I plant garlic/onions around flowers... Something like a dwarf/bush tomato may blend in. Eggplant would work. Peppers would work. Strawberries work anywhere. You could rip out those shrubs and put in real ones, like blueberries :)

People have done it for centuries.

Dan

Kales and lettuces can make very pretty borders. Ditto on chives - I have a clump in the front near my fence that is just starting to flower. Thyme makes a pretty and fragrant ground cover. The options are only limited by your imagination!

Thanks for your replies, I will surely start planning. I was wondering if anyone could provide suggestions/comments to my other below question about the black plastic/mulch on the landscaping and how to prep it for vegetable planting:

I was first going to remove the woodchips/mulch and the black plastic underneath, cultivate/dig the soil and then plant my vegetable plants and place back the plastic and mulch.

However someone mentioned that instead of removing everything, I can just cut holes in the plastic, remove 2feet deep soil from each hole, mix the soil with fertilized garden soil/compost and then place the vegetable plants in the opening. Would that work for vegetable plants? or just flowers? Wouldn't vegetable plants need more loose soil in the surrounding areas? If this would work, it would save me a lot of time.

I am a little confused as to how to go about this, whether to dig up the whole area or just small areas enough to place my vegetable plants. Any suggestions or comments would be helpful. Today I am going to buy a tiller and then decide how to go about this.

Get out as much of the black plastic as you can and keep it out. It's a dreadful mistake; it will degrade and make an awful mess, and it doesn't keep out weed seeds which are blown into the mulch (the way most weeds come into plantings.) Also, the landscaping is much, much too close to the house. Curved areas at corners should be large open curves, not the sharp ones you have. Although a lot of work has been put into your plantings, it was not done properly and in a few years you'll have real problems.

If this were my new house, I'd spend the late fall redoing the entire landscaping--making the beds much wider, ripping out the plastic, moving the shrubs out at least 4 feet from the house, and remulching. A lot of work, but not nearly as much work (and plant loss) you'll have if you wait even a couple of years.

I would just cut a round hole in the plastic about 24" wide, then plant your veggies. Your smaller shrubs should be a mininum of 36" for foundation plantings. 42" is standard. If they are closer than that then I would move them out, adjust the edging and replace the mulch with landscape gravel. I'm all about maintenace free.

If 'maintenace free' exists, I've never met it!
You'll likely get more and more confused, since there'll be completely conflicting answers to your questions.
I agree with laceyvail: I think the only place for black plastic is in a commercial horticultural situation. Anywhere else, it's a curse to rival weedmat, which some people swear by. And so on and so forth!

You should check out the book Edible landscaping by Rosalind Creasy.
I think tilling too closely to your landscaping could be a mistake--plus no telling what kind of utilities you have close to the house. I like the digging holes idea, but I also would remove the black plastic mulch--it is just nasty stuff.

I agree with laceyville. Those shrubs are too close to the house and can cause insect, moisture and access problems later. You are better off biting the bullet and moving them.

Before you dig, be sure to have them come out and mark all your utilities.

wow, I had forgot to check my post, since its been raining here for past few days and thinking of the garden was not on my mind. Thanks a lot for everyone's replies. I will go with the digging holes approach. I didnt even think of the utilities around the house, will make sure to check I am not digging in the wrong place.
Also about reshifting the landscaping, I will think of what to do, as not sure how long we will be in the house (maybe one more year and thats it). But anyway, I will check out the plastic situation, since its not everywhere, just around some plants, so will be easier to remove.

thanks a lot. As soon as the weather gets better, will check out the situation.

yes, many people save the lawn & plant in the flower beds.
I have a raised bed 5 X 40 Double Dug, that is full of spider lilies bulbs & iris, with a few Jerusalem artichoke.
Jerusalem Artichoke or sun chokes, are a wild tuber like white(Irish) potatoes, but smaller. It is in the sunflower family & shows out every year.
So you can plant anything you want ,it is YOUR house.
Congratulations on the home & Good Luck.

Veggies are almost all annuals, it's not like you're making permanent decisions. You can grow whatever you want in your yard. Healthy, well-cared for plants of any kind are attractive, I think, or at least interesting. If you don't like it, don't repeat it next year. If you move, it won't be an issue for new owners.

Another vote to remove the plastic (and replace the mulch.)

A friend's uncle used to plant brussel sprouts along the sidewalk going to his front door. When people asked him what they were he told them "Brazillian Reds."

Hell, yea. plant whatever you like.

I grow onions all round. mint, basil, parsley and sorrel, pots, sum sq, rhubarb, the deer wont eat most of that stuff.

I don't have any plantings in my landscaping, but I put them in big planter boxes next to my front door all the time. I especially like peppers and herbs, basils can be beautiful. I supposed other people know more about it than I do, but I don't see anything wrong with your shrubs, just keep them trimmed well. We have burning bush and forsythia at the side of our house, that get HUGE if we don't take care of them. The black plastic landscape fabric is a pain, but at times a necessary evil. I had taken all mine out, them made the mistake of putting in a flower that spread by seed...like wildfire! After two years of fighting the volunteers, I pulled them and put new fabric back down. It was all I could do to stop them.

If you don't dig up your plantings and move them further from the house, you need to be careful not to disturb the roots of your permanent plantings. If memory serves, they used to say the roots of the shrubs extended at least as far as the drip line of the plants. Maybe 2x as far as that? You could probably get away with planting something you won't disturb again, but the planting and uprooting of annuals could disturb or destroy your permanent plants if done too close to them.

Otherwise, sure you can plant vegetables in the beds!

thanks a lot for all the replies. I will digging holes in the wide curved area this weekend. I will make sure about the roots of the landscaping being too close.
I dont think utilities should be a problem because the landscaping is already planted in that area and all utilities seem to be on one side of the house.

Just wanted to post a follow up. Its not much, but I did the best I could.

This my small tomato patch:

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These are my pepper plants

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These are the other set of pepper plants

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I like what you did very much! I think it actually looks better than before! That's going to be alot of tomatoes!

Next year, you might want to add some squash somewhere. I think the huge leaves of squash have just as much landscape beauty as hostas or ornamental rhubarbs.

If your weather allows, you could replace some of these plants with Red Russian kales, onions, Red and green lettuces, carrots, etc. in the fall or early next spring. You'll be amazed at how beautiful they are.

(I agree that the shrubs are entirely too close to the house, but if you're only there temporarily, they're fine. Have fun. If you decide you may stay more than five years, it would be well worth the effort to extend your beds and move them. Take it one section at a time, maybe a section in the spring, and another in the fall. If you don't wait too long, you shouldn't have to buy any new shrubs...and you can include space for more veg-amentals if you want. )

I love what you did, nice job. I agree, sometime soon, everything is going to have to be moved farther from the house by quite a bit.
I love the Japanese Maple by the way!

The kale should do well, if you plant it in the late Fall.