Edible
Landscaping in the Schoolyard
|
 This
edible schoolyard border welcomes students back to
a fall harvest of apples, cucumbers, and peppers.
|
Some gardens sport vegetables growing in neat rows and flowers
blooming in separate beds, with no consorting allowed. In yet other
landscapes, flowers, vegetables, perennial fruits, and herbs are
inextricably mingled because, well, they look so good together!
The term edible
landscape
typically means integrating food plants in ornamental settings.
This can be as simple as tucking a few lettuce plants or red chard
into that flowerbed, or as complex as landscaping an entire schoolyard
with an eye toward food production, site diversity, and beauty.
In either case, cultivating visually compelling companions can
become a design exercise in which your keen observers consider
color, textures, height, and form as they decide what to plant
where. This teaching theme highlights the basics of edible
landscaping, and offers a couple of related lessons to whet your students' appetites
for designing with healthy eating and aesthetics in mind.
Lessons
and Activities
Planning
an Edible
Landscape – The main things to consider as you approach your design.
Edible
Ornamentals for the Schoolyard – An extensive list of options, from
flowers and herbs to trees and shrubs.
Lesson:
Lettuce in the Landscape – Students investigate the ornamental properties
of lettuce in order to expand their perception of what kinds of
plant material
can be used in landscapes.
Lesson:
So Many Flavorful Fruits – Students will learn what a plant variety
is, and identify fruit varieties suitable for your area.
Related Stories and Resources
Oak
Grove Montessori – This school, winner of a 2006 Healthy Sprouts
Award, makes their productive year-round vegetable, herb, and fruit garden
a top priority.
Growing
Garden Companions – As you plot out your edible landscape, this
resource will help you consider how plants can benefit one another
and site them accordingly.
Growing
an Edible Flower Planter – A short — and sweet — project
to get you started.
Herbal
Adventures – A potpourri of curriculum connections using
these endlessly fascinating and useful plants. Be sure
to fit
them into
your edible landscape!
© 2007
National Gardening Association