It’s always a pleasure to spend time with students from the Fosen Folk High School from the other side of the fjord. Despite the dreadful weather, we visited all 3 of my sites – the onion garden Chicago at the Ringve Botanical Gardens followed by the Væres Venners Community Garden and, finally, my own garden The Edible Garden (this is the first time I’ve taken a group to all 3 sites!). Those that took part were two of the “lines”: The Self-sufficiency line and the The Organic Farming line (small scale). The Organic Farming line were only on the first two visits, so the picture only shows the Self-sufficiency folk!
A year ago I was scheduled to give the Alston lecture at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Before the lecture, my host Cornelia Cho showed me round the botanical gardens. I’ve collected a series of pictures of the useful plants we saw (with captions). There’s a large Japanese garden which had many familiar Japanese edimentals and perennial vegetables and the main theme of teh glasshouses was ethnobotany! More can be read about the lecture here: https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=23467
Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined in the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Styrax japonicus “Fragrant Fountain”: Storax tree yields a fragrant resin which is used by the food industry
Lilium formosanum had edible bulbs
Lilium formosanum had edible bulbs
Dahlias and Cannas, both edible genera
Farfugium has been used for food in Japan
Pinus thunbergii “Mia Kujaku” (Japanese Black Pine)
Diospyros kaki “Pendula” (Japanese persimmon; Kaki)
Diospyros kaki “Pendula” (Japanese persimmon; Kaki)
Thymus quinquecostatus “Ibukiensis”
Pinus virginiana (Virginia Pine)
Adenophora takedae “Howozana” (Campanulaceae)
Farfugium japonicum “Argentea”
Polygonatum verticillatum is also a wild plant in my garden!
Hosta…another that is adaptable enough to be avble to grow in Georgia and Norway
Polygonatum odoratum var pluriflorum “Variegatum” (the shoots are eaten like asparagus in Japan); a species that also grows in my garden
Campanula takesimana, another Japanese edible
Hosta “Caesar Salad”
Disporopsis pernyi (according to “Food Plants of China” the rhizomes are cooked with chicken as a special food given to postpartum mothers in Guizhou!
Japanese knotweed
Konjac (Amorphophallus konjac)
Fatsia japonica (not edible)
Hosta “Get Nekkid”
Farfugium japonicum “Crispata”
Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined in the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Taro (Colocasia esculenta)
Saxifraga stolonifera (the leaves are used in tempura in Japan)
Hosta
Patrinia scabiosifolia is used as a vegetable in Japan
Ethnobotany (or the relationship of people and plants) was the theme of the tropical Rotunda houses with over 600 species from all over the world
?Anyone know what this is?
The wonderful bat plant whose flower mimics bats: Tacca integrifolia (Tacca leontopetaloides is the edible tubered Polynesian arrowroot)
The wonderful bat plant whose flower mimics bats: Tacca integrifolia (Tacca leontopetaloides is the edible tubered Polynesian arrowroot)
The sign says “Neem / Azadirachta indica “Shoots abd flowers of the Neem are edible. Oil from the tree is valuable as an environmentally friendly pesticide”
Rattan (Laccosperma opacum) an important plant for cane furniture etc.
Derris elliptica (poison vine): the roots are the source of rotenone and insecticidal derris powder
A prostrate coffee plant
Curry leaf tree (Murraya koenigii)
Triphasia trifolia (lime berry) is an edible citrus from SE Asia, widely used in cooking
Quinine (Cinchona pubescens), well known in the treatment of malaria
Curare (Chondrodendron tomentosum), medicinal adn dart poison in the Amazon
Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) the caffeine containing beverage widely consumed in South America
Amentotaxus cathayensis
The giant Hosta “Empress Wu”
Another Farfugium cultivar
Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined in the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined in the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Another glasshouse had assorted Vacciniums
Another glasshouse had assorted Vacciniums
Another glasshouse had assorted Vacciniums
Remarkable foliage on Begonia bipinnatifida (presumably the flowers are edible and leaf stalks of many Begonia species are uses as a vegetable
Begonia peltata
Begonia spp
Begonia spp
Vanilla orchid “The Bean that isn’t”
The library
Don’t think I’d seen Kunkel’s Plants for Human Consumption before
Amarants
Typha, Colocasia etc
Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)
Lotus
The lecture theatre where I talked later in the evening
I spent the afternoon weeding and deadheading (to stop seed spreading)!
