On my way back from the Future Heirloom event in Copenhagen, I had a few hours between trains to visit one of my favourite Botanical gardens in Gothenburg, Sweden, Göteborgs botaniska trädgård. Apart from a very short visit on my way to Austria and the UK by train in January 2020, the last time I had visited was on 30th August 2017 when I did an edibles walk and talk with my friend Bosse Blomquist (see https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=13658). Afterwards, I did two talks (as the first was sold out) and even got to stay the night in the flat in the gardens! Thanks again to Johan Nilson for showing me around behind the scenes and telling me about the big changes happening at the gardens with new glasshouses being built where the old ones had been! Below are pictures of edible plants I spotted in the gardens during my latest visit:
I also walked around the outside gardens during my visit to the Gothenburg Botanical Gardens on Saturday 25th January 2020. In the mild weather, there were many people out walking and running in the garden. Here’s an album of pictures of edibles and other interesting plants and a video of the large Actinidia arguta in the Asiatic woodland garden.
On my way north from Vienna to Oslo, I found myself unexpectedly with a 4 hour wait in Gothenburg in Sweden, and there was no hesitation to visit one of the great botanical gardens. I had no idea what there would be to see in January but with the mild winter I was surprised how much there was to see. Here are a collection of wierd and wonderful edibles in the unique bulb house!
The bulb house is unique with open sides
Lomatium canbyi (Canby’s biscuitroot) was used by native americans in the Pacific NW and North California!
Lomatium canbyi (Canby’s biscuitroot) was used by native americans in the Pacific NW and North California)!
Claytonia rosea (Madrean or Rocky Mountain springbeauty) grows in dry pine and oak woodland in USA
Viola trinervata (from NW USA)
Young shoots of Cymopterus planosus (Rocky Mountain springparsley); Cymopterus is a genus of native american food plants. I grow C. sessiliflorus, failed with planosus
Scorzonera spp.
Lomatium nudicaule (pestle parsnip) is also used by native americans and is one of the easiest to grow.
Lomatium ciliolatum (Yolla Bolly biscuitroot) is endemic to California
Tropaeolum polyphyllum (soldadito grande de la cordillera; meaning great soldier of the mountains)
Tropaeolum polyphyllum
Megacarpaea gigantea in the Brassicaceae is in a genus with at least two important edible plants. This one is from Central Asia.
Crocus kotschyanus is one of several species where the corms are used for food (in Turkey)
I visited Bo “Bosse” Blomquist last year outside of Gothenburg and despite it being a bit late in the day and almost dark at the end, I was really impressed by his collection of edible trees, shrubs and bushes! He works in Gothenburg and is a regular visitor to the gardens! We agreed to meet before my talk and a group of friends also joined us!! It was great to walk in the garden with Bosse as he knew all the interesting edible woody plants! Thanks!! Here are a selection of pictures!
A walnut I’ve never seen before, Juglans microcarpa (Little walnut/Texas walnut)…this tree was surpisingly old, almost 90 if I remember right!
Juglans microcarpa (Little walnut/Texas walnut
Another surprise, Sorbus devonensis, which I first saw in Martin Crawford’s forest garden about 11 years ago :)
Another surprise, Dystaenia takesimana, a plant in the carrot family that I haven’t succeeded with…sometimes called Korean celery due to the taste of the leaves
…and then Aralia cordata var. sachalinensis, Sakhalin-udo!!
Aralia cordata var. sachalinensis, Sakhalin-udo!
Rubus peltatus from Japan (is in my Japanese foraging book)
Another thing I’d missed earlier in the day (looking down too much) was the hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta I think) which has climbed right to the top of this conifer…
Bosse pointed out this bamboo with relatively thick shoots: Phyllostachys atrovaginata…
Large clump of Hosta (Sum and substance?)
Another patch of yellow flowered Allium hookeri var muliense; Yellow Hooker’s Onion
I hadn’t noticed this large Toona sinensis either….extensively cultivated in China for the young shoots, often served as a onion-like flavouring with omelettes!
Bosse shows us Zanthoxylum bungeanum (Northern China Pepper), one of several species for which the spicy seeds and leaves are used
Zanthoxylum bungeanum (Northern China Pepper)
Matteuccia orientalis is as far as I know not used like Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris
Sinofranchetia chinensis, an unusual fruit from China
Giant lily, Cardiocrinum…the bulbs have been foraged in Japan!
Japanese ginger, Zingiber mioga
Cephalotaxus harringtonia, yew plum
Hardy kiwi..
Torreya nucifera from Japan is a popular edible seed!
It was a great honour to finally get to talk at the Gothenburg Botanical Gardens last night….not just once but twice as the first talk (picture) was sold out…and as I told them Gothenburg is my favourite edible garden anywhere there was a big cheer (second talk). The garden has around 30,000 accessions and with an estimated 1/3 of all plants edible, that makes for a huge diversity of food plants all in one place…. I just hope the garden doesn’t have problems with “grazing” after my visit ;)
Thanks to Johan Nilson, Mats Havstrøm and the staff for making me feel welcome, to Johan for the tour around the greenhouse collections of Alliums and much more and the garden “forage”. Finally, it was great to meet Bosse Blomquist and friends who guided us around the more unusual collections of edible nut and fruit trees, many of which I hadn’t seen before!
Tomorrow evening, I’ll be giving two talks in the botanical garden in Gøteborg (Gothenburg) in Sweden, the first at 1700 is sold out, but there are I think still tickets for the second at 1900!
I’ll be selling signed copies of my book Around the World in 80 plants at SEK 250 (remember cash/paypal also accepted)!
The talk will be a little different this time as I will be showing many pictures of edimentals (edible ornamentals) taken in the botanical gardens, but keeping to my Around the World in 80 plants / perennial and forest gardening vegetable theme :) Welcome!
Please share!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden