Edible Plants

Many gardeners today are choosing plants both ornamental and edible, which, in addition to a delicious harvest, offer showy displays of foliage and blooms, fall hues and winter interest.

(Plants are hardy to the zone number indicated.)

Shrubs:
• Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum cultivars) - zone 3

Blueberries have a pleasing habit, forming a rounded, upright shrub. The simple blue-green leaves turn brilliant crimson in autumn. New shoots are red and mature to brown; this two-tone effect combined with an intricate branching structure makes this a handsome plant in winter as well.

Tip: When planting blueberries choose at least two different cultivars to ensure cross-pollination, as they are not self-fertile. 'Bluecrop' and 'Hardy Blue' are good choices.

• Red Currants (Ribes rubrum cultivars) and Black Currants (R. nigrum cultivars) - zone 4

An excellent fruit for pies, wine and jelly, red and black currants ripen from June to August on high-yielding shrubs. Their early-spring blooms of brilliant pink or white attract hummingbirds. 'Red Lake' is a popular cultivar of red currant with an abundance of clear red fruit produced on two-year-old wood. The high-yielding black currant Ribes nigrum 'Ben Sarak' provides large black fruit on new wood.

Tip: In early spring, if you notice your leaves being eaten, the cause is most likely the common currant worm. Try spraying your plant with BTK, beneficial bacteria that treat the problem quickly and safely. Left untreated, currant worm will destroy the plant.

• Gooseberries (Ribes grossularia cultivars) - zone 5

This excellent sweet fruit, with a delicate apricot flavour suitable for pies, jams and jellies, ripens in early July. The plant has a nice 1.2 m (4 ft.) round shape with beautiful green-white flowers adored by hummingbirds. Can be grown in full sun or semi-shade.

Tip: To prevent the common gooseberry fruitworm, Zophodia convolutella, from destroying your harvest, a yearly preventative application of BTK in mid-spring, as the plant begins to set fruit, is recommended. The fruitworm is green with darker stripes, and is actually the larva of a moth, and thus a true caterpillar.

• Raspberries (Rubus idaeus cultivars) - zone 4

Raspberries make a 1.2- to 1.5-m-high (4- to 5-ft.) summer screen.

• Tayberries (Rubus hybrid) - zone 4

Developed in Scotland, tayberries are a cross between the blackberry and raspberry, with whopping sweet fruit 50 per cent larger than a raspberry and very flavourful. With pretty soft-pink/white blooms and large deep-red fruit ready for picking in early August, tayberries can be trained as a shrub, planted as a hedge or used for screening.

• Juneberries, Saskatoon (Amelanchier spp.) - zone 4

This woodland shrub brings bright red or yellow foliage to the autumn garden and pure-white flowers in the spring, followed by the purple-black fruit.

• Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) - zone 2

This creeping alpine evergreen shrub, less than 30 cm (1 ft.) high, blooms late spring to early summer with bell-shaped white to pink flowers, followed by its acidic fruit, good for jams and cooking.

Trees:
• American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) - zone 5, also Japanese persimmon (D. kaki) - zone 7

Both have attractive orange-red blooms.

• Black walnut (Juglans nigra) - zone 6

This vigorous, spreading shade tree has glossy tropical-looking aromatic leaves and spherical fruits containing edible nuts.

Tip: This tree may inhibit the growth of other plants growing under it, so is best placed on its own.

• Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) - zone 4

This hard-working tree is truly a four-season delight, with masses of yellow spring blooms, abundant red fruit, fall colour and beautiful bark for winter interest.