Healing Appalachia: Sustainable Living through Appropriate Technology

8. Edible Landscaping

A hilltop of various wild edible plants is on display and available for taste-testing. . . . Visitors and lodgers are encouraged to roam the countryside. Inspiration Point is one especially interesting place to be on a clear night. A 100-acre forest includes dense woods, a spring with brook and some curious rock outcroppings that people cannot resist climbing. Narrow Ridge’s simple solution to life’s mystery is to live in balance and harmony with our environment, to become real inhabitants of the land and to voluntarily choose simplicity whenever possible. Narrow Ridge Center, Washburn, Tennessee The lawns around Appalachian homes often look like those in most other parts of America, although they may be smaller, because of limited space. They are decorative but not necessarily beautiful. What is often overlooked is that lawn space can be beautiful when turned into edible landscape. In place of decorative lawns the same land can be used both for recreation and for growing fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts, and berries. Sitting and conversing is often done on a porch; kids play in the yard. LANDSCAPE AS DECORATION Growing a lawn is keeping up with the Joneses, for it is the ultimate sign of conforming within a community. Many affluent people in Appalachia seem to flaunt their wealth in large manicured CHAPTER 8 Edible Landscaping Edible Landscaping ❖ 101 lawns surrounding their mansions. Aspiring people of modest and lower income then seek to imitate them in decorative landscaping. Those who continue or initiate the practice of edible landscaping become noble resisters of peer pressure. Involved in the current American lawn culture is the colonial mind-set that land is to be set aside for relaxation and enjoyment. The lawn concept stems from Renaissance England’s formal gardens and exploded in the twentieth century, through the use of lawn mowers powered by nonrenewable energy and pesticides, to include vast portions of urban and rural domestic yards. Arguments against such extensive lawns include the time required to mow them; ecological threats from vast quantities of lawn-care chemicals such as pesticides and commercial fertilizers ; the need for annual leaf-raking operations; noise and risks associated with lawn cutting, especially on steeper slopes; cost of storing, powering, and maintaining lawn-care equipment; and the air pollutants resulting from using such equipment—a major cause of air pollution in more densely populated areas. Lawns are hard to manage, and thus there is a temptation to use chemical weed killer and to give additional tender loving care to the lawn. In times of drought the lawn made up of nonnative lawn grass is so fragile that it quickly dies, and, to the consternation of the lawn owner, it is generally the first place to be subject to compulsory water restrictions. Lawns are simply too expensive for homeowners, and they can be replaced by productive vegetables. In fact, half of America’s fresh produce could come from people ’s yards in much the manner that vegetables came from Victory Gardens during the Second World War. EDIBLE LANDSCAPE OPTIONS Making edible landscapes takes some planning and care. The grower makes a commitment to become ecological, not to be discouraged if neighbors are negative, and to start small and ask those already in the practice for tips and pointers. Often, lawn 102 ❖ Healing Appalachia managers are more confident of lawn mowers and weed killers. To go “edible” is to commit oneself to the Earth while receiving the added bonus of good food as a payment for being ecological. Gardening requires consistent care and nurturing, so convenience is foremost in good planning, especially in choices of perennials such as horseradish or rhubarb. Others turn to lowmaintenance fruit and berries because they take less time. Many Appalachians still grow herbs close to the kitchen door as their grandmothers did. The landscaping plans may quickly become involved and include a series of vegetable/flower interplantings or succession plantings producing vegetation all through the growing season and beyond. Vegetables A well-managed plot of garden vegetables can be as beautiful as any manicured lawn. When the grower knows what is to be in season, garden greens (spinach, onions, etc.) spring up early, and with forethought the late autumn will be just as green, with kale and mustard and collards; these greens can last well into the Christmas season with the aid of temporary seasonal extenders. Bordering garden plots with perennial plants such as Jerusalem...