My latest book has been published on Monday (with 199 co-authors 😉 ). This is the 300 page Arctic Encyclopaedia and the good news is that it can be downloaded for free at ARCTIC ENCYCLOPAEDIA. The book explores a wide array of themes—from adventure, aquaculture, food production as well as mining, myths and mental health—with entries spanning the letters A to Ø. Each contributor was assigned a word to define in under 350 words through a short text, poem, photograph, or drawing. My word was GARDEN! You can read my contribution in the picture.
On my visit to the botanical gardens in Oslo (at Tøyen) last week, a treecreeper (trekryper) landed right next to me on a tree trunk and I made this little video. I didn’t know they were such a beautiful green colour??
My new life is as a “visiting onion researcher” at the Ringve Botanical Gardens in Trondheim where I’m developing an Allium garden to be officially opened later in the summer! One of the perks is to have access to collections in other botanical gardens on an exchange basis. I visited the Oslo Botanical Gardens last week (June 2019) and I was given a spade and given permission to take a few of whatever onions I wanted! Not having accession data available I took a few of most onions I found. On the way out of the gardens with bags of onions and rucksack with various Allium victorialis sticking out of the top, a couple approached me and the man says “Det var en god fangst!” (That’s a good catch!) ;)
I now have the accession data and am sorting out which ones are interesting enough to keep!
I’ve also promised to correct some of the mistakes as several were clearly wrongly labelled!
12th June: Added pictures of a few more edibles!
On the way out of the gardens with bags of onions and rucksack with various Allium victorialis sticking out of the top, a couple approached me and the man says “Det var en god fangst!” (That’s a good catch!!) ;)
On the way out of the gardens with bags of onions and rucksack with various Allium victorialis sticking out of the top, a couple approached me and the man says “Det var en god fangst!” (That’s a good catch!!) ;)
One of the roof onions (Allium fistulosum) found on old turf roofs in the Gudbrandsdalen valley, originally collected by Vibekke Vange, now leader of the Ringve Botanical Gardens!
New large beds displaying some Norwegian onions: Allium fistulosum (Welsh onion / pipeløk)
New large beds displaying some Norwegian onions: Allium ursinum ( ramsons / ramsløk)
New large beds displaying some Norwegian onions: Allium victorialis ( victory onion / seiersløk)
Wild onions found around Oslo on the “Oslorygg” garden – Allium vineale and Allium ursinum (both from the island Malmøya in the Oslo Fjord)
Allium vineale
One of several accessions of Allium victorialis
This one only had an accession number, but looks like Allium carolinianum (from the Himalayas)
Not Allium macranthum…this also looks like Allium victorialis (from Bhutan)
Not Allium macranthum…this also looks like Allium victorialis (from Bhutan)
One of two accessions labelled Allium ochotense (synonymous with Allium victorialis subsp. platyphyllum)
Allium nutans (originally from Hortus Botanicus Austro-Sibiricus in Barnaul, which is in the Altai Krai, Russia)
Allium nutans (originally from Hortus Botanicus Austro-Sibiricus in Barnaul, which is in the Altai Krai, Russia)
Another victorialis
This looks like Allium karataviense
In the Systematic garden are two nice specimens of Allium victorialis and Allium fistulosum growing next to each other …. The fistulosum features in my book (Fig. 421)
Allium victorialis in the systematic garden
This fistulosum in the systematic garden features in my book (Fig. 421)
Allium lusitanicum (previously Allium senescens ssp. montanum) collected as seed at one of the few Norwegian sites! This is the only Norwegian wild species accession missing in the Ringve garden!
Tøyen’s sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) is now in flower
Nice combination of ground elder (skvallerkål) and ostrich fern (strutseving)e
Nice combination of ground elder (skvallerkål) and ostrich fern (strutseving)e
Newly planted Gunnera tinctoria
Yucca glauca with flower buds. Is this the time that they are eaten (in salads)?
Yucca glauca with flower buds. Is this the time that they are eaten (in salads)?
Tøyen has a nice specimen of Sakhalin-udo (Aralia cordata var. sachalinensis)
Tøyen has a nice collection of Triliums:Trillium lutea
Trillium lutea
Trillium sessile
Cornus canadensis
Variagated Camassia quamash
Camassia
Nice collection of Hosta
Hosta and Hemerocallis
Aralia cordata (udo / staudearalia) in the systmatic garden
Hablitzia with (behind) a large specimen of Chenopodium bonus-henricus
On a break in my journey from Trondheim to Hvaler I had a few hours edible-spotting in the Oslo Botanical Garden (full of – not allowed to pick – food at this time of year) ;)
NB! Not all plants shown here are edible!
