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Landscaping with Fruit: Strawberry ground covers, blueberry hedges, grape arbors, and 39 other luscious fruits to make your yard an edible paradise.
Discover the joy of homegrown apples, fresh-picked cherries, and dozens of other fruits with this definitive guide to creating a more delicious backyard! Lee Reich shows you how to grow temperate-zone fruit at home, from site analysis and climate assessment through plant selection, pest control, pruning, and harvesting. A plant-by-plant guide recommends 39 palate-pleasing species that are especially well-suited to the home landscape. Add beauty to your outdoor space while bringing organic fruit to your table.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
About the author
Lee Reich
19 books22 followersLee Reich, PhD is an avid farmdener (more than a gardener, less than a farmer) with graduate degrees in soil science and horticulture. After working in plant and soil research with the USDA and Cornell University, he shifted gears and turned to writing, lecturing, and consulting.
He writes regularly for a number of gardening magazines and his syndicated gardening column for Associated Press appears biweekly from coast to coast.
His farmden has been featured in such publications as the New York Times and Martha Stewart Living, has won awards from National Gardening and Organic Gardening magazines, and has been included in “Open Days” tours of the Garden Conservancy.
He writes regularly for a number of gardening magazines and his syndicated gardening column for Associated Press appears biweekly from coast to coast.
His farmden has been featured in such publications as the New York Times and Martha Stewart Living, has won awards from National Gardening and Organic Gardening magazines, and has been included in “Open Days” tours of the Garden Conservancy.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 15, 2010
This book opens with the premise that plants are not divided into the categories of "looking nice" and "feeding us." There is a lot of overlap between plants that dress up your landscaping and also feed you (or could, potentially feed you, in some capacity). So I agree with that. While having conventionally beautiful landscaping has never been a priority to me, it is nice to think about permanent use of attractive edible plants in our yard, now that we own a house. And if it looks nicer than the punk community gardens of my youth, then so be it. This book falls short in several respects, (like skipping raspberries apparently? and offering not much advice and doesn't acknowledge the the biggest reasons I think we should be converting our landscaping to edible plants (like localizing your food source, reducing carbon impact of large-scale food transport, knowing where your food comes from, etc) in favor of focusing on the superior taste and being able to grow specific varieties you prefer -- good reasons, certainly, but kind of a bourgeois perspective on the concept. Some of the shortcomings are related to the different perspective - skipping raspberries in favor of more exotic, less-productive berries, or skimping on advice for long-term maintenance of the yard (does your landscaper just take care of it? i don't get it.) Some of the recommended plants are not especially good eating (hackberry, anyone?) and some of them are not especially welcome in the home landscape (the fetid flowers of the pawpaw, perhaps?) but most of the ideas are solid. Encouraging edible growers to think about design is all good and well, but getting ornamental "showcase lawn" landscape people to think about food coming from the hedgerow is another issue entirely. This book is too ambitious in that regard, and falls a little short of both. There are a lot of good ideas, though, even though my city lot (0.2 acres) falls a little short of the space expectations of most of the sample designs. If you met someone who had never considered the possibility of a well-designed, highly-productive yard, well, this could be a good starting point.
January 4, 2011
A very fine book, but with some bizarre omissions-- doesn't everybody love raspberries? And I'd love more information on growing elderberries.
October 19, 2011
This is an excellent book -- lots of concise information, full colour photographs, innovative design ideas and a variety of suggestions that include the use of new plants and established plants.
I hope to be able to incorporate more fruit shrubs and trees into my yard next season -- to increase privacy and a local food source that I KNOW is organic (as much as that's possible in this world of contaminants).
I hope to be able to incorporate more fruit shrubs and trees into my yard next season -- to increase privacy and a local food source that I KNOW is organic (as much as that's possible in this world of contaminants).
November 3, 2014
This book was very informative and would be a great reference guide. It was not the easiest book to read front to back. It did give me a lot of ideas for our yard though. Something I will probably check out again when needed.
