Beauty, Bounty & Sustainability

Our mild climate, fine grocery stores and robust farmers’ markets fortunately surround us with a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes, though, we want our produce within immediate reach—plus, we simply need more Vitamin N (Nature) and to get our hands in the dirt. Adding to this, some of us struggle with food insecurity and need access to healthy options.

Enter the rising interest in home edible gardens.

Now our gardens can and should do more than just look lovely. They can be productive, sustainable and support pollinators and wildlife. And while garden design and farming aren’t always an obvious couple, local farms, wineries and garden designers are perfect matchmakers, offering inspiration and well-honed advice to more fully integrate the edible garden into our traditional gardens and way of living.

CHRISTIAN DOUGLAS DESIGN

Christian Douglas—landscape designer, author of The Food Forward Garden and founder of Christian Douglas Design and the Backyard Farm Company—is passionate about creating extraordinary culinary gardens. Christian is on a mission to reinvent the vegetable garden and teach others how to integrate edibles into our decorative landscapes.

Changing your perspective

When designing gardens, Christian considers the landscape as a source of both human and animal food, plus a habitat. “So many plants provide nectar, seeds, berries and habitat for pollinators and wildlife that can be used in the landscape to achieve beauty,” he says. When choosing plants, he recommends considering the role they need to play and look for fruiting species that can achieve the same goal while also creating a feeling of abundance.

Consider these alternative plants instead of traditional options:

Ground cover: strawberries and thyme

Vine: grape and kiwi

Foundational shrub: blueberries and pineapple guava

Statement plant: artichoke and prickly pear cactus

Tree: avocado and fig

A Sunny Disposition

Most edible plants thrive in full sun, but every edible-curious person doesn’t always have the ideal spot and layout to make this concept a reality. Some gardens also battle predator pressure (such as deer), excessive shade from tree cover, poor soils or tricky slopes. As a solution, Christian says, “Consider a simple ‘Russian doll’ planting technique: Use the dappled shade from your apple tree to grow blueberries, then use the dappled shade from your blueberries to grow alpine strawberries. If you’re still feeling adventurous, add yerba buena (delicious herbal tea) for your final layer.” Christian works and lives by Sunseeker, an app to track the movement of the sun through the year. “It takes the guesswork out of site selection and gives you a much higher chance of successfully placing your growing areas in the best location.”

Maintenance on the Mind

An essential question that Christian recommends home gardeners ask themselves is: Who will look after the garden? “It is critical to design a garden where the size will not overwhelm whoever is taking care of it. Remember, if you are going to do this in perpetuity and it wants to be an enjoyable experience, finding an appropriate scale is terribly important.” He explains that food-forward design should optimize (not overwhelm) the experience. “It’s great to just start small. You can always plan for expansion and then scale up as you find your comfort level.”

THE FRENCH LAUNDRY CULINARY GARDEN

Hear the words The French Laundry and many people swoon over the idea of eating at this famed restaurant. What may be less known is that they also have a 3.5-acre farm where over 150 varieties of fruits and vegetables and over 40 varieties of microgreens are organically grown.

The garden is not only productive and visually striking, but it serves as an educational tool; the experience of working in the garden gives the restaurant staff (chefs and servers) a reverence for their raw ingredients, and they gain guidance and perspective from Estate Gardener James Costello.

The garden is also a collaboration between Chef Thomas Keller and Farm Manager Teresa Kao, who is largely responsible for the food, flower production and harvest, plus coordination with the chefs to ensure that the kitchen receives the best of what they need season to season. Says Teresa, “Chef Keller has a keen understanding of the best varieties of vegetables for the style of cuisine at The French Laundry, and it is his influence that has historically shaped our growing plans.”

The French Laundry Garden staples that are grown each year have been determined over the 15 years of the garden’s history, such as the Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, White Fuseau Sunchokes and more. Teresa also works closely with Chef de Cuisine Ara Jo to determine the growing plan each year. “I communicate with the CDC each week to let her know what varieties are starting or ending, what we have an abundance of, and she provides feedback on the quality and any other details.” Teresa notes all the feedback and works it into their annual review then develops a plan based on the feedback, including introducing new varieties to try.

Observe, Go Organic and Stay Curious

Whether you’re growing and harvesting for hundreds or just for one, the need to pay attention to your garden and be adventurous is equally as important. Teresa adds, “Check your plants frequently and notice signs of stress and investigate right away to find the source.” Because The French Laundry garden embraces organic methods, Teresa uses mechanical (hand removal, spraying with strong water), physical (row cover is effective with flea beetles or hungry birds) or biological (lady bugs, beneficial nematodes) methods that are the least invasive to address any garden issues. “Before choosing any pest control method,” Teresa adds, “I review whether there will be any damage to the other animals in the ecosystem, such as bees, fish and other wildlife.” She adds, “And stay curious. Each season is different.”

