Probably the best display of Alliums I’ve seen, a special project this year at the Utrecht Botanical Garden, showing off the diversity in the onion family!
Quite a few of the plants were sourced from the Dutch Allium maestro, Wietse Mellema, without whom (and Gerard van Buiten ) I doubt it would have been this special!
Enjoy!
Just look at the abundance of food in the Utrecht Botanical Garden :)
Utrecht in the Netherlands has one of the great botanical gadens in Europe alongside Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, Gothenburg and Kew Gardens! I had a stopover for a few hours on my way to Austria on 9th June and being relatively close to the airport this was the natural place to go for the edimental fancier! So, here is an album of edible plants I spotted that day! It was good to meet my FB friend Gerard van Buiten in the flesh for the first time too! Another post will show pictures of the Allium border which is new this year!
The world famous rock garden at Utrecht
Fort Hoofddijk
Near the entrance, the first surprise, Crambe amabilis, a species I’ve never seen before…
Crambe amabilis
Toona sinensis, xiāngchūn, one of the very best leaf vegetables, extensively used in China (often blanched on tree). The leaves have an oniony taste!
Petasites spp. and bronze fennel
Tovara (Persicaria) virginiana
Persicaria orientalis
Perennial buckwheat, Fagopyrum dibotrys
Perennial sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. mariitima
Chenopodium ambrosioides, Epazote, can be overwintered indoors and it will oftern resprout in the spring
Madeira Vine, Anredera
Phytolacca americana, pokeweed
Talinum paniculatum
Another new sea kale for me, Crambe grandiflora
Crambe grandiflora
Crambe grandiflora
Crambe maritima, sea kale
Kalimeris incisa, Japanese Aster, one of several species Kalimeris used as a vegetable in the Far East
Plantago major, White man’s handprint (in this case!)
Aralia california, Californian Udo
Devil’s walking stick, Aralia elata
Eleutherococcus sieboldianus , edible young shoots
Myrica pensylvanica
…and masses of delicious edimental Hostas!
Apios americana
Houttuynia
Sedum “Herbstfreude”
The rock garden
The Allium border, featuring the diversity of onions…a new project this year. I’ve made a separate album for this border!
The Allium border
Allium cernuum
Allium roseum
Yeah! Ground elder, Aegopodium epesenting the Apiaceae
Opuntia humifusa in the rock garden
Hydophyllum tenuipes, a wateleaf (Indian salad) that I’ve never seen in cultivation before
Flowering Hosta sieboldiana
Japanese ginger, Zingiber mioga
Gunnera pepensa: I wonde if this species is edible
Rumex scutatus var. glaucum
Vaccinium ovatum…I’ve eaten the delicious beies of this in Oregon
Polygonum viviparum (Alpine bistort / harerug) iis one of the 80 in my book!
Plantago media
Sideritis syriaca (Greek mountain tea) is growing well and self-seeding
Allium oschaninii
Phyteuma spicatum, spiked rampion or rapunsel is an old vegetable
Pycnantheum californicum, one of the mountain mints
Angelica atropurpurea
Anemone rivularis: the roasted seeds are apparently pickled in Nepal!
A nice large patch of Allium cyaneum!
Allium altaicum
Allium macranthum
More Sideritis syriaca
Sideritis syriaca
Self-seeded Sideritis
Aquilegia chrysantha
..and I bumped in to the garden’s Gerard van Buiten leading a tour of the garden! Good to meet you in person, Gerard
Fuchsia magellanica var. conica
Hosta sieboldiana “Elegans”?
Bamboo, Phyllostachys parvifolia shoots with a Rubus spp.
Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata)?
Gunnera tinctoria?
Ostrich fern, Matteuccia
Phyllostachys nigra with ostrich fern behind
Nasturtium and yacon
Taro (Colocasia esculenta) makes a nice edimental house plant which can be outside in summer. Edible tubers and leaves
Mashua, Tropaeolum tuberosum
Crambe abyssinica (cultivated as an oil seed crop)
Cornus kousa
Crambe cordifolia
Hosta undulata
Species artichoke / cardoon, Cynara cardunculus has thorns
Species artichoke / cardoon, Cynara cardunculus has thorns
Scolymus maculatus
Nice productive form of Allium senescens with me for scale!
Plantago major “Atopurpurea”
Sint-Jansui turns out not to have Allium fistulosum blood, but Allium cepa and a couple of other species (aka Allium x cornutum)
Skirret / sukerrot
Horseradish
Nine star perennial broccoli
Eryngium creticum
Malva sylvestris
Hops (Humulus lupulus)
Allium cernuum in the Native American garden
A good form of chives
..with a comma butterfly
Nigella
Fuchsia boliviana
Fuchsia magellanica “Aurea”
Arthropodium cirratum was an important Maori food plant
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden