The morning garden
When you need refreshing and energy, try putting a little breakfast table by a lemon tree. Surround it with lavender and rosemary, and perhaps a pot of peppermint. The green herbal and citrus scents enhance wakefulness. Since lemon, rosemary, and lavender plants have similar desires (sunny location, good drainage), they will thrive together. The peppermint is best in a pot, because it likes richer soil and good water, and has a tendency to spread rapidly. If you're a city dweller with a sunny patio, all of these plants can be potted; Meyer lemons do especially well in a container. A perfect scented spot to start your morning, and if you take tea, the lemons are right there. Peppermint also makes a lovely refreshing tisane (boiling water poured over chopped fresh herbs).

The lazy afternoon garden
Plant chamomile, scented geraniums, and roses. Soft, earthy florals relax and soothe. A site with moist, fluffy, well-drained soil and good sunshine will support this lovely trio. Chamomile is a feathery, apple-scented plant with small daisy-like flowers that can be used as groundcover. Scented geraniums and old-fashioned roses are cottage-garden staples. These flowers are also prized for their culinary value; chamomile tea, geranium scented sugar, and rose-petal jam are just a few uses. For relaxing, shady hammocks are always good for a lazy afternoon, or drag a good comforter out into your garden and curl up with a good book.

The evening garden
A futon or chaise is the perfect setting to enjoy falling dusk in your garden. Jasmine, thyme, and orange trees make a lovely fragrant backdrop. Green notes and white blossoms perfume the evening air with sedative and aphrodisiac qualities. These plants prefer a warm climate, good sun (jasmine tolerates partial shade and likes a little more moisture, so a bush variety could be planted under the orange), and well-drained soil. The white and lavender flowers of all three are colors that stand out as twilight approaches, making them ideal choices for the evening garden.

"Perfumes are the feelings of flowers. - Heinrich Heine

Landscaping with Fruit Trees and Shrubs

If you don't have room for full-sized fruit trees, check out the new miniatures and dwarfs now available. Some grow just 4 or 5 feet tall and are perfect for growing in large pots or whiskey barrels. Rhubarb is so pretty don't relegate it to just the vegetable garden. Tuck it into the flower bed or border. It's especially nice underplanted with purple-leaved ajuga or another low-growing ground cover. Strawberries make an excellent edging plant as well as a good ground cover. Plant them in long rows, one or two plants deep, along the edges of flower beds and borders. Or use them on a sunny slope or any other area where you want a pretty ground cover. They cover themselves with white flowers in spring and the leaves turn a rich russet in fall. Plus the berries are so yummy!
Blueberry and currant bushes are pretty enough to use as decorative shrubs. Plant a whole hedge of them to assure plenty of fruit.
Grapevines are beautiful plants. Try growing two of them up over an arbor. When you're not harvesting grapes, you can use the leaves, either green or tinged by autumn color, to decoratively line plates and platters. Use them as garnishes with salads or cheeses.
Raspberries are expensive to buy at the supermarket, but easy to grow at home. If you're concerned about having too many all at once, plant the ever-bearing types, which will produce from midsummer to frost. Also, they do well in light to medium shade, so you can plant them in an out-of-the-way corner of the yard. Again, the berries are delicious!
Try growing short vining-type vegetables up trellises along the back of a flower border. Melons, cucumbers, and zucchini can all be trained to grow vertically. This means fewer fungal disease problems.

Landscaping with Vegetables

Get creative with your vegetable garden design. Consider creating a series of decorative raised beds with wood-chip or gravel lined paths between. Check out photos of historic French gardens for inspiration. They're very efficient and very beautiful. Plant vegetables with their looks as well as flavors in mind. Alternate, for example, pretty purple cabbages with snowy white cauliflowers in a row. Or experiment with planting in blocks and clusters rather than rows for a more decorative effect. Many vegetables lend themselves beautifully to containers. Lettuces in various colors are gorgeous in window boxes. Patio-type tomatoes are ideal in large pots. Hot peppers ripen to rich colors that are attractive when mixed in with annual flowers such as marigolds and vinca. Tomatoes probably grow better in flower beds than they do in the traditional vegetable garden. They should be moved to a different spot each year to prevent disease, and space is often limited in a vegetable patch. Also, tomatoes do better when isolated from other tomato plants because disease can't hop as easily from plant to plant.
Lettuces make a great edging plant, especially those that are deep reds and purples. Plant in a row along the front of a bed or border. Don't let a little shade deter you from planting vegetables. Fairly shade-tolerant veggies include beets, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, leaf lettuce, spinach, turnips, radishes, and beans.
Seek out vegetables in bold colors to plant among the flowers. Swiss chard, for example, is available in a rainbow of colors. Or try brilliant yellow sweet peppers. Pole beans have attractive heart-shaped leaves that are fairly decorative. They're good for planting on arbors, along fences, or on any trellis.
Some mustards and kales have gorgeous fall color and are ideal for tucking into containers and borders for color late in the year. Try Osaka Purple mustard greens or one of the red or purple kales.
Brighten salads with edible flowers. Grow nasturtiums and violas and toss a few petals along with your lettuces into a salad.

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