I'm Charlie Nardozzi. People have been growing edible plants near their homes for food and beauty for thousands of years. The ancient Persians, Egyptians, and many Asian cultures integrated edible plants into their pleasure gardens and installed them close to their living space. It was only during the Renaissance that the idea arose to separate utilitarian plants (food) from non-utilitarian flowers. Upper-class people saw growing only flowers near their home as a way to show off their wealth and power. They were so wealthy they could use their land to grow plants simply for pleasure and hide the edibles somewhere else.
Home gardeners for years followed the agricultural model and planted their edibles, both vegetables and fruit trees, in long boring rows and devoid of flowers as they felt, incorrectly, that it was more efficient. Now we know that most beneficial insects need pollen and nectar at some time in their life cycle to reproduce so when you add flowers you actually cut down on pest damage and aid production. Flowers such as alyssum, thyme, cosmos, and marigolds, and natives such as echinacea, aster, and coreopsis, are not just beautiful they help control pests.
And how about getting rid of all those straight lines? When you make your garden beds curved or plant in geometric configurations you'll find they are no harder to maintain then straight lines, and instead of being a ho-hum square, the garden will now have a sense of place, a destination.
5. Growing Your Own Food
“By 2050 there
will be 9 billion
people on the
planet. We’ll
have to produce
more food in the
next 50 years
than all of
mankind has
produced in the
last 10,000 years
combined.”
8. Gross National Garden
Product
•40 million households growing food
•Average garden produces $600 worth of
produce
•Gross National Garden Product :
24 billion dollars!