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Q: What attractive and useful edibles or herbs can I grow in my yard landscape without needing dedicated garden beds?
A: When we think of an "herb garden," parsley and chives often come to mind -plants that aren't particularly showy and typically require a dedicated vegetable garden, space, and regular maintenance. However, creating a food forest in your yard doesn't have to be a complex project. Useful edibles and medicinal herbs can also be exotic and beautiful, enhancing the charm of your landscape. Here are some examples of unusual tropical edibles that are not only stunning ornamentals but also bring delicious goodness to your kitchen.
1. For drinks: Jamaica Tea flower - Karkade Hibiscus
Hibiscus
sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle, or Jamaica Tea flower
(Karkade Tea) - yes, many hibiscus species are edible!
- Flowers of Roselle hibiscus are used to make a tea "Agua de Flor de
Jamaica". To be exact, those are flower bracts around flowers and seed pods.
- Medical studies show that it lowers blood pressure and has diuretic
effects.
- The pleasant flavor is similar to a cranberry juice and it's so good, you
may not even want to add any sugar. We make this cold tea every day -
perfect for hot summer.
- Karkade Hibiscus grows into a large bush within just one season from
seed! Lots of flowers to harvest will last you the whole winter. It can be
treated as annual in cooler areas due to its fast growth and same-year harvest.
Thrives in full sun.
- Short video: how to make hibiscus tea
2. For medicine: Aztec Sweetleaf - Lippia
Lippia dulcis
- Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf is a wonderful fragrant groundcover.
- Fragrant Mexican herb with incredibly sweet and aromatic leaves.
- The fresh leaves can be eaten from the plant like candy or tossed into
fruit salads for an unusual addition, or used for making a healing tea.
- It has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs and colds.
- The sweetness tastes great, and can be used by diabetic patients. We add
this herb to Karkade or Mint tea as a sweetener, instead of sugar or
honey.
- Grows like a ground cover, in shade or semi-shade, great perennial
container plant.
3. For salads and stews: Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach
Gynura
procubens - Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach is a perennial spinach, and
once you plant it, you have it for many years, and can grow many more easily
from cuttings!
- Longevity Spinach is one of the Superfoods, and there are many claims
that it lowers cholesterol.
- We use Longevity Spinach in our cooking all the time and so far we are
all alive, so it works! :)
- Longevity spinach can be eaten raw in salads or cooked wherever you would
use a regular spinach.
- Grows as a large spreading herbal bush, in full sun.
- See some recipes with more pictures
4. For meat wraps: Vietnamese Pepper or Wild Betel Leaf
Piper
sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot, Wild Betel Leaf, Chaa-plu adds wonderful
peppery flavor to meats and is great for wrapping meats and cooking in the oven,
on a stove or grill. We use it all the time, wrapping ground beef of turkey
and putting wraps on a grill or on a frying pan, very easy!
- Vietnamese Pepper leaves are eaten raw in salads or cooked with other
greens or dishes.
- The leaves are used as food wraps in Vietnam. It is used medicinally in
India and SE Asia.
- It is also chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine, very similar to
Betel Leaf (Piper Betel) which is very popular tonic in Indian culture.
- Vietnamese Pepper grows as a vining herbaceous shrub or ground cover, in
both sun or shade, and spreads with runners so you can have plenty if you
want to have more. Can be grown in container and indoors, too.
- Check out recipes of meat wraps for grilling
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"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul." - Alfred Austin
...Healing gardens are good for your soul and morale. They can improve your mood and help with depression, and they have even been proven to increase our physical wellbeing.
...Gardening offers therapeutic benefits by providing a calming connection to nature, which reduces stress and anxiety.
...The physical activity involved improves overall health, promoting better cardiovascular function and increased strength.
...And last but not least, the act of nurturing plants fosters a sense of purpose and accomplishment, which can alleviate symptoms of depression. Spending time outdoors and in sunlight also boosts mood by increasing serotonin levels.
