Snacking on one or two fruits here and there while you take a leisurely stroll through your own garden and linger in it: doesn't that sound wonderful? Raspberry bushes, cherries, blueberries and cherry tomatoes are perfect for this and have almost become standard in your own garden. But there are also edible ground cover plants that are mainly planted for ornamental purposes, but are also suitable for immediate consumption or the kitchen. Which are these?
So if you add plants to your garden that both look pretty and are good for eating, you're killing two birds with one stone. In addition, ground-covering specimens are perfect gap fillers and usually take up little space, so they are also welcome in small gardens.
Edible ground cover plants for weed control, ornamentation and harvesting
Sounds like a super plant, right? And in principle that's true, because how many other plants can we say the same about? The following examples are recommended and also very popular:
Chickweed for shade
Who likes to eat salads and the usual onesVegetables like iceberg, spinach, rocket and co., you can ensure that fresh chickweed (Stellaria media) is always ready to harvest. It is a challenge to find suitable plants, especially for shade, but with this specimen you can also plant those last bare spots in the garden. The leaves are not only delicious fresh, but also steamed.
Gundermann with flowers in purple
The Gundermann (Glechoma hederacea) all eyes on you. In addition, the edible ground cover plants remain really compact and low. The leaves in particular are very popular for consumption and are used, for example, to season salads. Since the aroma is very intense, the herb also tastes goodin a herb butterfine.
Edible ground cover plants: scented violets for pretty decoration
Don't you already have these beautifully prepared bowls, cakes and salads with you?edible flowersseen? Well, why not use this idea for your own treats too? scented violets (Violet-scented), for example, are perfect and if you harvest a few flowers every now and then, it won't ruin the entire flower in the garden. Pretty and at the same time with a pleasant scent, they crawl over the ground and also suppress weeds.
Nasturtium to eat: leaves, flowers and seed pods
A slightly taller growing ground cover that is also quite well known and widespread is thenasturtium (A larger trophy). It's not just the bright orange, red or yellow flowers that are beautiful to look at. The leaves also have decorative properties. Both the leaves and flowers as well as the seed capsules are edible and you can get all of this without putting much effort into care.
Wild strawberries as ground cover in the garden
If you really want to plant edible ground cover plants in your garden, you should definitely not miss out on this type of strawberry. The small fruits are incredibly aromatic and many say they taste even better than our garden strawberries (myself included). The flowers of wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are similar to the normal ones and are white and also nice to look at.
Small-growing wild blueberry
You can also get edible plants in the garden with the wild blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Here it is similar to wild strawberries: they are smaller than the usual garden varieties, but they also have a more intense taste and are even healthier. Shelike it shadyand in acidic soil and, thanks to their dense growth with a height of only 40 cm, they provide perfect ground cover.
Planting cranberries in the garden
cranberries (Blueberry vine-idea) are edible ground cover plants, but when it comes to taste they are not for everyone. They are sour and are therefore used as an ingredient in various dishes (sauces or jam, for example) where a little acid needs to be added. But they are healthy either way. If you have another oneGround cover for partial shadeIf you are looking for something, you may have found just the right thing with the 30 cm high plant.
Roman chamomile – ground covering and healing
A sea of white flowers that are edible and even medicinal: sounds great, right? The flowers of this type of chamomile are both freshly picked and stored dried (A noble chameleon) can be used, although you have a considerable amount of time to harvest, as the flowering phase begins in June and lasts until September. In addition, the robust, easy-care plant stays green even in winter.
A few perennials with a long flowering periodcan be found here.
Ground cover tomatoes? Yes, of couse!
Does that sound too good to be true? All tomato fans will be happy that there is now actually a ground-covering variety and it is called “BoToma”. In principle, we don't need to explain anything further, because the care measures do not differ from those of normal tomatoes. It should be sunny or at least partially shaded and you should fertilize regularly so that the plant can produce juicy, healthy fruits.
Also worth knowing:Popular but Poisonous Ground Cover Plants You Should Know
What other edible ground cover could move into your garden?
If the above selection of edible ground cover plants isn't enough, check out the following list of additional specimens for salads, berries and herbs as ground cover plants:
- bearberry (Arctostaphylos grape-bear)
- wild garlic (Bear garlic)
- Cranberry (Vaccinium subg. oxycoccus), evergreen
- lamb's lettuce (Valerianella)
- Klee (Trifolium)
- Creeping Mahonia (Mahogany crawling)
- Creeping rosemary (Rosemary officinalis‚Prostrate‘)
- Dandelion (Taraxacum)
- Moltebeere (Rubus chamaemorus)
- New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides), or spinach in general (only stays low if harvested regularly)
- Purslane (Purslane oleracea)
- Thymian (Thymus)
- Waldmeister (Gallium scented)
Or how about this:Planting cinnamon herb & how to care for the wallflower
