This vegetable ornamental garden is so beautiful, you’ll eat it up! Using edibles and ornamentals in the same planting bed is a different way to offer interest, as well as help save a little money in the produce section at the supermarket. View and print a larger version of this design.

Thinking of planting an edible or two this season but not ready to go all-out with the fruits and veggies? Turn to the flower bed! You may be surprised at how beautifully edibles mix with ornamental plants to provide fantastic color, texture and flavor in the garden.

If you’ve ever visited or seen pictures of European cottage gardens, you may have noticed an occasional edible growing among the flowers. It makes sense: Many edibles have wonderful ornamental qualities, offering interesting foliage and flowers, as well as colorful produce. So why not combine a variety of plants to create a unique flower garden with impact, beauty and a few health (and money-saving) benefits?

This vegetable ornamental garden has a lot to offer an otherwise ordinary back yard. Tucked in a corner, the bed’s simple curved line brings a gentle, restful presence to the garden, as well as interest – and if that’s not enough to draw the eye, all the blooming and tasty plants growing there will! Pick your favorite flowering shrubs or landscape roses to bring a little height, splash of color and texture. A low hedge plant helps define the front of the bed, while a few accent plants and a nice mix of your favorite perennials and veggies helps fill the middle of it. Some screening or hedge plantings along the back of the bed (and along your property line) works as a nice backdrop – especially if “no privacy” is an issue in your yard.

If your space isn’t large enough to accommodate a big garden, that’s okay. You can modify this design plan and reduce the number of perennial favorites and their delicious companions. As long as the plants you select are ones that fit the appropriate function in the design and will thrive under your particular property conditions (sun-loving plants for sun-loving areas, etc.), you’ll be good to grow a pretty garden that’s good enough to eat…as well as help save a little money in the produce section at your grocery store.

Remember, when you shop for plants, pick the ones you like that match the functions identified on the plan!