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Since I wrote last about an edible evergreen groundcover, I thought I would mention another one that I have and really like, namely American Wintergreen, or sometimes called Eastern Teaberry, Checkerberry, or Boxberry. The Latin name is Gaultheria procumbens.
This is native to the U.S. East Coast, though endangered there. Grows in zones 3 to 9 and loves shade. It spreads via root to a diameter of something like 12 inches. It is low growing reaching about 6 inches in height. It is one of the very few edibles I have that have berries in the late fall and winter. The berries are red with a white center, which remind me of candy.
I love the flavor of the leaves and berries. If you have ever eaten Wintergreen Lifesavers or had some of Wrigleys Winterfresh chewing gum, then you have tasted the flavor of this plant’s leaves and berries.
This is my favorite thing to include in my homemade teas. If allowed to steep for awhile, the flavor will cover over many nasty medicinal herb flavors, allowing me to give some medicinal teas to my kids when they were younger. Personally, I just like the flavor and include it whenever I can with my mint and chamomile teas. I’ve read that you can increase the intensity of the flavor by first fermenting the leaves for a few days in some warm water, though I have never tried that.
The berries can also be used in a nice winter-time fruit salad. Imagine the surprise of your family or friends when encountering the wintergreen flavor from a red berry, about the size and shape of a pea.
My one point of frustration with this plant as a ground cover is that it is slow growing. I wish it would grow faster, so I could use it more often. I have to use a lot of restraint to not keep picking at the newer leaves for just chewing on or using with tea. I am planning on compensating for this by buying more and filling in the plants closer to each other.
In keeping with my eccentric goal of only landscaping with plants that have edible parts, I have been experimenting with a variety of edible groundcovers.
One area of my front yard is under some evergreen trees, which block moisture and most sun, and instead rain down pine needles that cause the soil to stay pretty acidic. Hardly anything will grow there.
What I have found that will grow in such dismal conditions are creeping raspberries (Rubus Pentalobus).
In the picture you can see the very dry conditions and the blanket of pine needles. I watered this plant some the first summer to make sure it was set, and then have pretty much ignored it.
This edible ground cover is amazing! I am starting to see it used all over the Seattle area. It forms a low growing mat of green growth that stays under 6 inches in height and spreads 3 to 6 feet in all directions. It spreads by sending out runners, with leaves on them, which put down their own roots. It doesn’t climb trees or structures, so it won’t smother any of your other plants. I have seen it in lovely displays as it cascades off walls, softening hard edges of raised planting areas.
During spring and summer, the thornless leaves are shiny, dark green above and gray-green below. They turn burgundy or scarlet color in fall and winter. I’ve not really noticed the flowers, but have seen in late summer yellow raspberry like berries that form. Some have described them as tasty; personally I am eagerly waiting to try one to see how they taste.
You can easily propagate this plant by separating the different nodes that have put down roots.
There is hardly anything to me that can beat the incredibly wonderful flavor of a sweet ripe strawberry that has been ripened fresh on the plant. While store bought strawberries are good, they just can’t match the sweetness and flavor of a strawberry grown and ripened right on the plant. Strawberries are definitely one of my most favorite of berries. So, I knew I needed to include them in my edible landscaping. The problem is that most of the strawberry plants you find are June bearing or everbearing varieties that require full sun and quickly spread in a seasons time via runners to consume all the space they can. That isn’t exactly something you would use in your typical yard landscape.
However, there are a couple of other options, namely musk (Fragaria moschata) or alpine (Fragaria vesca) strawberries . Both types can still produce incredibly flavored berries in partial sun settings, meaning they can be grown as ground covers under larger plants. While the berries are smaller in size, they have an even stronger strawberry flavor. It is as if all that flavor and sweetness of a larger berry was compacted into a smaller size. Some alpine strawberries are grown commercially for gourmet cooking. Musk strawberries spread by runners, just like their cousins you find at most nurseries, but the alpine strawberries spread by slow expansion of roots or by seeds. I’ve tried both musk and alpine and by far prefer the alpine strawberries for landscaping.
Since Alpine strawberries don’t send out runners, you can use them as edging plants, groundcovers, and so on, without worrying about them taking over and spreading into unwanted areas.
My alpine strawberries plants have been able to grow lots and lots of berries in almost full shade, with their berry producing season starting as early as May and ending as late as December. They've even been nicknamed by some as the "perpetual strawberry". Out of the 5 different kinds of strawberries I grow, my alpines beat all the others in overall berry production. I’ve found myself growing tired of picking strawberries every few days for months of time. Though, be warned, the berries are smaller, so it will take more if considering volume.
I prefer using my alpine strawberries as flavoring in things like strawberry shakes, strawberry-rhubarb pie or cobbler, or part of a berry jam. Since the flavor is stronger it takes less berries to have a good strawberry flavor. I've found that I like to wait until the berries are soft to the touch and at their maximum sweetness before picking them and either using them in some fruity wonder, or freezing them for later use.
I am really excited; since it looks like I will start getting alpine strawberries in something like a couple of weeks. My plants are loaded with blossoms and I can see berries already forming.
I’m growing both the red and white/yellow variety of alpine strawberries. I prefer the red, since I’ve found it more difficult to tell when the white/yellow variety is ripe. The white/yellow variety has a slightly sweeter almost pineapple-ish flavor to it. If you have a problem with birds eating your strawberries, you might find better luck with the white/yellow variety, since I’ve heard that birds tend to leave it alone.
Alpine strawberry plants are very hardy. The plants like humus-rich, acid soil in a sheltered site in sun or partial shade. They are hardy to zone 4. If you want more, simply divide one of the plants and plant the divisions in the locations you would like them. You will find that if you miss picking some berries that little strawberry seedlings will grow where the berries fell the following spring. It is not difficult to grow alpine strawberries from seed if you remember to freeze the seed for 3 to 4 weeks before sowing.
The alpine strawberry plant is sometimes used as an herbal medicine, via an herbal tea made from the leaves, stems, and/or flowers, which is believed to aid in the treatment of diarrhea. I haven't tried this myself, but might try experimenting with it in the future.
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