Plant a Screen of Edibles and Natives for Food and Habitat
Gardener’s Notebook by Joshua Burman Thayer
Landscaper Joshua Burman Thayer planted this San Francisco Bay Area yard with fig, pomegranate, yarrow, manzanita, lavender, and other drought-tolerant natives. (Photo by Joshua Burman Thayer)
Among the advantages of planting food-producing trees in cohabitation with native ecology are food for your table, better pollination, and good habitat for your local wildlife like bees, hummingbirds, and native moths.
The dry hedge plants below prefer full sun. If you have drought as part of your reality, consider that many of these can naturalize to get by on minimal watering. For the first two years after planting, water twice per week. Once established these plants can get by on a single watering per week or every other week.
Joshua Burman Thayer’s Gardener’s Notebook is filled with gardening advice for every season. Visit the whole collection of articles here.
Happy Gardening!
To learn more about food forests and permaculture landscape design, contact Joshua Burman Thayer at: nativesungardens.com, 510.332.2809
