17 Edible Perennials to Grow in Your Kitchen Garden—and Harvest Year After Year

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17 Edible Perennials to Grow in Your Kitchen Garden—and Harvest Year After Year

You may have to hit the garden center or a seed company year after year for your lettuce and tomatoes—but there are a whole lot of edible perennial plants you can add to your garden to enjoy some delicious goodies every year. (And we’re not even talking fruit trees, which is another category altogether!)

This whole array of herbs, fruits, vegetables, and more can be planted once and enjoyed for years to come—and many are extremely low maintenance, too. Learn what you need to know to get started with your edible perennial plot, then check out some of the usual suspects—and some unique additions you can add to your kitchen garden.

Carly Mercer, gardening expert at Love & Carrots, a woman-owned urban farming company

Asparagus

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You need to be a little patient with this spring veggie: Give your plants two full years of growth before you harvest. But after that, you can start snapping off the stalks as they grow for several weeks—just stop by midsummer so the asparagus can grow and get the energy it needs to provide you with a new crop next year.

How to Use Asparagus

This tasty springtime staple is a stunning side dish, or the perfect addition to pasta, flatbread, or egg dishes for brunch.

Blackberries

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If you have some sunny real estate in need of a shrub, the blackberry might be an ideal pick. You’ll collect pretty (tasty!) fruit all summer and into the fall. Just opt for the thornless varieties if you’re planting it in areas where kids and pets might be at play.

How to Enjoy Blackberries

Blackberries can go anywhere other berries go, from pies and shortcakes to muffins and overnight oats. (We’re particularly fond of this Blackberry and Pear Breakfast Crisp)

Blueberries

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Berry bushes are a big part of the edible perennial landscape—and as one of the most potent superfoods, growing a blueberry shrub in your kitchen garden is something you won’t regret. You’ll find a ton of different varieties, including some compact plants that can work in containers. If you want a big bounty of berries, opt to plant more than one bush so they can cross-pollinate and create a bigger harvest.

How to Enjoy Blueberries

Your berry bounty can be used in so many ways—smoothies, muffins, pancakes, pies, and overnight oats, just to name a few.

Chamomile

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Chamomile is a type of daisy—and if you’re an herbal tea fan, these sunny little flowers can be steeped to make your favorite soothing tea. Plant them in a spot with well-drained soil and plenty of sun or partial shade (especially in hotter locations).

How to Use Chamomile

Both the chamomile leaves and flowers can be steeped to create tea—and you can use the fresh flowers or dry some of your flowers and leaves to have tea after the flowers bloom. You can also add the flowers or petals to your salads, or use it to flavor jellies, syrups, or desserts.

Chives

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This easy-to-grow perennial thrives in a sunny spot in your garden and is definitely willing to spread. (And yes, those pretty purple flowers are edible and a gorgeous addition to your favorite recipes, too.)

How to Use Chives

Chives are a common addition to many dishes—especially as a topping for scrambled eggs, potatoes, dips, and sauces. But don’t be afraid to mix it up—try them in savory waffles or tasty biscuits,

Grape Vines

Blue grapes on vines.

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You don’t have to own a winery to grow grapevines—they make an excellent addition to a pergola or other outdoor structure, to help you provide natural shade in your garden—along with plenty of fruit, too.

How to Enjoy Grape Vines

Yes, the grapes are delicious right off the vine, and you can also turn them into a grape jelly. Grapes are also a flavorful addition to both savory and sweet dishes. But don’t sleep on the leaves themselves. You can use young grape leaves to make that Mediterranean favorite, stuffed grape leaves.

Horseradish

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If you’re looking for a spicy—and unexpected—edible plant to add to your garden, the horseradish may be it, says Carly Mercer, plant expert from Love & Carrots. It’s harvested in the late fall, once the leaves die back. You dig along the plant, and pull out the main root, while saving aside smaller roots to replant next spring.

How to Use Horseradish

This potent condiment is ground up and mixed with vinegar, and can be added to dips, as a condiment to top off meat or other main dishes, or to kick up your Bloody Mary cocktails.

Horseradish spreads quickly, so you may need to pull up some of the plants to avoid having it take over.

Mint

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Mint can be a fast-growing addition to your garden, often spreading out and taking up any available space. Look for moist soil and full sun to partial shade for the perfect conditions to help it thrive.

How to Use Mint

Mint isn’t just for dessert: You can add it to pesto, pasta, salads, and sauces. Mint is also a favorite addition to cocktails, whether you’re interested in margaritas or mojitos.

Oregano

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This beloved herb is an evergreen garden staple that also offers pretty—and also edible—blooms in summer. (And you should be pinching those flowers off to help ensure more leaf growth anyway!)

