Kitchen patio planters
A compact edible collection for containers, patios, and near-door harvesting.
Keep harvestable plants close to the kitchen and easy to water.
Layout notes
Keep basil and kale within arm's reach for regular harvest.
Use coral bells as a foliage contrast in mixed containers.
Plan consistent watering for edible containers in hot weather.
Layout sketch
A scaled bed view shows how the collection can sit together in space, with plant circles sized from catalog spacing and growth data.
8' x 8' bed, 3 placements
Ocimum basilicum
Genovese basil
A tender warm-season culinary herb native to tropical Africa and Asia; grown as an annual in most US climates for fragrant edible leaves and as a kitchen-garden staple. Sweet basil is the species behind Genovese, Thai, and most ornamental purple basils.
Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia
Lacinato kale
A productive cool-season edible Brassica (a wild-cabbage cultivar in the Acephala / non-heading group, alongside collards). Upright blue-green strap-shaped leaves with strong kitchen-garden value and ornamental texture; grown as a cool-season annual or short-lived biennial.
Heuchera spp.
Coral bells
A genus of compact native foliage perennials (largely Heuchera villosa hybrids in the modern colored-leaf trade) for shade edges, containers, and color contrast near paths. The 'Marmalade' cultivar shown here is heat- and humidity-tolerant and deer-resistant.