May 1, 2019
An excellent primer for adding fruit into your landscaping without having a dedicated orchard or fenced-off berry patch.
The first few sections of the book give the basics of thinking in terms of the big picture, site elements (sun/shade, use, etc..,) and growing 101, including pruning. The middle has a selection of landscape designs that offer you an overhead plan, side/height profile, and plant list to help inspire your own thoughts and see the finished project. The bulk of the book (and most useful IMO) is the 2/3 of the book dedicated to an encyclopedia of fruiting plants. A handy chart at the beginning of this section gives you names, yields, hardiness and heat zones, pollination needs, landscape uses and highlights ornamental qualities (remember this is a landscape book.) The following pages list a wide variety of fruits from the expected (blueberries, apples, etc...) to the uncommon (gumi, jujube, seaberry.) This reference section is perfect for finding fruits to add into existing landscapes, since fewer of us are willing or able to start with a blank slate and a blank check.
The first few sections of the book give the basics of thinking in terms of the big picture, site elements (sun/shade, use, etc..,) and growing 101, including pruning. The middle has a selection of landscape designs that offer you an overhead plan, side/height profile, and plant list to help inspire your own thoughts and see the finished project. The bulk of the book (and most useful IMO) is the 2/3 of the book dedicated to an encyclopedia of fruiting plants. A handy chart at the beginning of this section gives you names, yields, hardiness and heat zones, pollination needs, landscape uses and highlights ornamental qualities (remember this is a landscape book.) The following pages list a wide variety of fruits from the expected (blueberries, apples, etc...) to the uncommon (gumi, jujube, seaberry.) This reference section is perfect for finding fruits to add into existing landscapes, since fewer of us are willing or able to start with a blank slate and a blank check.
March 5, 2017
The cover of this looks remarkably similar to a different edible landscaping book I didn't much care for, so I though I had already read it. Short story... hadn't read it. It's awesome.
Renewed my love for pawpaws, but had a couple other good options I hadn't though of; all the information was great, though, depending what your goal is. Reich has a very engaging writing style as well.
Renewed my love for pawpaws, but had a couple other good options I hadn't though of; all the information was great, though, depending what your goal is. Reich has a very engaging writing style as well.
May 8, 2017
Most of the fruits here were predictable and without much new information.
I am looking for low glycemic fruits and didn't find any new ones here (though some ones I knew were here like lingon). I think the book missed aronias which is a shame as that is a rather healthy/popular choice.
I am looking for low glycemic fruits and didn't find any new ones here (though some ones I knew were here like lingon). I think the book missed aronias which is a shame as that is a rather healthy/popular choice.
June 29, 2019
Full of great information and ideas if you're looking to add fruit to your space. This would make a nice coffee table book due to its physical size. I read cover to cover but would make a great reference book as well.
December 19, 2022
This is a dynamite book and I'll have to get it out from the library again (or buy a copy!). It had some excellent advice on fruits -- where to plant, how to grow, which to choose, etc. and was fun to read too.
April 1, 2023
A delightful book on using fruit as landscaping. Something I’ve become increasingly more interested in. I love the drawings. I appreciate the fruit descriptions, info about planting, taste and even storing.
July 14, 2017
Good general overview of the subject using commonly available garden fruits.
December 30, 2019
No elderberries!
August 12, 2022
A really great resource! A great way to start and get inspired. There are a lot of examples and a lot of information bringing all the way to fruition.
May 23, 2015
I have an older home with mature plantings which I'd like to add to, and in some case replace with edibles. I picked this up looking for photos of edibles in the landscape, grouped with other plants, ornamentals or edibles, and maybe some info on which edibles are good for different uses (hedges, ground covers, etc).
What I got was a book divided into three parts. Part 1 is gardening 101. While I did glean some interesting tidbits here, I'm an experienced gardener and don't need yet another explanation of the USDA zone map or pruning techniques.
