Grow What You Eat: Culinary Landscaping in San Diego

In San Diego, our year-round sunshine isn’t just good for beach days—it’s perfect for growing your own food. If you’ve ever dreamed of stepping outside to pick fresh herbs or fruit for dinner, culinary landscaping might be your new favorite idea.

Culinary landscaping is the art of blending plants you can eat into your everyday outdoor design. It’s functional, beautiful, and totally beginner-friendly—even if you’ve never planted a thing in your life.

Here’s how to get started:

• Start with herbs. Easy-to-grow herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and mint thrive in pots or garden beds. They’re fragrant, flavorful, and perfect for beginners.

• Plant fruit trees that thrive here. Consider Meyer lemon, avocado, fig, pomegranate, or guava. These trees love the San Diego climate and offer seasonal harvests with year-round visual interest.

• Blend food into your flower beds. Add color and texture with rainbow chard, red Russian kale, purple cabbage, or strawberries alongside your ornamental plants. They look stunning and serve a purpose.

• Use raised beds or containers. Great for small spaces or patios, fill them with easy crops like cherry tomatoes, lettuce blends, peppers, or zucchini—all of which grow well in Southern California.

• Add edible flowers for beauty. Try nasturtiums, calendula, borage, and lavender. These blooms brighten your garden and can be used in teas, salads, or as garnishes.

You don’t need a big yard or a green thumb to begin. Just start small, grow what you love, and enjoy the satisfaction of creating something that looks good and feeds you.