Best Edible Plants: Horticulturally correct outdoor offerings

Bay Flora

Urban gardeners both new- and old-school would do well this spring to check out Bay Flora, an edible plant supplier that specializes in organic, pesticide-free products that are both "ornamental and nutritionally powerful," to quote founder Maureen Burke. She stocks olive, fig, and citrus trees — Kaffir lime, blood orange, satsuma, and Meyer lemon — mushroom and seed kits, and edible wreaths. She also offers plants like jujube (pale green leaves, drought resistant), elderberry (good for wine, pies, and jam), goji berry (small lavender/rose flowers in early summer, followed by bright red berries in the fall), and Chilean guava (shiny, fragrant, bronze and burgundy foliage), plus a small but elegant selection of tableware and botanical art. Everything comes with planting instructions to make both you and the tree happy. And get this: With every order, Burke donates a percentage to the charity of your choice, making Bay Flora a good focus for corporate or school fund-raisers. So you not only get a beautiful, food-producing plant, you get to make a difference. Who knew social action could get so ripe?