Northern Virginia Landscaping: 4 More Plants with Edible Parts

Welcome to part 2 of our series on edible landscaping plants native and well-adapted for your Northern Virginia yard. AllGreen Landscape Co. in Chantilly always suggests planting native landscaping trees, shrubs and plants that protect our local ecology, reduce water use and plant disease, beautify your landscaping, and even provide some tasty food for you later in the year. It doesn’t get any more locally-grown than your own backyard! Consider these 4 plants, in addition to the 5 Northern Virginia edible landscaping plants we discussed last month:

1. Serviceberry

The serviceberry is such a versatile small tree or shrub that allows sunlight to dapple down through its leaves. It’s hardy for the Northern Virginia region and delights throughout the year: spring brings lovely white blossoms, summer brings green foliage and developing clusters of berries, fall’s berries ripen to a lovely purple while the foliage turns fiery, and winter brings silvery smooth branches. You can use the berries in jams, jellies, scones, etc. Looks like blueberries, but tastes like cherries and almonds.

2. Hickory

Our area hosts 12 native species of hickory tree; in fact, they grow wild all over Northern Virginia. They can become medium to large-sized trees with gray, loose bark. And they grow buttery, sweet hickory nuts that you can harvest when they fall out of the tree (no climbing necessary). They’re hard to crack, but worth it! Use in the same recipes where you’d use walnuts or pecans.

3. Elderberry

Elderberries have become popular again, and they are native to our region. Their waxy, green pointed leaves are pleasant, as are spring's white blossoms, which are edible and often used to make syrups or wines. Or you can wait until the blossoms turn into clusters of small, blackish-purple berries. Don’t eat them off the bush—they require cooking! But you can make syrups, jams and jellies that may even have immune boosting properties! The leaves and bark are not edible.

4. Allegheny blackberry

There’s nothing that quite says late summer like having fresh blackberries over ice cream. Our own, native species is a bramble bush, so you have to be careful it doesn’t spread like crazy (our Northern Virginia landscaping company can help keep it in check for you). It’s great as a hedge barrier to prevent deer and humans from coming into your yard, and it produces wonderful, sweet, healthy blackberries you can make into jam, jelly, pie, smoothies, cobblers, or just eat them right off the vine.

Northern Virginia has a wonderful variety of native, edible plants that can make wonderful additions to your landscape. Ask us about these and others that you might like to include in your landscaping project this year: AllGreen Landscape Co: (703) 992-8787.