Green (Almost) Acres

By Aisha Salazar

Photograph by Aisha Salazar

When most people think of landscaping, they probably envision trimmed hedges and precisely mowed lawns.

Edible Landscapes founder Thomas Hayes, however, has made a culinary paradise of his own yard.

And he’s ready to teach others how to bring the farmers market home by introducing non-traditional fruits and vegetables, which typically grow in tropical climates, to their respective backyards.

Myriad fruit trees align one side of Hayes’ Falls Church domicile, while a greenhouse and garden flank the other. About 65 percent of his quarter-acre yard is edible, yielding everything from grapes and figs to pawpaws. Hayes even has a functioning apiary—including one indoor hive weather-worn flyers can access via a faux tree entryway outside his home. He has approximately 50 fruit trees on his land and has expanded into his neighbor’s yard as his horticultural enterprise continues to bloom.

Clients can be assured that featured plants/trees will continue to thrive once they get them home because Hayes uses his own yard as the ultimate proving ground. Most importantly: He does not use fertilizers or pesticides to nurture the plants.

And while most people won’t plant nearly as much greenery as he does, Hayes does recommend configuring new purchases in clusters to encourage cross-pollination.

Edible Landscapes: 703-508-1400; www.ediblelandscapes.com

(August 2010)