It’s been raining all day here, but there’s been good flying conditions for the geese flying here today from their start point in the Netherlands and Belgium!
This was the radar picture over Norway, so it looks like the birds have had good flying conditions from their overwintering area in the Netherlands and Belgium until just before they reached the Trondheimsfjord where I live (where the band of rain is located)
On Sunday 5th May we’ll be having an official opening of the garden as a Permaculture LAND centre
(see https://www.permaculture.org.uk/land-centres and http://www.permakultur.no/land)!
This is part of a full weekend programme for KVANN’s (Norwegian Seed Savers) annual meeting (årsmøte) weekend (the whole program in Norwegian is at the bottom)! Membership: kvann.org!
The full program will follow!
Hope many folks will join us for our celebratory LAND multi-species spring salad and much more!
At long last, an album of pictures of edible plants spotted in the Dunedin Botanic Garden during my late summer visit on 26th March 2015, as part of a lecture tour of New Zealand. See the photo captions for more information!
Aciphylla dieffenbachii (Soft speargrass), endemic to the Chatham Islands and probably edible alongside other Aciphylla species, known as Maori carrots
Aciphylla dieffenbachii (Soft speargrass), endemic to the Chatham Islands and probably edible alongside other Aciphylla species, known as Maori carrots
Aciphylla dieffenbachii (Soft speargrass), endemic to the Chatham Islands and probably edible alongside other Aciphylla species, known as Maori carrots
Podocarpus totara (tōtara) has edible fruits
Podocarpus totara (tōtara) has edible fruits
Plantago major “Atropurpurea” (I saw this cultivar years ago for the first time in the Auckland Botanical Garden
Good King Henry (Chenopodium bonus-henricus)
Angelica archangelica
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Fennel is an invasive plant in New Zealand
Tulbaghia violacea, Society garlic
Tulbaghia violacea, variegated society garlic
Alexanders (Smyrnium perfoliatum)
Rumex acetosa (sorrel)
Myrrhis odorata (sweet cicely)
Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal)
Hosta
Cardiocrinum spp. (Himalayan lily) – the bulbs were foraged in the past for food.
Ugni molinae (Chilean Guava) has delicious fruits
Lemon verbena
Lemon verbena
Cordyline indivisa, an important Maori edible
Ruscus aculeatus “Wheeler’s variety” is a self-fertile form of butcher’s broom (edible shoots)
Ruscus aculeatus “Wheeler’s variety” is a self-fertile form of butcher’s broom (edible shoots)
The Royal Oak commemorates the marriage of Charles and Diana in 1981
Farfugium and Angelica gigas
Angelica gigas
Arbutus canariensis
Platycodon grandiflorus
Platycodon grandiflorus
Taxus baccata “Repandens”
Gunnera
Fly agaric has fouind its way to New Zealand
Tasmannia insipida, one of the Australian pepperbushes
Anigozanthos (Kangaroo paws) – rhizomes of various species were eaten by aborigines!
Anigozanthos (Kangaroo paws) – rhizomes of various species were eaten by aborigines!
Anigozanthos (Kangaroo paws) – rhizomes of various species were eaten by aborigines!
Arthropodium cirratum (rengarenga lily) and (behind) Maori kawakawa (Piper excelsum). Rengarenga tubers were eaten by the Maori and were probably also cultivated for food. Kawakawa was mostly used medicinally, but the fruits were eaten and the leaves as a tea.
Arthropodium cirratum (rengarenga lily) and (behind) Maori kawakawa (Piper excelsum). Rengarenga tubers were eaten by the Maori and were probably also cultivated for food. Kawakawa was mostly used medicinally, but the fruits were eaten and the leaves as a tea.
