Easy Edibles for a Boulevard Garden

For best results, select plants that grow well in shallow gardens.

Planting a garden on your boulevard is a great way to use the space you have. These shallow, raised beds are also easy to make with just a few simple tools. You can plant a variety of food, sit back and wait for it to grow.
 

Potatoes

This year I grew ‘Russian Blue’ potatoes – purple right through. I was impressed by the attractive contrast between the dark stems, purple flowers and serrated foliage – altogether a very attractive groundcover.

 

Garlic

My friend Kathleen harvested 6 kg (13 lb.) of the biggest and best garlic from a front-yard raised bed that was just 1.2 by 1.8 m (4 by 6 ft.). With this many bulbs one could easily plant up their whole boulevard and still have lots left for eating!

 

Chard

Try ‘Five Colour Silverbeet’ or ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard to brighten up the boulevard. Chards produce all year round before they go to seed. They make great cut-and-come again greens, and check out those multicoloured stems for a conversational side dish! 

 

Kale

Perhaps lower-growing varieties make better choices for a boulevard garden, as some can grow to 1.8 m (6 ft.) tall and may block the view! There are many colours and textures of kale from light-green curly, grey-green crinkled to stunning dark purple. 

 

Alpine Strawberries

My friend Danka gave me a gift packet of alpine strawberries last year. I sowed the tiny seeds in late March, and was amazed that I was eating edible fruit in only three months from seed! ‘Lipstick’ has very showy neon-pink flowers and produces really sweet fruits all season long.
 

Mixed Lettuces

There are so many varieties to choose from in all textures, colours and shapes. Create a patchwork quilt of different lettuces and pick tender baby lettuce leaves for colourful salad greens all summer long. Especially recommended for shade.

 

Cucumbers

In hot spots, bush varieties of cucumbers such as ‘Marketmore’ will produce ample harvests of juicy, non-bitter cucumbers. They are easy to grow and do not need staking.


Tomatoes

Lycopersicon esculentum var. pimpinellifolium or currant tomatoes are perfect for boulevard gardens. They sprawl as groundcovers and with no staking produce fruit the size of a grape. Try ‘Hawaiian Red Currant’ or ‘Coyote Yellow Currant’ with tangy crisp flavour. The fruits are borne in clusters on prolific, indeterminate vines, which grow and produce all season. Kids love them!