Bush type edible?

We have an area on the side of our garage that we would like to plant a bush with edible fruit. It's a western exposure in a moist (not wet) area. It's also along the front of our house so we'd like something that will look nice. Years ago there was a persimmon tree there, but we lost it a few years ago. We currently have a banana there, but we want to relocate it and put in something lower growing. Any suggestions? Margaret

Kiwi?

Elderberries are very pretty in bloom and their fruits are edible, but the plant itself is perhaps too sprawling for your purpose. They grow to 10 foot x 10', can be kept smaller by pruning. I have 7 or 8 different varieties, the birds love them. But then again maybe you live in too warm an area for them.

There are also several varieties of currents, the old Clove yellow flowered current is very nicely scented when in bloom and has lots of edible small fruits.

Just a couple of ideas, may have confused you, Donna

Balvenie: That's a good suggestion, in fact we've thought about kiwi, but from everything we've read our area doesn't get cold enough to bear fruit. I've read that it's attractive with fragrant flowers so maybe we'd try one in a colder portion of our yard and see what happens.

Donna: Thanks for the suggestions, you didn't confuse me. I can't find anything for currents in my FL books, so I'm assuming they don't grow well here. Elderberries are mentioned and sound interesting, so I'll do more research on them. Margaret

I grew the kiwi variety Hayward in so. California in a 9a zone...there are commercial kiwi growers there now. The humidity rates are probably higher in your area - don't know whether that would be a drawback. The hardy kiwis that take freezing temps are a bit different - also the fruits are smaller - about the size of grapes. Kiwis are vines that need strong trellises. Also it is a good idea to protect the roots in wire cages if you have voles or other burrowing critters.

There is a form of honeysuckle (Lonicera) called honeyberry that has a fruit said to be somewhat like blueberries in taste. They are not self-fertile so you would need two.

Two nurseries that feature a variety of lesser known fruits are Edible Landscaping and One Green World.

Thanks Yuska. I'll call our extension service and see if there are any appropriate varieties of kiwi for this area. We do have nematodes, I don't know if they would go after the kiwi. I'm not familiar with honeyberry, but I'll check into that as well. Margaret