Think edibles and gardens not grass ! when landscaping .

Note: Geordie Milne's idea "Provide free edible Perennials, fruit and nut trees." has been merged with this one.

"I am currently reading, http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/about_gardening
In forest gardening we mimic the way nature works. The plants that are not edible still have many uses, nitrogen fixers, green manure, ect.. but why not plant edible? Perennialtake ... more

I am currently reading, http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/about_gardening

In forest gardening we mimic the way nature works. The plants that are not edible still have many uses, nitrogen fixers, green manure, ect.. but why not plant edible? Perennials take a lot less work, coming back healthier year after year!

Free trainings on cultivation and jobs created in producing edible plants.

Are you aware of the current lack of nursery's selling edible food?

Nut trees often take 10 years to produce."

In our rush to embrace local food options, remember that not every species eats what we eat! Let's not eschew biodiversity for the sake of our own species food preferences. Ground shrubs that produce berries (not the kind people enjoy) are essential to song bird populations. Ornamental flowers are key to pollinators, like bees and butterflies, and numerous non-human food-plants provide ground cover, biomass, and habitat for the wide range of animal and insect life that is just as essential to our continued survival as or more fruits that we want to eat! Just saying, environmental policy has to consider biodiversity. Any one focus out of balance with a natural balance, can have an unexpected and devastating impact.

The problems with planting edibles like apples, cherry, blues etc, Is the **** birds get them all long before anyone else. The big fruits that fall on the ground then become food for mice, rats, ants, skunks, etc.

@S.S, I too was thinking about the orange trees in Spain. I didn't realize that they weren't directly edible; guess that explains why there were so many ripe ones on the trees! I was just in Costa Rica though where we harvested mangos from the side of the road... best I've ever tasted!

@LFWG, great to hear that is already in the works! In regards to harvesting, I came across this organization last summer: http://74.52.150.18/~vanfruit/... projects like this could help with matching up fruit with people who can use it. As well as having signage, or generally making it known, that the produce is up for grabs. I know I often feel like I'm doing something wrong when I harvest blackberries throughout the city, but I'm pretty sure they're fair game. You're right though that berries would definitely create less of a mess than larger fruit - harder to harvest though. Although I'd much rather clean up apple debris from my front yard than the millions of baby oak trees we're constantly inundated with.

In terms of what I'd like to see, we have the ability to grow all manner of trees and bushes here in the lower mainland but I suspect there would be a backlash if tons of non-native plants were introduced. How long does something have to be here to be considered native? Do grapes and figs count, since they've been in my neighborhood for generations?

Grapes
Blueberries
Figs
Raspberries (although they probably require too much maintenance)
Rhubarb
Asparagus
Apples
Crab apples
Chestnuts
Are there other nut trees that grow here?

@ T.J. and S.S., The City actually published some edible landscaping materials a few years back to try and encourage a greater use of harvestable berries and fruit trees. It's something that we're looking at again in the context of the Greenest City work - particularly as the Bright Green Future recommendations point to increasing the proportion of edible landscaping on City facilities.

The Parks Board has started planting more fruit trees (even on the City golf courses!) but there's more that can be done here. One of the things that we need to account for is ensuring that any fruit that gets planted gets harvested - not so much a problem with cherries (as birds will eat them if people don't); however untended apple trees can make a mess of sidewalks if not properly tended to. Not an insurmountable problem, of course, but something that needs to be factored into decision-making.

Out of curiosity, what type of edibles would you like to see?

I can see how perhaps some people would say that there would be health concerns surrounding public food sources like that, as well as the issue of who would have the right to take how much from a given boulevard, etc. But I do think this is an important idea to consider. When I was in Spain, they had orange trees lining their streets - not oranges that could be eaten as they were, but oranges that could be used to make marmalade or for medicinal purposes I think. Anybody know anything about the rules that would go along with something like that?