How to Use Oregano

Yes, it’s a potent addition to pizza sauce, but you can put oregano into just about everything—dips and sauces, quiches, and salads. It’s delicious with other Mediterranean fare, like feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, and fish.

Ostrich Fern Fiddleheads

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Fiddlehead ferns are the rare edible that thrives in a shady spot in your garden. You can plant them in the spring or fall, but you’ll need to wait a few years for them to establish before you can start harvesting the tiny shoots. (Harvest less than half so you can ensure a good crop going forward.)

How to Use Fiddlehead Ferns

This springtime delicacy should be cooked. You’ll need to boil them or steam them, but then can go on to sauté them afterward. They’re delicious with a touch of butter or vinegar.

Rhubarb

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Rhubarb plants offer delicious pink and red stalks in the spring. Plant rhubarb plants in early spring, and give the plant at least a year to settle in before you start harvesting stalks.

How to Use Rhubarb

This tart spring favorite pairs beautifully with strawberries, and is often used in sweet-tart baked goods, like cakes, pies, crisps, and muffins. But don’t sleep on rhubarb jam, which can help preserve the goodness beyond the spring.

Roses

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The popular and perennial flower favorite can be a delicious addition to your dishes, too. Just find a sunny spot and follow the rose care tips for a thriving addition to your meals.

How to Use Roses

Most of the rose plant is edible, including the leaves, petals, buds, and the rosehips, which are left after the flowers bloom. You can scatter rose petals on a cake or dessert, and You’ll find many desserts and even cocktails that call for rose syrup or rose-scented sugar.

Rosemary

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One of the most beloved perennial herbs, rosemary thrives in a sunny and dry spot in your garden (feel free to pair it with its fellow edible, thyme).

How to Use Rosemary

Honestly, what can’t you use rosemary to adorn? It’s great paired with chicken, essential for focaccia, and can even be used in festive cocktails.

Strawberries

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Strawberries are not only delicious (and nutritious!) but they offer a whole lot of bang for your buck. Start out with just a couple of plants, and let the runners they produce go wild to give yourself your own DIY strawberry patch.

How to Enjoy Strawberries

One of the most popular fruits out there, strawberries are a spring and summer dessert staple, but can also be a delicious addition to savory salads. (And don’t forget breakfasts, smoothies, and more!)

Thyme

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Thyme loves sunshine and drier spots in the garden—and produces pretty little flowers that can also be used to dress up your food, too. This herb is perfect planted with rosemary and other drought-tolerant herbs.

How to Use Thyme

Thyme is a workhorse herb that can be sprinkled on everything from potatoes to biscuits to cozy classics like chicken and dumplings.

Violets

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Pretty purple violets are edible. Just make sure you don’t harvest the whole plant each time, so it can grow back next year.

Make sure you are enjoying true violets (from the viola genus), not African violets (from the Saintpaulia genus). African violets are not edible, and can cause gastric distress if you eat them.

How to Enjoy Violets

Violet greens can be cooked and enjoyed with other greens, as they have a mild flavor. The flowers are a gorgeous garnish on desserts—just use them quickly, as they can wilt fast. You can also make candied violet flowers by dipping in egg whites and then sugar to help them last a bit longer, or infuse their flavor into honeys or syrups.

Tips for a Stunning Edible Garden

You don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for many of the edible garden plants, as they often come with interesting foliage, pretty blossoms, and of course, delicious things you can harvest. Try these tips to set your garden up for success.

Seek out a sunny spot

Just like your annual vegetables, an edible garden needs plenty of sunlight to thrive. “Most edible plants … require at least six hours of sunlight to be productive, so pick an area of your yard that gets good sun first,” says Mercer.

Consider the Spread

They may look tiny to start, but most of these plants spread fast—and can take up plenty of garden real estate. So plan ahead. “Because these plants will be in your garden for the long-haul, I recommend making a plan that takes into account their mature height and spread, and ensuring that you give everything enough room to grow without shading each other out,” Mercer says.

Avoid Putting Plants in Shadow

For both aesthetic and plant health reasons, you’ll want to ensure the smaller plants are front and center. “Taller crops should go on the north side of your garden beds to avoid casting shade, and shorter crops should be planted on the south side if possible,” Mercer says.

Create a separate spot for your annual vegetables

It may feel easier to put all of your vegetables and edible plants in a single spot, so you can harvest accordingly. But Mercer says that can be a mistake. “I generally don’t recommend planting perennials in the same bed as your vegetables, since they can outcompete annual vegetable crops and often don’t need the same moisture and soil fertility levels that vegetables do.”

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