Aciphylla subflabellata (Spaniard), probably edible roots alongside other Aciphylla species, known as Maori carrots
Aciphylla horrida (Horrid Spaniard), probably edible roots alongside other Aciphylla species, known as Maori carrots
Anisotome lyallii (Lyall’s carrot) was possibly eaten by the Maori
Aciphylla colensoi (Spaniard), probably edible roots alongside other Aciphylla species, known as Maori carrots
Acaena inermis ( Purple sheep’s burr)
Pratia (panakenake) – the leaves were eaten cooked by the Maori
Pratia (panakenake) – the leaves were eaten cooked by the Maori
Rubus schmidelioides var subpauperatus, one of the bush lawyers (tataramoa), native NZ brambles, the fruit were used by the Maoris in the past, in particular the children
The leaves of this clambering shade loving rlation of NZ spinach are eaten young! The bower spinach (Tetragonia implexicoma or T. trigyna, the bower spinach: I wrote about this interesting forest garden plant for mild climates here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=4089
The leaves of this clambering shade loving rlation of NZ spinach are eaten young! The bower spinach (Tetragonia implexicoma or T. trigyna, the bower spinach: I wrote about this interesting forest garden plant for mild climates here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=4089
Phormiums and cabbage trees (Cordyline), both Maori food and fibre plants
Perennial Sonchus kirkii was probably the original “puwha (puha)” of the maoris (nowadays Sonchus oleraceus, a very important vegetabe still). Read more about this in the 10+ pages devoted to the Sonchus genus in my book Around the World in 80 plants and also my account of finally growing it in Malvik here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=13882
Perennial Sonchus kirkii was probably the original “puwha (puha)” of the maoris (nowadays Sonchus oleraceus, a very important vegetabe still). Read more about this in the 10+ pages devoted to the Sonchus genus in my book Around the World in 80 plants and also my account of finally growing it in Malvik here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=13882
I looked unsuccessfully for this one in the wild and have failed to obtain seed. Cook’s Scurvy Grass (Lepidium oleraceum). As the name suggests it was
I looked unsuccessfully for this one in the wild and have failed to obtain seed. Cook’s Scurvy Grass (Lepidium oleraceum). As the name suggests it was
Gunnera prorepens, a native species in the same genus as the edible giant Gunnera tinctoria of South America which is an invasive species in New Zealand
Anisotome latifolia (Campbell Island carrot), one of the striking megaherbs of that island. Other Anisotome species are believed to have been used by the Maori of NZ.
Another bush lawyer, a native Rubus spp.
Metrosideros kermadecensis, “Twisty” (Kermadec pōhutukawa). The nectar of mainland species was collected by the Maori
Cordyline “Red Fountain”
Corynocarpus laevigata (karaka); From Andrew Crowe’s Native Edible Plants of New Zealand: “In spite of the raw kernels containing the poison karakin, they were a vry important food supply for the Maori”. They were steamed and soaked to remove the toxins.
Corynocarpus laevigata (karaka);I grew this as a house plant for a number of years, but it never flowered.
On 8th March 2019 I walked along the River Itchen in Hampshire between Shawford and Eastleigh, mostly along the old canal tow path:
River Itchen, Shawford, UK
River Itchen, Shawford, UK
Mute swans
Teasel (Dipsacus) field
Misteltoe
Common polypody (Polypodium vulgare)…called sisselrot here in Norway, the roots were eaten as a candy by children in the past!
Asplenium scolopendrium (Hart’s tongue fern)
Primrose (Primula vulgaris)
?
Dandelion
Sarcoscypha coccinea (?) (scarlet elf cup)
Ground elder (Aegopodium) with ivy
Duckweed (Lemna spp.)?
Duckweed (Lemna spp.)?
Cow parsley (?) already in flower
Not to be confused with this one, Hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata), the most poisonous plant in the UK!
Old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba)…the shoots are a favourite cooked vegetable in Italy in the spring
…and a video of a large population of Elfin cups (Sarcoscypha coccinea)?
And now some pictures taken on 10th March from the Monks Brook, a stream behind my parents’ house in Chandlers Ford where a lot of foragables were already available (a full two months before our area in Norway!), starting with a video ending with Helleborus foetidus.
Allium ursinum (ramsons)
Allium ursinum (ramsons)
Nettles (Urtica dioica) and cleavers (Galium aparine)
Nettles (Urtica dioica) and cleavers (Galium aparine)
It snowed all day yesterday, but it’s unfrozen underneath and spring bulbs like snowdrops (snøklokke), coltsfoot (hestehov), winter aconite (vinterblom), Crocus tommasianus and Hepatica transylvanica are in flower under the snow. Remembering where the edibles are located, I can still harvest food under the snow:
Despite the deep snow, a yellowhammer (gulspurv) was intent on defending its territory against a second singing male behind me (stopped just as the video starts)
For the second year running, a pair of great spotted woodpeckers (flaggspett) have set up a territory including the garden. I’ve heard drumming several times recently!
Despite the heavy snow all day, flocks of migrating pinkfooted geese (kortnebbgås) have been passing over all day. Spring is here, much earlier than it used to be! Not easy to see them though in this weather. So far some 1,000 birds have arrived in their staging area (where they prepare for the next stage of the journey to Svalbard) in Levanger just north of here!
Heavy wet snow isn’t that common here…after the storm yesterday the garden was hanging this morning and even had to duck to get out of the front door :)
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
