The Secret Garden: More Stealthy Edibles for Your Lockdown Landscaping

stealth gardening

We’ve already covered some solid options for your covert garden, but why stop there? Let’s broaden the horizon and sneak even more edibles into your landscape. With a little creative gardening, you’ll have a thriving, camouflaged food source right under the nose of anyone who comes by. Here are some extra stealthy plants that will make your garden an undercover operation of beauty and calories.

1. Amaranth—The Undercover Superfood

If there were a secret agent of the edible world, it would be Amaranth. Its striking, colorful flowers can easily double as ornamental plants in your garden, but don’t be fooled by its beauty—Amaranth is a superfood in disguise. The plants can grow tall with vibrant red, yellow, or purple flowers that almost look like part of a wildflower mix. Bonus: The leaves are edible too, and the seeds can be harvested for a nutritious grain alternative. You’ll have the height and beauty of ornamental grasses while secretly adding protein to your food arsenal. Double agent status activated.

2. Sweet Potatoes—The Ground-Level Agent

If you’re looking for a low-maintenance, undercover edible, sweet potatoes are your friend. Their vines spread across the ground like a loyal secret agent—quiet, subtle, and always effective. The leaves of sweet potatoes can even be used in salads, and when it’s time to harvest, you’ll have hearty, calorie-dense tubers waiting for you. With their trailing vines and broad leaves, sweet potatoes are a perfect addition to a flower bed or vegetable patch disguised as ornamental ground cover.

3. Chives—The Tiny but Mighty Saboteur

Chives may be small, but they’re like the stealth agents of the edible world. These grassy, green beauties could easily be mistaken for ornamental grasses in your garden. They also offer a mild onion flavor, perfect for adding a little zest to your meals. Grow them in the borders of your garden, tucked in with other low-growing plants, and nobody will suspect that they’ve just walked past a culinary weapon.

4. Fennel—The Scented Spy

Fennel’s feathery, delicate fronds have a fine, almost fern-like texture that’s beautiful in any garden. While your neighbors admire the soft greenery, you’ll be enjoying the faintly licorice-scented goodness it offers—both the fronds and the bulb are edible. Fennel is often used in Mediterranean dishes and can even stand up to a harsh winter. It’s the perfect stealth plant: gorgeous, aromatic, and ready to make your meals a little fancier, all while blending in perfectly with other ornamental plants.

5. Pumpkins—The Ornamental Heavyweight

Wait a minute… pumpkins? Yes! Pumpkins are great for stealth landscaping because their vines can be trained to sprawl across the ground, hiding behind your flower beds or climbing trellises in a decorative manner. Plus, the pumpkin flowers are large and showy, making it a fabulous ornamental choice, while the pumpkin itself is full of calories and can store for months. Don’t forget to grow a few in plain sight—they make excellent camouflage for your food supply.

6. Berries—The Berry Beautiful Camouflage

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as picking ripe fruit right from the garden, and many berries make for excellent “camouflage” plants. Raspberries, blackberries, and even strawberries can all be tucked away in ornamental garden beds. Raspberry canes, for example, make a lovely backdrop in a garden—green leaves, delicate white flowers, and edible fruit. You’ll have something that’s both ornamental and sweet-to-the-tastebuds, all without your neighbors suspecting that you’re harvesting more than just flowers.

7. Sorrel—The Sharp Green Agent

If you’re looking for something that doubles as a perennial garden feature, look no further than sorrel. Its vibrant, tangy leaves can be added to salads, and the plant grows with a wild, herbal appeal that could easily be mistaken for a lush ornamental perennial. Sorrel thrives in the cooler months, making it a sneaky, year-round addition to your lockdown landscaping strategy. The sour leaves will add a zesty kick to your meals, and the plant itself provides a lovely green accent to your garden design.

8. Cucamelons—The Tiny Secret Agent

Ever heard of cucamelons? These mini watermelon-shaped fruits look like something you’d see in a trendy plant shop—but don’t be fooled by their cuteness. These little cucumbers, also known as Mexican sour gherkins, can be trained to climb on trellises, making them ideal for a stealth food garden. Their small, watermelon-like appearance gives them a unique ornamental quality while being small, crunchy, and perfect for snacking or pickling.

9. Purple Mustard—The Wild, Spicy Lookalike

Purple mustard has a colorful, ornamental appeal that’s great for any garden bed. Its deep purple leaves bring vibrant color, almost like an ornamental flower. But don’t let the pretty appearance fool you—purple mustard packs a spicy, flavorful punch. It’s excellent for salads, stir-fries, or even as a spicy garnish. It thrives in the cool season, which makes it a perfect addition to your cold-weather stealth crop lineup.

10. Garlic—The Undercover Flavor Bomb

Garlic is a workhorse of the prepper’s pantry, and it’s also stealthily simple to grow. You can plant garlic cloves in any garden bed and let them grow into thick green shoots. They’re practically indistinguishable from decorative grasses or even ornamental bulbs. Plus, when you dig them up, you’ll get bulbs that can be stored for months. If you’ve never thought of garlic as an ornamental plant, you’re missing out on an easy win for your lockdown landscape.

If we had a bit more space, we’d also want to throw in a few other attractive growables that deserve a mention, even if they didn’t make the cut. Imagine growing beautiful, variegated celosia, with its feathery, flame-like flowers that come in vibrant reds and oranges—absolutely stunning and totally edible. Or lemon balm, with its fragrant, soft green leaves that can easily be mistaken for a decorative herb, yet offers calming teas and makes a lovely addition to both savory dishes and desserts. You could even sneak in some chamomile, which, with its dainty white flowers and calming properties, is often used as an ornamental in herb gardens—plus, you get the added bonus of tea! And let’s not forget about chard, with its bright, colorful stems—because if you’ve already got a garden full of stunning veggies, why not add in something as vibrant as a rainbow? We’re leaving out a ton of delicious options, but these are the ones we’d love to see in your stealthy garden lineup if you’ve got the space (and the sneaky gardening spirit)!

The Bottom Line: Your Garden, Your Secret

When it comes to lockdown landscaping, your garden should feel like a thriving oasis of beauty and nutrition. There’s something deeply satisfying about knowing that the plants you’re growing—whether Amaranth, sweet potatoes, or even garlic—are both enhancing your landscape and filling your food stores. These edible beauties will allow you to hide in plain sight, all while maintaining a perfectly manicured garden.

So, grab your gardening gloves, a can of Diet Dr. Pepper, and start planting! You’ve got this. Whether you’re growing Amaranth with its vibrant flowers or sneaky sweet potatoes trailing through your flower beds, you’re one step closer to creating a garden that will keep you fed, happy, and beautifully camouflaged.

It’s like the perfect gardening heist: everyone else gets the aesthetic. You get the calories.