Have you noticed lately how the price of fresh vegetables and fruit is going through the roof? I sure have and I've done something about it, I've started an edible garden! A lot more folks are doing this and it's a sensible move.
There are some very attractive vegetable plants available that provide a lovely landscape and also supply good crops.
You'll find you can have a spectacular looking edible garden that will ease the pain on your budget and give you fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits year after year.
If you're short on space you can grow them in containers or even on a window ledge.
By making a point of selecting mostly perennial vegetables simply because they return each year, there's less replanting.
Add to that the fact that your garden will not only look beautiful but be practical at the same time and you're on a winner.
So with the choice of plants taken care of for a yearly harvest, all you need to do now is a little feeding, watering, occasional pruning, weeding and pest control.
In exchange you'll have fresh fruits and vegetables for years and years.
These perennials will die down during the colder months, but come springtime they'll shoot again and produce another great crop.
So by being selective with your planting you'll ensure that you get fresh produce every year.
With a little research you'll find that you can replace a lot of your conventional garden with the large variety of edible plants available.
You don't have to stop at ornamental vegetables around your garden, what about using some of the perennial herbs instead of shrubs or ground cover.
Then there's the great advantage of replacing some of your trees with highly decorative fruit trees.
If you're short on space there are many dwarf varieties of fruit trees that are not only pretty but prolific producers of fresh fruit.
You can also mix edible plants with other plants to form beautiful combinations.
Some edible plants, especially herbs, make great additions to flower gardens.
You can mix all kinds of plants together for different looks.
For something different, try planting a herb such as curly parsley amongst your lobelia, pansies, strawberries or dianthus.
Also for really pretty low growing shrubs, sage, rosemary and oregano look sensational.
What about a bed of all the new and different types of lettuce available now? A mixture of all the spectacular colors and leaf varieties would look really good.
If you don't fancy that then mix them in flower beds as accents.
Many of these plants also have other edible parts.
They can look very striking as part of a landscape while they're in bloom.
Sugar snap peas have gorgeous white, pink or purple flowers, and they produce delicious peas.
Sage and salvias have delicate blue and purple flowers.
Nasturtiums flower in orange, red and yellow and the blossoms are edible.
Dill have gorgeous yellow colored blooms and fava beans produce white and red flowers.
Then there's the sensational purple globe-shaped flowers of the chive plant.
Going back to the perennial vegetables and herbs mentioned earlier, you have a good variety to choose from including ginger, dandelions, asparagus, rhubarb, fennel, broccoli, garlic chives, sorrel, sweet potatoes, artichokes and chives.
These and others make wonderful edible gardens and are very easy to maintain.