Part 2 is a small handful of landscape drawings featuring fruit. This is more what I was looking for, but the drawings were tough to discern and imagine how they'd look in reality and there really weren't that many.
Part 3 is a glossary of fruits with growing info. I thought I'd get my in situ photos here, but here, we only get one photo of each fruit, usually 1/4-1/3 of the page, almost always a close-up.
The one gold nugget here is the chart on page 41, listing fruits for different situations—hedges, specimen plantings, vines, and more. I'm going to keep looking for a book with photos of edibles in the landscape, though.
What I got was a book divided into three parts. Part 1 is gardening 101. While I did glean some interesting tidbits here, I'm an experienced gardener and don't need yet another explanation of the USDA zone map or pruning techniques.
Part 2 is a small handful of landscape drawings featuring fruit. This is more what I was looking for, but the drawings were tough to discern and imagine how they'd look in reality and there really weren't that many.
Part 3 is a glossary of fruits with growing info. I thought I'd get my in situ photos here, but here, we only get one photo of each fruit, usually 1/4-1/3 of the page, almost always a close-up.
The one gold nugget here is the chart on page 41, listing fruits for different situations—hedges, specimen plantings, vines, and more. I'm going to keep looking for a book with photos of edibles in the landscape, though.
June 24, 2011
Along with "Edible Landscaping", I highly recommend this for fruit/vegetable gardeners who want to maintain an attractive yard. This book gives several great ideas, many of which I plan on incorporating in my house over the next few years.
While "Edible Landscaping" is somewhat better than this book - only because it is bigger, includes vegetables, and has more photos - this is definitely worth reading. I originally borrowed this from the library but plan on purchasing it and adding it to my collection (and I rarely buy books).
While "Edible Landscaping" is somewhat better than this book - only because it is bigger, includes vegetables, and has more photos - this is definitely worth reading. I originally borrowed this from the library but plan on purchasing it and adding it to my collection (and I rarely buy books).
September 10, 2009
Not as detailed on the how-tos of maintaining fruit plantings as something like Organic Orcharding, this book at least brings to the forefront the beautiful utility of many perennial fruits and shares ideas on how to incorporate them into an edible landscape. Part permaculture, part luscious wish list, this could be a useful reference tool for those wanting to vary their home-based agriculture.
January 7, 2012
An edible yard need not be ugly, and a yard does not need to be huge to incorporate fruit into it. There is a special beauty found in plants that can also feed us, and fruits give to us year after year. The book is packed with good information and beautiful gardens, and some landscape plans that incorporate fruits into regular plantings. It made me want to build a pergola and coat it with beautiful grape vines... and hopefully I will someday. A great Christmas gift from my husband!
June 25, 2009
My mom summed this up in one word: ambitious. It is a thorough reference to types of various fruit plants, shrubs, vines and trees; growing information, etc. But it's not for the cash-challenged or weekend-gardener.
It felt good to read, heavy, glossy paper. And indexed. ;)
It felt good to read, heavy, glossy paper. And indexed. ;)
March 26, 2015
picked up this book on a stoop before leaving brooklyn and finally just gave it a general read-through. the information is well organized and clear and includes good resources. i felt like i learned a lot and had a good feeling for what might work in my garden in santa fe!
February 21, 2010
Oh, so that's how you're supposed to prune grapevines.
March 18, 2015
Very helpful book on what sorts of trees, shrubs and groundcovers you can plant for beauty and tasty food.
September 22, 2012
Really liked the plant profiles...very detailed info on different variets. Inspired me to try things outside the norm....for 2013 I hope to plant: sea buckthorn, hardy kiwi, and currants.
September 30, 2012
Beautiful pictures encourage delightful daydreams!
November 16, 2013
Happily reviewed over at Booklikes!
February 9, 2014
Great reference for using fruiting shrubs and trees in landscaping. Lots of helpful information.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews