A Pro’s Tips to Design the Edible Garden of Your Dreams

When it comes to creating a modern homestead, you probably don’t automatically think of a park-like setting filled with color and texture that you’d like to hide out in for hours.

Thomas J. Story

And here’s another thing you may not have realized about a potager plot: A bountiful garden doesn’t have to be raised bed-centric. In fact, there are many other configurations that will aid in creating a balanced and eco-diverse habitat that will ultimately make your fruits and veggies even healthier. And your yard even more attractive.

Reprinted with permission from “Garden Wonderland” by Leslie Bennett & Julie Chai, copyright © 2024. Photographs by Rachel Weill. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

To help you in this quest, Leslie Bennett, award-winning garden designer and owner of Pine House Edible Gardens, reveals her signature style secrets in her new book, Garden Wonderland. We asked Leslie to share five key design considerations to achieve the iconic Pine House Edible Garden look to create a plant-filled wonderland of your own and incorporate personal and edible elements into any landscape.

Edge with Evergreens

Reprinted with permission from “Garden Wonderland” by Leslie Bennett & Julie Chai, copyright © 2024. Photographs by Rachel Weill. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

A garden wonderland includes plants for harvest of food, flowers, medicine, and more. Since many of these harvest plants are highly changeable and can fade or entirely disappear from your landscape during parts of the year, use evergreen plants to create a year-round visual framework for your outdoor areas.

Be Choice with Color

Reprinted with permission from “Garden Wonderland” by Leslie Bennett & Julie Chai, copyright © 2024. Photographs by Rachel Weill. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Pick a few foliage and bloom colors to repeat throughout your landscape. Once you’ve established some continuity of color throughout, you can still include a few one-off pops of color in whatever other shades you like.

Harvest the Bounty

Reprinted with permission from “Garden Wonderland” by Leslie Bennett & Julie Chai, copyright © 2024. Photographs by Rachel Weill. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Include food and flowers that you like and want to eat and pick—choose varieties that offer harvests in different seasons, so you have reasons to step outside and pick something to eat and enjoy in winter, spring, summer, and fall!

Place Those Containers

Reprinted with permission from “Garden Wonderland” by Leslie Bennett & Julie Chai, copyright © 2024. Photographs by Rachel Weill. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Situate a large pot or two on your patio spaces to bring greenery closer to seating areas and to help frame the space. Pots with some culinary herbs or perennial edibles just outside your backyard or kitchen door are beautiful to look at and make garden produce that much easier to access for daily use.

Make Space for Socializing

Reprinted with permission from “Garden Wonderland” by Leslie Bennett & Julie Chai, copyright © 2024. Photographs by Rachel Weill. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Include pathways or seating areas adjacent to favorite plants or other meaningful elements that feel personal to you and make you happy. Even smooth edges of raised beds or retaining walls can be built at seat-height to serve as seamless built-in seating throughout the garden.