Start out with a small edible garden
Before you cut down the juniper bushes and rip out the oleanders, remember: First work around them. Start small with a discreet corner of lawn. If it doesn't look quite like kitchen gardens do in the magazines, you will not be the sudden blight on the landscape.
-- Herbs: Rosalind Creasy, author of many books on edible gardening, recommends beginners start with Mediterranean herbs -- rosemary, oregano, fennel; sweet marjoram, chives and savory; winter savory in a dedicated patch.
"They're almost bulletproof; as long as you water them," she says. "Cut them back once a year to keep them harvesting."
-- Cucumber, squash and melons: These require a well-prepared bed with good drainage and a prodigious appetite. They are a bit rangy, and benefit from trellising (or they will romp down a hillside). Their flowering produces so many fruits that Creasy recommends "birth control" by pinching off zucchini blossoms and tossing them into omelets.
Tomatoes: It is the fashion to romanticize "heirloom" varieties, and they can produce very delicious fruit. But one reason modern hybrids usurped them was disease resistance. There are varieties of tomatoes suited to planters or window boxes, where the vines can spill over the sides.
Do not plant them near woody shrubs and trees. Their water requirements are different, and they may introduce disease, such as wilt. Put them in a bed with other annuals, such as nasturtiums, zinnias, marigolds, fennel, kale, peppers and lettuce. Or try mixing them with artichokes.
Do not worry about nonedible flowers, such as poppies, as fill. These attract pollinators and beneficial insects that control whiteflies.
Arranging the plants: Put the tall ones (say artichoke, ranging chard or peppers) at the back, then lower lettuces and tumbling nasturtium in the front.
Recommended reading: "The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping," by Rosalind Creasy (Sierra Club, $25), is widely considered the best place to start.