The Layered Edible Garden: A Beginner's Guide to Creating a Productive Food Garden Layer by Layer – From Ground Covers to Trees and Everything in Between

by Christina Chung

Design, plant, and tend a self-sustaining, high-yielding food garden that saves space by growing plants the way nature intended—in layers. 

Say goodbye to long, straight rows of vegetable plants lined up and waiting for attacks from pests and diseases, and say hello to an interplanted polyculture paradise , filled with layers of edible plants that outcompete weeds, share resources, and grow beautifully together .

In The Layered Edible Garden , author and food gardening pro Christina Chung of @fluent.garden introduces a modern approach to home food gardening that follows nature’s lead by growing plants in mixed communities, instead of in agriculture-centric monocultures.

By intentionally including edible plants from 8 different layers (trees, sub-canopy trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, annuals, ground covers, and edible roots) in your home garden, you’ll be building a mini “food forest” that will produce food for years to come and require less work and fewer resources . 

With the insight found in The Layered Edible Garden , you’
 
Whether you have sun or shade, a large growing space or a small one, planting many layers of food plants together results in a diverse, low-maintenance edible garden , filled with plants that help support each other. The future of growing food is multi-layered.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Plants, Sustainability

224 pages, Paperback

Published February 27, 2024

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting way to plan out a home garden. The author provides a lot of detail behind her designs, and there are plenty of lawn schematics and pictures to provide visual aids throughout the process. I will find this book very useful in the spring time when I start working on the garden again.

*** Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and Cool Springs Press for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.

[ツツ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best gardening book I’ve read. Sustainable, low maintenance, eco-friendly, alternative to the traditional garden.

I realised I know the author from YouTube once I started reading. I know her voice and intonations, so it’s reassuring to know how to read it in my mind (but subvocalization is not a good habit for reading speed).

Hhh somehow I feel a little proud that the recommended book is already on my bed.

[Jean Termotto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. My friend suggested it to me because was saying how I love something in every season. Although I still have to work on winter, but I love always have something to catch my eye. This was the ultimate, but the idea is simple.

[T Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, with lots of information and great pictures. Smart and logical layout, and because of the subject, there is a lot about landscaping as well as gardening. Anyone interested in plants will love this book, and it's a must for homesteaders and those who want to be self-sufficient.

[Bzz Kolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this eCopy to review

A very informative book on how to make the most of your garden space by growing in layers just like nature does. Lots of beautiful photographs for inspiration and an extensive range of different plants to grow for each area.

Easy to read and follow the instructions

[Debra Gaynor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Layered Edible Garden
A Beginner’s Guide to Creating a Productive Food Garden Layer by Layer
Christina Chung
What is a Layered Garden? “A Layered Garden uses different plants and flower to create a garden that has depth, color, and texture. Layering can mean that there are three layers of plants in a garden: ground cover, low shrubs, and trees, and tall shrubs and trees.” A layered garden can conserve room allowing the gardener to have a more efficient use of garden space. Too often we put our pretty flowers in the front of our garden and keep the vegetables in the back, with layering we intermingle the plants. But there is more to the concept. “Thinking in terms of layers will help you get the most from your garden, in every sense: more plants, more food, more beauty, less space that doesn’t live up to its full potential.” Layering benefits, the environment and the insects.
Layering is a complex concept. A layered garden is beautiful, but it is not laid out in rows, lines or a grid. A layered garden has a bit of a wild look or perhaps the term should be natural. There is very little to no bare soil. Author Christina Chung discusses several types of trees including maple and persimmon. I enjoyed the discussion of herbs especially rosemary, one of my favorites.
While I do not fully understand the concept I am intrigued.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for review. As always my reviews are my unbiased opinions.

[Shannon Canaday · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - absolutely excellent

I really enjoyed this book. A key component of my gardening is soil health and regenerative gardening with minimal soil disturbance and putting in perennial edibles disturbs the soil less and protects it better than our standard annual edible gardening. Although I can see the ultimate goal with the bulk of your edible garden being perennial edibles, it also limits your ability to produce those quick growing annuals during the intense time of gardening.

If I had a huge property (a dream!), the section on available plants was extremely interesting and goes beyond the "norms" that every garden center seems to focus on. Besides being edible, a lot of these alternative options have less pest and disease pressures than the standards that we are used to. I'll definitely keep some of these plants in mind if I get my way and I'm allowed to remove all of our lawns!