There are at least 10 different Chicago onions (Allium cernuum) still in flower! Here’s a little video impression from today:
Deadheading!
Allium hookeri var muliense flowering for the first time in my possession!
A giant opium poppy seems to have found its way from my garden presumably! A shame to weed it out!
Yesterday was my most intensive weeding day of the year so far, first 2-3 hours finishing the weeding of KVANN’s bed at Væres Venner community garden followed by 7 hours at Ringve Botanical Garden weeding the Vermont Bed (see below). It was literally covered in an effective ground cover of birch seedlings, much worse for some reason than the New Hampshire Bed which I weeded a week ago: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=18255. This reminded me of the large flock of redpolls (gråsisik) at Ringve during the winter, a sign that it was a birch seed year 😊 and here’s a picture from my blog last winter at Ringve: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/P1080538.jpg
The Chicago garden resembles a map of Vermont and New Hampshire
Weeded mostly birch seedlings
Most of “Vermont” was a sea of young brirch seedlings
I left this plant that I initially thought was opium poppy to see what it is!
Finished!
I discovered one small problem…,the sea buckthorn tree (tindved) located about 4m from the southern tip of Vermont is suckering into the bed… I dug out several long suckers like this. It seemed to have the bootlace like mycelium of honey fungus?
An old picture from last autumn showing the sea buckthorn at top right!
In the previous blog a week ago linked above, I wrote: “The Allium garden at Ringve has grown well as have the so-called weeds (mostly very young birch trees!). I spent the afternoon weeding and documenting the right hand (easternmost bed)….now known as the New Hampshire bed (I’m told the two beds resemble a map of Vermont and New Hampshire) (As it looks like the garden will be known as Chicago-hagen due to the fact that the native american name Chicago means onion)!!
This is the link to the last album I made from 31st May: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156051646095860.1073743203.655215859&type=1&l=cbacd0612e”
This follows on from my early blog posts from my April visit to Northern Italy. Matthias Brück had invited me to Switzerland to take part in the Perennials for Resilience seminar in Stans and he asked me along on a trip through the Alps to the Piedmont area of NW Italy. Our host, Pius Leutenegger took us on a botanical trip to Lake Maggiore. Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto (the Villa Taranto Botanical Gardens) is the second garden we visited on 3rd April, located on the western shore of the lake. The gardens were established in 1931-1940 by Scotsman Neil Boyd McEacharn and opened to the public in 1952.
Blog post from the first garden visit is here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=17901
Magnolia salicifolia, also known as willow-leafed magnolia or anise magnolia, originates from Japan
Magnolia salicifolia, also known as willow-leafed magnolia or anise magnolia, originates from Japan.
Primula vulgaris
Staphylea holocarpa
Fallopia japonica
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) with Rhododendron
Alnus glabra var pendula
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
Musa basjoo (Japanese banana)
Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis)
Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica “Alba”)
Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica “Alba”)
Matthias with his beloved and tasty Magnolia buds
Cercis griffithii
Pachysandra terminalis
Magnolia
Prunus tomentosa, Nanking cherry
Lithocarpus edulis (Japanese Stone Oak)
Magnolia
On the right is Matthias Brück, centre is our host Pius Leutenegger
On day two of our visit to Piedmont in NW Italy, Pius Leutenegger took us on a botanical trip over the hills to Lake Maggiore and the first stop was the colonial town of Stresa and the ferry to subtropical Giardini Botanici dell’Isola Madre. This old botanical gardenis located on the Isola Madre in the Borromean Islands!
I always dreamed of working in a botanical garden and somehow my wish has come true only 7 months after retiring from job as an ocean wave climatologist!
Even better, I can come and go as I wish (more or less)…I now have an office where I will be able to document and tend (in summer) my onion garden, as visiting researcher :)
WOW!
…and the staff are lovely people too :)
090118: Wren foraging and joined by a second bird120118: It’s quite a few years I’ve seen two-barred crossbill (båndkorsnebb), but then I’ve never deliberately sought them out at Ringve Botanical Garden in Trondheim which, because of its collection of conifers, is one of the best places to see this species, the less common of the 3 crossbills here…only one female with a single common or parrot crossbill…
090118: Wrens (gjerdesmett):
120118: What are these redpolls (gråsisik) feeding on?:
120118: Magpie (skjære):
120118: Dark red squirrel (ekorn):
090118: Fieldfare:
090118: Blackbird under Ribes alpinum
Ringve Botanical Garden’s Administration building and glasshouse
The old Ringve Farm today houses the Ringve Music Museum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringve_Museum)
My office window is south facing, far right in the picture
Reporting for work
The office!
