, and my family dug.

We unearthed potato upon potato. Each was healthy and large. Each was delicious. The next year, my crop was almost equally good. In the third year, there was a lesser crop, indicating that a soil amendment or some “crop” rotation was probably in order. But with some resting time in between then and now, I have just purchased seed potatoes, and they will go in with care when the weather breaks. I look forward to seeing the greenery that will come from them this summer. To me, these plants will be as pretty as many strictly ornamental plants I have in the garden, and they will offer sustenance as fall rolls in.

So, edimentals, whether they be the Small Fruits with generally acknowledged good looks or the more unusual plantings of what might seem a little simple for the garden—chard, kale, potato, and the like—can add to a garden’s good looks while also adding to the fun (and literal sweetness) of gardening. 

If you are planning to include edimentals in your garden and know that young children will be helping, remember to do a little educating around what should be harvested and what should not be sampled. Certainly, not all plants are edible. For children of all ages, avoid treating your plants. And before planting, do just a bit of research into which Small Fruits grow best with which flowers, and which flowering plants might stunt the growth of beloved veggies that you plan to add to your garden beds. There are some perfect plant pairings, and there are also some garden foes. Learn about them before you start to dig. Then let the fun begin.

Edimentals. Yum… I mean yup. For a feast for the eyes and a feast for the table, you might consider them as you plan out your spring and summer garden work.