There are Allium species that can be harvested year round in the garden, notably nodding onion / Norw:prærieløk (Allium cernuum) which I’ve blogged about before. In autumn, new shoots of Allium carinatum subsp. pulchellum (keeled garlic / Norw: rosenløk) appear and with the mild weather we’ve been experiencing they’ve already reached about 20 cm high. They are hardy and can survive to at least -20C. It’s now in the autumn that this edimental Allium is most useful. I use the shoots in a similar way to chives (Allium schoenoprasum), which died back some time ago and won’t reappear until spring (unless I force them indoors), in salads, cut and sprinkled on sandwiches, in scrambled egg, quiches etc. I use them from October to April.
December shoots
March shoots
8. mars: Pizza greens, all harvested outside after most of the snow disappeared during the day. From the top and clockwise; Ficaria verna (lesser celandine / vårkål), Allium cernuum (nodding onion / prærieløk), Hablitzia tamnoides (Caucasian spinach / stjernemelde), Allium carinatum, Allium senescens (or hybrid), Primula veris (cowslip / marianøkleblom), Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard / løkurt) and Taraxacum spp. (dandelion / løvetann)
There are two colour forms, pink and white which are particularly valuable as they last such a long time and are popular with pollinators:
Attractive also in bud
A beautiful delicate form I collected in Cinque Terre in Italy many years ago
A beautiful delicate form I collected in Cinque Terre in Italy many years ago
Still in flower in September
There are also forms with bulbils which can be a bit invasive:
You’ll see the flowers used as a tasty decoration in my multi-species salads (bottom right in the picture):
At top with the long spathe (keel)
Bottom right
Allium carinatum is also popular with pollinators:
Broad beans (favas / bondebønner) will easily cross with other varieties that are growing nearby. In order to keep a variety pure, you need to isolate them physically. I’ve chosen a different strategy and manage to maintain a mix of different bean colour and size forms by selecting for these characteristics every autumn. This automatically gives different flower colours too (broad beans are beautiful enough to be included in the edimental category and are also edi-ento-mentals as they are also extremely popular with bumblebees). Here are my selections which I made yesterday after drying the beans for storage.
Each form will be stored separately and each variety will be planted close to each other in a large block of beans containing many different forms! I think that diversity within a species also contributes to a good harvest with better bean set. I have never had a crop failure using my own home saved mix of beans. I don’t offer the different forms as named varieties, but as a mix or composite “Væres Venner* Mix” through the KVANN / Norwegian Seed Savers yearbook (kvann.no) in February so that others can also select for separate forms! *Væres Venner is the community garden where most are grown. See also this post showing the diversity of flowers that produced these beans: https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=26183
“WHY IS IT SWIRLY WHEN IT’S LATE?” (MMA, 2020) Probably the last dandelion to flower in the edible garden in 2020! The temperature didn’t drop below +12C last night, but there may be snow later in the week!
This is the harvest of 6 varieties of Scorzonera at our community garden (Væres Venner) last week two years after I sowed seed (I was surprised by an early hard frost and didn’t get round to harvesting it). The following accessions Libochovicky (Czechoslovakia) (IPK Gatersleben SCOR5) ‘Peter Schwarzer’ (IPK Gatersleben SCOR3 and SCOR 6) ‘Schwarzwurzel’ (IPK Gatersleben SCOR 7) ‘Einjaehrige ‘ (IPK Gatersleben SCOR 8) Wild accession 1653 from Bundesgarten Wien (I had hoped to include other varieties from the Nordic gene bank in this trial but those were sadly not available) Einjaehrige gave as expected the biggest yield (this is a variety selected to be grown in one year…traditionally it would take two years for roots to be big enough. I will grow this one on as a perennial for seed to supply seed as a root variety. The biggest roots of the other accessions apart from the wild accesion which gave as expected the smallest roots (planted now in the World Garden) will be grown on to investigate differences in production of Scorzonera lettuce (spring shoots) and Scorzonera scapes (the sweet flower stems). Scorzonera is not only one of my favourite must have perennial vegetables but also a popular plant for pollinators flowering right up to the first frosts.
Two years ago I accidentally dug up one of my Queen Anne’s Thistles (Cirsium canum) and I discovered the tubers were quite like the tuberous thistle (Cirsium tuberosum). I’ve now dug them all up, harvested the largest roots and replanted. This really is a great plant: a thornless thistle which yields good size tubers that is also attractive to look at, is popular with pollinators and provides winter food for some bird species (oil rich seeds). * Edi-avi-ento-mental (edible, ornamental and useful for both avian (birds) and insect pollinators)…the most useful category of plant in my book!
This week’s harvest of Cirsium canum tubers
This week’s harvest of Cirsium canum tubers
Oil rich seeds
A one year old plant
Bumblebees and bee beetle are amongst pollinators seen in the blossoms
There were unusually many plants still flowering in the garden in October this year as we experienced a bit of an Indian summer. We’ve now had our first frost, so time to publish this album of 116 pictures of over 100 species. Most but not all are edible / edimentals and, yes, I should have made a salad.
Tradescantia ohiensis
Monarda didyma “Pink Lace” flowering through Aralia cordata “Sun King”
Ligularia fischeri “Cheju Charmer” – I’m not sure if this really is a late flowerer (my other fischeris are in seed) or just an aberration
Alcea rosea #1
Alcea rosea #2
Aquilegia chrysantha
Origanum spp.
Tradescantia
Allium tuberosum
A pretty Heracleum sphondylium or hybrid
Oxalis tuberosa (Oca)
Borago officinalis “Alba”
Leek (Allium porrum)…no chance for seed here!
