Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Enclosed "outdoorsy" spaces

[Shava Nerad (shava]

One of the dreams I have for this is doing some edible landscaping in the
process of designing walkways -- this is a common mediterranean answer to
hot sunny summers, tho it doesn't do much for us in the Pacific Northwest
during our bleak and drippy winters -- probably you could modify for rain-
shelter too...?

Anyway, the idea is that you put together a lattice of arbor supports over
walkways between buildings and run vines on them.  These could be 
perennials like climbing roses, grapes, hops, kiwis -- or annuals (at
least in zone 6!) like Scarlet Emperor running beans (a very tasty, high
protien green bean, with showy scarlet flowers), bitter melon, and other
twining melons and such.

In the summer, the leaves not only provide shade, but evaporation from the
leaf surfaces can produce a 15-20 degree (F) cooler temperature under the
canopy.

Robert Kourik and Rosalinde Creasy (hope I'm spelling those right!) both 
have great books on edible landscaping, tho I found (when I was living on
the east coast) that they were a bit skewed toward west coast climates.

Shava Nerad
shava [at] efn.org