Edible Landscapes

More and more people are looking to grow delicious produce at home, saving money and natural resources at the same time. And food plants have been freed from the backyard, gracing the finest landscapes—even the White House grounds. Even a  typical grassy lawn can be bordered with an inviting home landscape that will yield mouthwatering vegetables, herbs, fruits, nuts, and berries. Even you live in town you may have the space for a few planters on a balcony. Or if you have more space you may be ale to plant an herb garden, or even aspire to transform your entire place into an edible landscape. Here in Hawaii it is especially appropriate to apply the principles of the paradise garden—beauty, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and community—to all aspects of life. Even if you don't have a "green thumb, " or the time and inclination to be a gardener, here in Hawaii there are even edible plants that once introduced, will naturalize or just grow by themselves. One such plant is called Cholesterol Spinach (photo above). The rough-textured leaves, suitable for salads, stir-frying and steaming, supposedly can lower cholesterol levels. The plant is Gynura nepalensis belonging to the Compositae family, which includes plants such as chrysanthemums and daisies. It is fairly easy to get the plant, sometimes even at Walmart, and there is a green and a purple variety. If you live where rainfall is frequent enough, you can just put an unrooted cutting in the ground and it will grow.. If you have thin soil make a hole in the ground about 12" deep with a metal rod or bar (a tire tool works well), and simply insert a cutting of the plant. Be sure to remove all the leaves but one or two small ones until roots form sufficient to support more foliage. That is all you have to do as this plant doesn't need feeding, weeding or anything else. It ia best to plant it somewhere sunny it can take over and use more sturdy bushes for support. The advantage of this is that this plant can grow several feet tall and be less likely to have snails on the leaves you might eat. Among the other easy to grow edible plants are Amaranth, Liliquoi, Guava, Sweet Potato, Cassava, and Katuk. Guava and Liliquoi are two of the most rewarding fruit for the little care required. All parts of the Sweet Potato plant are edible so it is one of the edible greens along with Cholesterol Spinach and Amaranth. Katuk leaves are tasty cooked or raw, but may be toxic if consumed in large quantity. Cassava root  is an excellent carbohydrate food but also is toxic before being cooked. A little research will reveal that many more plants are edible than you may have thought, and lots of them are also quite attractive. There is even an extensive list of edible flowers. Other edible Forrest plants include Coconut Palm , Breadfruit, Mountain Apple, Ti, Ohelo 'Ai, Sea Grape, Palmgrass, Milo, West Indian Raspberry, Indian Shot, Lilac Tasselflower,  Torch Ginger, Hala, Sugarcane, Amaumau Fern, chicory, mallow, red valerian, and earth chestnut, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, and skirret (an ancient perennial root crop from China). Your comments, feedback and suggestions are welcomed. Links Edible landscapes in  Hawaii -search results Edible Hawaiian Plants Plants of Hawaii Native Hawaiian Plants Toasted avocado leaves  Why You Should Plant Vegetables SOON .