The only reduction of a star was because although the author mentioned a couple of times in passing that not everyone has the space or resources to put in all the layers (ie, canopy/subcanopy), the book very much felt like it was geared towards people with large properties.

[Yvette Stoddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Ms Chung for the Advance Digital Copy.

Design, plant, and tend a self-sustaining, high-yielding food garden that saves space by growing plants the way nature intended—in layers. Say goodbye to long, straight rows of vegetable plants lined up and waiting for attacks from pests and diseases, and say hello to an interplanted polyculture paradise, filled with layers of edible plants that outcompete weeds, share resources, and grow beautifully together. In The Layered Edible Garden, author and food gardening pro Christina Chung of @fluent.garden introduces a modern approach to home food gardening that follows nature’s lead by growing plants in mixed communities, instead of in agriculture-centric monocultures.

I enjoyed reading and learning but felt that it may be difficult given my climate and Zone. I think combining this resource with another would be extremely helpful.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pros:
- Beautiful photos of gardens demonstrating the layered concept
- profiles on useful edible plants for each layer - including close-up photos of fruit.
- Applicable to a variety of climates.

Cons:
- Some of the photos weren't well labelled.
- Plant profiles could have been organized according to hardiness zones

A lot of what you need to know is in the plant profile but you have to read carefully to learn which plants have a tendency to spread (e.g. mint) and which plants don't like competition.

After introducing many perennials to my gardens over the years I find landscaping with them is challenging because some spread too easily and some refuse to leave once established (horseradish, jerusalem artichoke).

Still I enjoy reading new books on this familiar subject as I always get some new plant ideas and revived inspiration.

[Susan Bewley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who wants to get the most out of their yard, I have to say I was very impressed with The Layered Edible Garden. The book is filled with gorgeous pictures and fantastic advice, allowing you to get the most out of your edible garden. No longer do you worry about having beautiful, straight lines but creating a yard filled with beauty that keeps away pests and allows pollinators to thrive. While the levels of planning may be a bit too much for beginner gardeners, it is fantastic for those who are unsure what to do with space in their yard or want to bring their garden to the next level.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love forest gardening and this book basically combines forest gardening (layered permaculture gardening) with backyard conventional gardening. The basic principle is that you have a top story (large trees) and then an understory layer (small trees and shrubs like elderberry), then perennial plants like rhubarb and asparagus, and then herbs and annuals along with vines. I loved all of the photos and there’s lots of good info.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

[Diandra Knutson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. My husband and I have a garden on our large property that we keep as mainly beds and bags. This book will be helpful in actually USING our property and putting things in the ground. We have been interested in Permaculture and this books gives hints of that. What a concept, the layered garden. One I haven’t heard before but am interested in seeing how this goes!

[Katherine Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a newer gardener I’ve been looking for reliable information to get suggestions on the different options for setting up my garden and how to make the best use of space. This book gave great insights and had some beautiful pictures. I’d recommend this book to new and seasoned gardeners alike because I think it has information that everyone can take from it.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, so impressed with the author's garden. Absolutely amazing concept and I love that it wasn't just traditional edible items, it was literally anything that's edible, flowers, greens that are normally considered weeds. What a great resource!

[Ashley {_xamountofbooks} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Edelweiss+)

Interesting and informative way to learn about a different gardening technique.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully designed guide I will definitely buy for my green-thumbed husband as a gift. Helps gardeners at any level hone their skills to produce gorgeous layered gardens.

[Christy Wilhelmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to follow with helpful explanations and suggestions for each layer of the garden.

[Kerrific Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide to beginning your first edible garden. Great tips and tricks to help you make the most of your space by producing for your family.

[coldtofu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some new and interesting plants and lots of ideas for stacking space and time in the edible perennial garden! Was wanting to read this for a while since the author is in Vancouver as well.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good information about using every inch of your garden to be edible. Can't wait to plan out a new garden bed using this as a guide.

[Savannè Finklea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, easy to read, and enjoyable

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great primer on edible gardens. does not really speak about arrangement and design, but I love the layered garden approach.

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided an uncorrected arc by NetGalley and am thrilled to be able to review this book before it is published. What a great way to make the most of a small space by layering! This book has great knowledge of plants and guides you to what to plant where.

I would recommend this book.