My “outdoorsman” son-in-law asked for a book on foraging for Christmas. Since my perception of foraging is tramping through the woods looking for either mushrooms or other obscure, supposedly edible plants, I didn’t really give much thought to the book. Until today, that is, while I was reading an article about the top new landscape design ideas for 2025. There it was… number 2 on the list: Hunt-and-Gather Foraging Gardens: A Feast for All Ages. Now I wish I had at least leafed through that guide.
The very brief description by Sasha Gulish declares that foraging gardens are the newest trend in edible gardening, “combining playful exploration with purposeful design.” What really caught my attention however, was the suggestion that a foraging garden is a great tool to help little ones discover where their food comes from. I found myself thinking, “Doesn’t heading out to the vegetable garden to pick freshly ripened fruits and vegetables accomplish the same thing? Perhaps even more precisely if the little ones help plant the seeds and watch the plants grow.” How is this better – or even different?” It took some reading and some serious thinking, but I think I have some answers.
Starting with the most basic information, I learned that the definition of foraging is simply “the acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter.” According to the dictionary, technically each time I go to the garden and pick my tomatoes or cucumbers, I am foraging. Those who consider themselves foragers, like my son-in-law, have a different understanding of the term. To them, foraging implies heading into the woods or the wilds to look for edible plants supplied by nature. Foraging implies searching through the existing foliage to find a prize rather than simply walking up to a neatly planted and maintained row to pick one of many. There is an element of adventure and accomplishment that is different from traditional gardening.
Foraging in the colloquial sense requires a great deal of plant knowledge. It’s imperative that foragers hunting for food in the woods recognize which plants are edible and which are not. Not knowing the difference could be disastrous. Traditional gardeners, on the other hand, tend to rely on seed packets and garden center signs to safely choose their crops. There isn’t as much personal empowerment from picking out which green bean variety is the best choice as there is from instantly recognizing which leaf or blossom will add a zip to the evening’s salad.
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After considering foraging itself, the next obvious question is what is a forging garden? While different authors had varying definitions, there was a common thread through all of them. A foraging garden is a trend that combines a wide variety of edible plants – greens, flowers, berries and fruits – thriving within the existing landscape rather than confined to traditional rows and patches. Strawberries, for example, are planted along retaining walls to drape over the sides. Berries or other pick and eat options are tucked into out of the way spots, challenging children to find, and enjoy, the hidden bounty. Herbs, scattered between pathway stepping stones, give off soft scents when brushed against, at least until they’re gathered for cooking. Dreary fences become supports for climbing vines of all sorts – nasturtiums brightly colored flowers brighten up both the garden and the salad bowl.
Most of the books and articles that I reviewed agree that forage gardens should be, for the most part, planted with perennials and self-seeding annual species that are native to the area. Natives have evolved with the local environment and can tolerate weather and climate conditions much more easily than introduced plants. Natives, once established, require less maintenance, less water and less chemical intervention. Because they are attractive to local pollinators, they are more likely to be self-producing.
While most food gardens are devoted to familiar produce such as tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and the like, foraging gardens usually include plants that are not often thought of as food. Edible flowers like calendula, carnations, day lilies, violets and marigolds ( add to broth or infuse in butter) give color and life to the garden, while some plants thought of as weeds are also welcomed. The often disdained dandelion features in many descriptions. In our area of the country, stinging nettles, wild ginger and curly dock are common weeds that are edible.
Finally, the traditional food garden, especially small urban plots, tend to produce on a predictable timetable and in a particular place.. Here, for example, the tomatoes will ripen around the 4th of July, and in my yard, in one of the two raised beds. Everyone in the family knows where to go to pick my tomatoes. In a foraging garden, rewards are scattered all over, inviting lots of different opportunities to pick fresh food.
As a parent, grandparent and educator, I have had the good fortune to both watch and guide children as they inched toward maturity. Some of the lessons I have learned throughout the years are that children learn much more easily and willingly when there is some fun involved, that discovering something on your own builds self-confidence and that spending time in nature produces mentally and physically healthy kids.
Forage gardens seem to address all of these needs in our kids. Going on a hunt for today’s pick instead of straight to the garden would appeal to most kids I know. (Especially my competitive ones!) Learning to not only identify but also prepare the native edibles can build a sense of self-confidence – a “see what I can do on my own experience.” Learning to enjoy and to respect nature can help our children become stewards of the earth, something our planet desperately needs.
