Outdoor Furniture, Patio Furniture and more!

We are overwhelmingly excited to introduce Shirley Bovshow as this week’s guest blogger!

Shirley Bovshow is a nationally recognized garden designer, television host and new garden media broadcaster from Los Angeles. As a garden communicator, Shirley credits include host of the garden makeover show, “Garden Police” (Discovery), regular appearances on HGTV, “25 Biggest Landscaping Mistakes,” “Outer Spaces,” Fine Living, Style Network, DIY, USA, NBC’s ‘iVillage Live,” CBS “Early Show,” and radio appearances on Martha Stewart and more.

Edible gardens are gaining in popularity across the nation and new gardeners are hungry for planting and design tips. I encourage people to get the most of their yards and take advantage of every inch of sun-kissed space.

To maximize the use and benefit of your yard, consider taking your herbs and vegetables out of the garden plot and mix them in to the landscape where they can rub shoulders with ornamental plants. Edible plants are just as beautiful as annuals and can supply color if you allow some of the plants to flower. I do.

Check out these space saving ideas that create a beautiful and bountiful garden.

Train a dwarf lemon tree against your fence for fruit, color and fragrance.

A mature, well pruned apple espalier can double as a living fence. Wood never tasted this good!

Enjoy the luscious taste of a pineapple guava grown in a pot and placed within the garden bed.

This small 3' x 6' foot garden bed hosts a potted, dwarf Citron tree, 6 bronze fennel plants, 6 Thai basil plants, 6 parsley, red onions, garlic and beets! Don't sacrifice style and beauty in the edible garden. You want something attractive to look at while your food grows in.

A close up of my beloved Citron. Can't wait to squeeze it into a summer drink!

Dwarf kumquats don't need much room and look how much fruit they reward you with!

Dwarf and compact Meyer lemons are ideal for a "mini orchard." Mix these prolific "fruiters" directly in the mixed border. I accompany them with lavender and ornamental grasses for a low water, aromatic garden.

Yes, there is room in your yard for fruit trees. Look for varieties labeled, “dwarf,” “compact,” “espaliered,” and “patio size.”

Visit Eden Makers Blog see more ideas of how to integrate vegetables and herbs in small gardens.

“You can have your garden and eat it too!”

Recently, Shirley launched the first online garden television entertainment show, the “Garden World Report,” that features expert gardeners and passionate hobbiest from all over the world as “virtual contributors.”  The show has a growing, dedicated international audience.

When Shirley is not designing landscapes for her clients or producing garden shows, she enjoys time with her family and traveling.

All Photos courtesy of Shirley Bovshow, EdenMakers.com