I’ll add captions later!
Cirsium spinosissimum is recorded in the Italian Alps to be used like artichoke (as a snack)
Taraxacum bessarabicum is from SE Europe
Hop shoots
Fine leaved young leaves of horseradish
Cochlearia, scurvy grass
Hylotelephium ruprechtii has mild tasting leaves
Allium victorialis #1
Allium fistulosum
Allium flavum
Allium lusitanicum
Ruscus aculeatus – will be interesting to see if this has actually survived the winter
Hosta sieboldiana
Tradescantia ohiensis (one of the 80 in my book)
Angelica atropurpurea
Viola canadensis
Magnolia kobus (the buds are delicious)
Prinsepia sinensis, an unusual fruit that apparently only ripens in a long hot summer in the UK…I’ve not manage to overwinter it…
Tulipa urumiensis
Tulipa kaufmanniana (Waterlily tulip)
Heracleum mantegazzianum
Heracleum mantegazzianum
Camassia leichtlinii ssp suksdorfii
There’s a good collection of Trillium in the woodland garden, here Trillium kurabayashii
Opuntia compressa
Allium siskiyouense?
Asarum canadense, wild ginger
Trillium
Trillium albidum
Trillium chloropetalum
Trillium chloropetalum
Trillium nivale
A nice group of Allium tricoccum
Streptopus roseus var perspectus
Erythronium albidum
Ostrich fern
Allium victorialis #2
Allium victorialis #2
Allium victorialis #3
Allium victorialis #3
Allium victorialis #2
Rheum alexandrae
Allium schoenoprasum subsp sibiricum
Mini rhubarb, Rheum pumilum
Primula denticulata “Alba”
Primula denticulata “Alba”
Erythronium
A nice broad leaved Allium nutans
Allium victorialis #4
Allium victorialis #4
Allium jesdianum
Allium humile with flower bud
Tulipa kaufmanniana
Campanula collina
Aruncus dioicus shoots are used in Japan
Caltha palustris “Flore Pleno”
Crepis aurea
Bog myrtle (pors)
Bog myrtle (pors)
Not Allium carolinianum
Allium victorialis #5
Primula marginata
Oxyria digyna
Rumex acetosa var serpentinicola
Cardamine bellidifolia
Not edible but Mogop, Pulsatilla vernalis, is one of the beauties of the Norwegian mountains
Smilacina racemosa
Taxus baccata “Repandens”
Reynoutria japonica, Japanese knotweed
Allim fistulosum from the turf roofs of Gudbransdalen
Allim fistulosum from the turf roofs of Gudbransdalen
Ligularia x hessei “Gregynog Gold” has mild tasting leaves (Ligularia dentata x wilsoniana)
Ramsons (Allium ursinum)
Not edible Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Vossakvann (Angelica archangelica)
Arctium lappa (greater burdock)
Tøyen has a small collection of the old Norwegian onions I’ve collected
A few pictures from a short lunch time visit to the Oslo Botanical Garden at Tøyen this week with my little girl!
Eryngium maritimum (Sea holly) is an endangered species in Norway, so not encouraged to eat it. The next picture shows what Cornucopia II says of its use in the kitchen (I’ve never managed to grow it, so haven’t tried)
Eryngium maritimum (Sea holly) in Cornucopia II
Allium thunbergii is one of the latest onions to flower…it looked like there were two different forms here..
Allium thunbergii
Pinus wallichiana, Indian blue pine (tårefuru /tear pine). The seeds are sometimes eaten as pine nuts..
Photographing the tears of Pinus wallichiana…..Conucopia II: the tree exudes an edible manna from the leaves and twigs!
The tears of Pinus wallichiana…..Conucopia II: the tree exudes an edible manna from the leaves and twigs!
Pinus wallichiana
The Viking garden
An ex-Elm
Hazel with Turkish Hazel!
Turkish Hazel…all I’ve opened have been empty
Campanula rapunculoides, from the garden’s Korsmo weed chart exhibition!
Probably the oldest Gingko tree in Northern Europe, soon to reach 150!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