The welcoming committee arriving :)
A stroll around the garden to check my Allium garden!
Many of the plant labels had been moved. This is the culprit :)
Alliums
Ringvedammen with Typha angustifolia in the foreground
Typha angustifolia
Juglans mandschurica
Walnuts on the ground!
Waxwings like it at Ringve
Distant mountains and tree full of waxwings!
111217:Beech (bøk) Allee leading up to Ringve, in the background
111217:Beech (bøk) Allee leading up to Ringve, in the background
111217:Masses of beech mast under the trees probably the reason there are so many bramblings (bjørkefink) around this autumn
111217: Rognli, neighbouring property to the botanical garden in the swiss style (http://www.strindahistorielag.no/wiki/index.php?title=Rognli)
111217:Ladesletta playing fields from Ringve
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111217: Winter protection in the garden
111217: Sorbus cashmiriana
111217: Sorbus cashmiriana
111217: Crataegus macracantha
111217: Crataegus macracantha
111217: The pilgrim’s path to Nidaros cathedral passes through the garden
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111217: Redpolls (gråsisik) on birch
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111217: Rosa spp.
111217: Beech hedge around the Renaissance garden
111217: Kale in the Renaissance garden
111217: Topset (Egyptian) onions in the Renaissance garden
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061217: Malus toringoides
061217: …and I’ve never seen fieldfares (gråtrost) eating juniper berries before (Juniperus officinalis)
061217: An old horseradish lies frozen here!
061217: Woodpigeons (ringdue) have taken a fancy to species apple Malus toringoides from China
061217: Gamlehagen
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061217: Gamlehagen, a collection of old ornamental plants from Trøndelag (our county)
061217: A neighbour…
061217: Sciadopitys verticillata, koyamaki or Japanese umbrella-pine (Skjermgran). Like asparagus and butcher’s broom (Ruscus), what look like leaves are actually cladodes or modified stems
061217: Typha (cattails / dunkjevle)
061217: Salix spp.
061217: Typha (cattails / dunkjevle)
061217: Typha (cattails / dunkjevle)
061217: Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock / Canadahemlokk From pfaf.org: Inner bark – raw or cooked; Usually harvested in the spring; it can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread. The leaves and twigs yield ‘spruce oil’, used commercially to flavour chewing gum, soft drinks, ice cream etc. A herbal tea is made from the young shoot tips. These tips are also an ingredient of ‘spruce beer’
061217: Tsuga canadensis
061217:The Allium garden today :)
Colleague Steinar’s Xmas table decoration from the garden and greenhouse!
At the department Xmas get-together leader of the garden Vibekke gave a nice presentation of the year
Grand old ornithologist Otto Frengen is collaborating with the garden making it a good place to be for birds
…and there’s a bird feeding station in the woods next to my Allium garden
That fellow looks familiar :)
Reorganising of the systematic garden due to new knowledge based on genetics…
Walnut harvest!
For Norwegians, you might like to listen in to radio program Naturens verden who are talking about Xmas plants last and next Sunday…
191217: Today’s office views, first around 13:40
191217: …and 14:45
191217: 14:45
201217: Proof that the sun is visible from my new office even at the solstice…
201217: Proof that the sun is visible from my new office even at the solstice…
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030118: The first rays of the sun on the Renaissance Garden!
030118: The onion garden…
030118: Distant mountains in the Fosen Alps
030118: Distant mountains in the Fosen Alps
030118: The onion garden
030118: Betula pendula, silver birch (hengebjørk)
030118: Ringvedammen (Ringve Pond)
030118: Woodpigeons (ringdue)
030118: Typha angustifolia
030118: Typha angustifolia
030118: The island Tautra
030118: Rose hips, important winter food for greenfinches!
090118
090118: Pinus jeffreyi
090118: Lots of twigs on the ground after the weekend storm under this larch
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090118: Work ongoing after the fire
090118: Picea omorika
090118: Tree tops in sunlight; Picea omorika
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090118: Plenty of food left for some birds
090118: Sunlight on an abundance of rosehips next to the Renaissance garden
The next garden I visited in Victoria BC on 1st April 2017! The Abkhazi Gardens were created by Prince Nicholas Abkhazi from Georgia and his wife from 1947, taken over by the Land Conservancy to protect the garden against property development.
With Kelly Kerr
I think the garden was on the hill?
Pachyphragma macrophylla is a beautiful woodland edimental in the cabbage family which is one of the earliest flowering woodlanders. I had it for a number of years, but for some reason didn’t make notes of tasting it…I lost it unfortunately…replanted it last year and lost it again..
Pachyphragma macrophylla is from West Asia, N.E. Turkey to the W. Caucasus. It’s naturalized in Britain. Have a taste and let me know!
Trachystemon orientalis in flower
Polygonatum odoratum
Primula and Podophyllum
Petasites palmatus: the leaves and young stems were a vegetable for native american tribes
The owner of the Airbnb I was staying at in Victoria, BC kindly took me on a tour of gardens on 2nd April 2017! This was the first garden, a lot which was donated to the city and maintained for native plants by volunteers!
Thanks once again Kelly Kerr!
The year’s first flowering Trillium!
Erythronium oregonum (white fawn lily)
Mahonia aquifolium, tall Oregon grape
Mahonia nervosa, dull Oregon grape
Maianthemum
Sword fern? (Polystichum munitum)
Viola spp.
Indian plum or osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis)…the plums were/are eaten fully ripe by native peoples of the west coast!
So much has happened this year that I haven’t had time to blog about several places I’ve visited this year….with a bit more time now I’m returning to my great trip to Canada in March and Victoria, BC. Solara Goldwynn, a local Permaculture Landscape Designer (Hatchet & Seed) had arranged a program for me including a walk and talk gig at the Garden of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, just 12 km from downtown Victoria! It’s a relatively young garden but full of interesting plants (far more interesting than the nearby world famous Butchart Gardens which doesn’t even merit a blog post!). It’s non-profit community focused garden with sustainable management practices. Here’s an album of pictures from the garden tour and talk – the participants preferred to stay inside and hear the whole lecture rather than going outside, so this album documents what we would have seen :)
Thanks to Solara Goldwynn for arranging this and great also to finally meet my friend Lara from Salt Spring Island!
Before my talk Solara and I walked around the garden, making a plan for a tour of these largely ornamental gardens looking for edimentals!! A good start was this sign announcing the Hosta garden, although it was a bit early to see any spring sprouts (Hostas appear in late spring) ;)
Allium acuminatum is one of the west coast wild onions, widely used by Native American peoples as food, including the Coastal Salish and Thompson
Caltha, cowslip or marsh marigold is also widely used for food and medicine by native peoples
Cornus officinalis, Sanshuyu: the fruits are used fresh and in an alcoholic drink
Cornus avellana “Contorta”, contorted Hazel. I hadn’t seen the name “Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick” before. From Wikipedia, it has Scottish roots!: “Sir Henry McLennan Lauder (4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950) was a notable Scottish entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as ‘Scotland’s greatest ever ambassador!'” The Corkscrew Hazel was dubbed “Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick” because the comedian used a crooked branch cane during his performances.”
Harry Lauder and twisted walking stick
Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick
Sedum spectabile is a good spring salad plant!
Trachystemon orientalis took my thoughts to my friends in Bulgaria, Maria Tariyska and ИВАН КАМБУРОВ, plants bind us all together; see how this plant is eaten here – http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=1269
Nice touch at the entrance, including Trachystemon!
Lilium martagon has edible flowers and bulbs, a great plant for a forest garden
Trilliums and Polygonatums, more edible forest garden inhabitants
Erythroniums
…and more, Erythroniums
One of the edible berries of the west coast, kinnikinnick (melbær) is also widespread in Norway.
The native plant garden!
…with edible camas (Camassia) and garry oak
Edible camas and Dodecatheon
Ribes sanguineum “White Icicle”
Arabis
Allium tuberosum
Allium schoenoprasum
Bronze fennel
Lovage
Native Allium cernuum
Sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata
Guess what I chose? Dandelion Latte or Organic Bone Broth? ;)
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