Soil Savvy

Healthy, fertile soil is critical to a thriving garden, so naturally Teresa stresses the importance of feeding your soil. She explains, “My farming philosophy is to build the soil and feed the microorganisms so that they are in balance with each other and don’t allow for one pest to take over.” Teresa also uses high-quality compost to avoid bringing in diseases and pests from poorly made products, and plants cover crops (favas, vetch, field peas, bell beans, oats and rye) in fallow beds every winter to increase organic matter, replenish soil nutrients, aid in weed suppression in the rainy months and help prevent soil erosion. James adds, “These edible cover crops are used in the kitchen as well!”

Serious with Seeds

Growing plants from seed offers a broader variety of cultivars and species compared to buying starts from nurseries, so naturally Teresa spends a lot of time researching and sourcing their seeds. “I want to have interesting varieties to challenge and inspire the chefs.” She facilitates this goal by supporting regional seed producers and working with the Organic Seed Alliance. “I also support a lot of specialized smaller seed companies that are growing heirloom varieties unique to different regions.”

A few of Teresa’s favorite smaller seed companies:

Johnny’s Selected, Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek, High Mowing Seeds, Southern Exposure Seeds, Trade Winds, Uprising Seeds, Kitazawa Seed Co., Second Generation Seeds, True Leaf Market, Keene Garlic, Truelove Seeds, Open Circle Seeds.

Note: The French Laundry Culinary Garden looks forward to welcoming guests for tour experiences beginning mid-April 2025.

HOMESTEAD DESIGN COLLECTIVE

Stefani Bittner—owner of Homestead Design Collective and author of The Beautiful Edible Garden, Harvest and, most recently The Fragrant Flower Garden—thoughtfully designs gardens that emphasize the seasons’ splendor in a way that can be enjoyed in a vase, on your plate or within reach all year round. Plus, her collaborations with nature are respectful to water conservation, pollinators and overall aesthetics. Homestead Design Collective designs gardens for public spaces, private residences and commercial properties, and provides installation, full-service organic maintenance, harvesting, beekeeping, preserving, floristry and composting services.

A Sense for the Seasons

To achieve a harvestable garden that is sustainable and attractive where entertaining, relaxing, learning and thriving happens, Stefani says, “The key to a successful edible garden is to include seasonal flowers and pollen sources for the pollinators. The good news is that the flowers the bees and other local pollinators love are also the flowers we love to include in our garden spaces and our vases.” Homestead has a greenhouse and grows many of their own specialty edible flowers and unique heirloom varieties of vegetables to blend into their designs.

Perennial Pals

Making sure that home gardeners have realistic expectations for their edible gardens is a common concern. The cure for this, according to Stefani, is to include perennial edibles. “Think of the perennial edibles (fruits, culinary herbs and tea plants) as the elders of the garden. They can hang out and wait for you and are there when you are ready to harvest.” And if you miss their peak harvest? It’s OK because these plants aren’t leaving and will produce again. “Annual vegetables like tomatoes, however, are like the rock stars of the garden—their harvests come in fast and furious and demand your time and attention at their peak.” So, having an edible garden that combines annual and perennial edible plants gives you breathing room to appreciate your garden while also providing a harvest in return.

Water Wisdom

Living in a Mediterranean climate like ours means we normally have dry summers and wet winters, which means that growing vegetables is unfortunately not a low-water endeavor. Stefani complements this by saying that it’s important to save water in your landscape by planting a low-water garden. She adds, “We integrate drought-tolerant edibles such as pomegranates, figs, perennial herbs, tea plants, olives and artichokes into the rest of the landscape to help fortify ornamental plantings of natives, succulents and other botanical treats from Mediterranean climates around the world.”

Homestead Design Collectives Favorite Nurseries for Edible Starts:

Cottage Gardens in Petaluma and Morningsun Herb Farm in Vacaville at the Saturday Napa Farmers Market (Stefani’s go-to for annual vegetables, herbs and tea plants).

Some of our Favorite Edible Gardens to Visit

① Benzinger Family Winery Glen Ellen

Take the Biodynamic Tram Tour and see a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs used in their biodynamic preparations and that attract beneficial predatory insects and animals that help Benzinger maintain healthy, thriving vineyards.

② Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens Santa Rosa

The Culinary Garden boasts seven distinct garden spaces; some are educational, some are for beauty and some provide the fruit, vegetables and herbs that inspire their wine and food pairings, but all are a core component of Kendall-Jackson’s commitment to food and wine education.

③ Quivira Vineyards Healdsburg

Quivira’s estate includes an organically farmed garden designed to educate visitors and promote biodiversity. The garden’s 100+ raised beds are planted with heritage cultivars of various produce.

④ DaVero Farms & Winery Healdsburg

Wander through lush vineyards, olive groves and vibrant edible gardens that highlight DaVero’s commitment to regenerative biodynamic farming.

⑤ Edible Demonstration Garden at Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden Novato

Designed and installed by UC Marin Master Gardeners, this garden is a hands-on teaching tool for that organization and the public and showcases sustainable agricultural practices while growing over 100 varieties of vegetables, flowers, fruit and herbs.

⑥ DeLoach Vineyards Russian River Valley

Explore the Theater of Nature through a self-guided tour that takes you on a journey through the estate’s 20-acre organic and biodynamic farm. The half-acre culinary garden includes vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants.