Patio containers do not have to choose between looking good and putting food on the table. Instead of filling every empty pot with another ornamental annual, gardeners can tuck edible plants into those sunny spaces and get flowers, foliage, fruit, or fresh herbs in return. The trick involves choosing plants that enjoy container life and still look attractive enough to earn prime real estate beside the patio chair.
That opens up some surprisingly fun possibilities. A pot of basil can look lush and fragrant, a pepper plant can produce colorful fruit that doubles as decoration, and a trailing nasturtium can spill over the edge like it owns the place. With the right choices, those formerly empty containers can become a miniature edible garden that looks intentional rather than like a vegetable patch that wandered onto the patio.
