Edible Flower Garden

Rosenkuppel Oregano with Bronze Fennel, Raspberry Leaf and Roses

I really like the idea of having an edible flower garden

sometimes mixing edibles with ornamental

is referred to as an "Integrated Garden"

but even older then that is the Medieval or Monastic Physic Garden

where every plant has a purpose

be it culinary or medicinal

of course Monastic Physic Gardens had a great number

of plants that could kill you

like Monkshoods, Mandrake and Foxgloves

which meant you needed to not only

know your plants but also do a very good

job of keeping your culinary plants segregated

from the medicinal ones

Globe Artichoke

these days the fashionable term is a kitchen garden

again borrowed from the Medieval era

and can include common veg like parsnips, leeks, onion

and all your favourite culinary herbs

You should be able to walk to the kitchen garden and

come back with a meal.

if you aim for an ornamental garden
but would like it to be useful too

its a simple process to include plants that

you would commonly use

Oregano has lovely flowers, and cultivars provide some 

spectacular diversity including Hopley's and Rosenkuppel
while offering its usefulness as a culinary herb.

Hopleys Pink Oregano

Fennel is a bold feathered foliage plant great for mid to back

of a cottage garden

It that can be used in salads and cooking, 

while the seed is great for curries

Scarlet Bee Balm - great in salads and teas

Rosemary comes in pink, blue or lilac coloured flowers

as well as tall, standard and prostrate forms

giving it the opportunity to be placed well in a garden bed

Three suggestions I make for an integrated garden: 

1. edible plants should be accessible

or you will never bother to use them

My bronze fennel is at the back of the garden, 

but I access it over a small fence from the back of the yard

Oregano and Marjoram's are used as garden

edgers close by for flower picking and eating

2. Label Your Herbs:

If you are new to plant growing if in doubt 

label your plants well

clear and eligible so

that it can't be mistaken when picking

3. Safety with Children:

Make sure your family, especially children are supervised when picking edibles in an integrated garden. 

Children can make the mistake of eating any plant if they think that

they are safe - yet another reason for good clear labeling 

and good supervision !

Teach your children the identifiers of the herb - smell, texture, shape

as well as the need to bring plants to be identified before eating

Licorice Hyssop - superb in salads, long lived cut flower