Thursday, March 19, 2009

An Obama garden would make edibles huge

It looks like the Obamas are going to be gardening at the White House, so break out your hoes and rakes, and dust off your straw hats because edible gardens look like the next big thing.

In the April issue of Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine, Michelle Obama indicates that the First Family is putting in an organic garden. “We want to use it as a point of education, to talk about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food, and how you can take that food and make it part of a healthy diet,” she tells Winfrey.

Q.) Are vegetable gardens something that landscapers can work into their services?

A.) Yes, but isn't this something that farmers do?

(OK, so I’m having a bit of fun with this. I’ve earned the right after spending much of my childhood working on family truck farms.)

Seriously though, what’s to keep landscapers from incorporating edibles into the landscapes of customers that want them? Many edible plants are attractive, and who doesn’t appreciate fresh produce? Some customers, I’m certain, would jump at the prospect of having colorful and tasty herbs, vegetables or dwarf fruit trees located in the appropriate locations of their landscapes.

Should the First Family go ahead and put in an organic garden at the White House look for a huge uptick in consumers’ demand for homegrown fresh herbs and vegetables.

Imagine this, in addition to showing off that new outdoor kitchen, complete with chrome barbeque grill, wet bar and natural gas fireplace that you installed for them, your customers could be walking their guests to a corner of their property to brag up their prize-winning tomatoes, too. Thanks to you, of course. — Ron Hall

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