Campanula lactiflora “Loddon Anna” has been in flower most of the summer and is popular with pollinators
Sedum “Carl””
Cirsium japonicum
Campanula persicifolia
Fuchsia magellanica “Alba”
The last Tigridia pavonia
Scabiosa japonica alpina
Papaver somniferum
Dystaenia takesimana (see https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=24998) has produced seed and is still flowering
Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort)
Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) (medicinal)
Lactuca sativa (lettuce)
A pink flowered perennial chicory (Cichorium intybus)
Korean clematis (Clematis serratifolia): the youg shoots have been reported eaten in Korea (not edible flowers)
Clematis vitalba (Old man’s beard) has been flowering like made for a couple of months and is very popular with pollinators (edible young shoots cooked, not edible flowers)
Prunella vulgaris
Parasenecio farfarifolius var bulbifera flowering very late
The bulbils of Parasenecio farfarifolius var bulbifera
Brassica nigra (black mustard)
Saponaria officinalis (soapwort; not edible)
Campanula trachelium “Alba”
Campanula rapunculoides
Meconopsis cambrica (not edible)
Micromeria dalmatica
Hosta “Red October”
Hylotelephium spectabile
Tulbaghia violacea (society garlic)
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) trying to flower again
Gentiana sino-ornata, a survivor from the time I also grew pure ornamentals
Dianthus knappii
Second flowering (perennialisation) on honesty (Lunaria annua)
Another nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Another nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Salvia officinalis
Hyssopus officinalis
Cryptotaenia japonica “Atropurpurea”
Allium hookeri “Zorami”
Lycopus asper
Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia) flowering for the first time outside in the garden…the tubers are overwintered indoors
Yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia) flowering for the first time outside in the garden…the tubers are overwintered indoors
A double form of Silphium integrifolium (wholeleaf rosinweed) from seed
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
Nettle-leaved bellflower (Campanula trachelium) has a more southwesterly distribution in Europe than my favourite giant bellflower C. latifolia and replaces the latter species in the south of England, France, Italy, Spain and North Africa and eastwards into West Asia. It has also widely naturalised in northeast North America. Like C. latifolia, it has edible sweetish tasting roots that contain the carbohydrate inulin like Jerusalem artichoke, good for diabetics, but can give flatulence. I suspect, however, that it takes several years to get to a usable size. I’ve been digging over an area of the garden into which Polygonum alpinum (Alpine knotweed) had invaded this week and there were also many self-seeded bellflowers with good sized roots, so I put them to one side to use in a delicious zucchini-bellflower curry which we ate last night! Nettle-leaved bellflower has similar habitat requirements to the giant bellflower, inhabiting open woodlands and hedgerows and grows well in complete shade on the north side of my house amongst the Hostas. It has a preference for alkaline soils and grows well on clay. It is therefore an excellent plant for the forest garden, although given the choice I would prefer the giant bellflower as the spring leaves of trachelium are coarser and hairier and therefore less good in salads, but nevertheless fine finely chopped in mixed salads. It has been used traditionally in Italy in mixed species spring soups such as minestrella (see page 59) and is one of the ingredients in pistic (boiled and fried, see page 59 of my book Around the World in 80 plants).
Campanula trachelium in the Jardin de Botanique, Paris at the best stage for harvesting tops and leavesWhite flowered Campanula trachelium “Alba” has yellower spring leaves.Campanula trachelium subsp aloha (in Kew Gardens)Nettle-leaved bellflower thrives in shade together with Hostas
There are a number of ornamental forms available in the trade which you might like to try, including a single-flowered white form (var. alba), which has naturalized in my garden. The double white (‘Alba Flore Pleno’) form and “Snowball” (https://dorsetperennials.co.uk/product/campanula-trachelium-snowball) haven’t come true from seed for me. ‘Bernice’ is another deep purple-blue flowered cultivar.
Campanula trachelium in the background of emerging Allium wallichii flowersCampanula trachelium flowers are edible and can be used to decorate saladsNaturalised blue and white forms in my gardenNettle-leaved bellflower produces masses of seed
As I wrote earlier, it looks like we may have a glut of runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) this year, the first time for many years. Runner beans are borderline here and last year we only managed to get a few beans before the first frosts. This year, we could have made a first harvest a week ago, but I wanted to keep the first beans for seed for the next couple of years. Yesterday we had bread dough ready and therefore made a pizza with runner beans and a mix of fungi picked in the woods (separate post). The dough was 100% coarse whole grain rye, spelt and emmer (sourdough)! Delicious as always!
Slicing the beans with a runner bean slicer, commonly found in kitchens in the UK where this could well qualify as the national vegetable!
My Dad (95) has always grown Runner Beans, so I have them in my blood. Moving to Norway, I was surprised to find that they were mostly grown as ornamental plants. Indeed, they are called Blomsterbønner (flowering beans) here. Similarly, broad (fava) beans were also rarely grown as a vegetable although both are being more commonly found in veggie gardens today. However, my cool windy shady hillside garden isn’t ideal for growing runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus), really needing a warm south facing spot for reliable yields. However, being in my blood I have to grow them every year, but some years I wonder why I bother, but still hoping for that bumper yield that we had once many years ago. There were so many that we salted many for winter use. Well, it looks like this year may finally be that year that my runner beans do crop well and there are already many young beans, perhaps a month earlier than normal, mainly due to the record warm June here when they grew almost as quickly as in Dad’s garden (we compare notes by phone every week!). However, a very cold July turned things around until things started moving again in August. This year I’m growing four different varieties with different flower colour (we can at least enjoy the flowers!) 1. Celebration 2. Heirloom Painted Lady 3. Czar 4. Plain old red Firestorm
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden