Back in April 2017 I had been invited by Jean-Martin Fortier to give a seminar on perennial vegetables to the staff of La Ferme des Quatre Temps, an amazing farm near Hemmingford, Quebec. Jean-Martin is well-known for his book “The Market Gardener” (see https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=12597). I used the opportunity to travel around Canada and ended up in Quebec where I had been invited to visit namesake Patrice Fortier who runs an alternative seed company La société des plantes. Sadly Patrice was on a trip to Italy, but I nevertheless had a great couple of days in Kamouraska, see https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=10384 We kept in touch and earlier this year he asked if he could interview me for his new print-zine Mi-Sauvage: Les Adventices (Half-wild: The Weeds) has now been published and can be ordered from Patrice here: https://www.lasocietedesplantes.com/blogue/ It can’t be bad with a lovely illustration of a dandelion on the front. I just wish I had payed more attention in my French lessons :) (however, modern technology allows me to scan and translate!)
I took the ferry across from Vancouver Island to the city of Vancouver. I’ve already posted a lot of pictures of the birds of fabulous Stanley Park, a green lung right in the centre of the city (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=10476). Here’s a few pictures of emerging edimentals I spotted in the park during my visit on 4th April 2017.
Stanley Park
Gunnera chilensis
Cowslip (Caltha palustris) is an important edible of native americans, but needs careful preparation to detoxify and remove the bitterness, the flower buds have also been used to make capers
Ostrich fern ready to eat, planted in an ornamental bed
Ostrich fern
Hosta shoots
Hosta shoots
Hosta shoots
Magnnolia buds and flowers are used in the Far East
Typha spp. (cattails), the supermarket of the swamps, with a backdrop of central Vancouver
After our visit to the Government House garden, Solara Goldwynn took me on a visit to an amazing inspiring ecohouse, gardens and perennials nursery in the Highlands area just outside of the city of Victoria (BC) where she and husband Tayler were living in a flat with owners Ann and Gord Baird
You can read much more about Ann and Gord on their web site at https://eco-sense.ca
The location of Ecosense north west of Victoria on southernmost Vancouver Island!
Zoom in to the plot, the gardens and house surrounded by forest. The nursery is around the pond seen at the top.
About the house from the Eco-sense website: “Our home achieves these objectives by incorporating sustainability and research with solar PV agrid intertie, solar thermal heating, rain water harvesting from a living roof, composting toilet, grey water re-use, passive solar design, and all within North America’s first code approved seismically engineered load bearing insulated cob residence”.
Late March is still early spring, but here is clearly a diversity garden
Perennial kale. Daubenton?
Allium cernuum, native nodding onion
Cultivated dandelion :)
Victoria has a mild warm and dry in summer climate
Gord Baird
Solara showed me around the gardens
Earth chestnut (unsure if this is the real thing Bunium bulbocastanum, often mixed up with Oenanthe pimpinelloides in the trade).
A dandelion spiral?
In the woods I found this plant that I also saw just coming into flower in the harbour area. Pacific sanicle (Sanicula crassicaulis) is a much bigger plant than European S. europaea, reaching over 1m. Some west coast Sanicula species such as S. graveolens and S. bipinnatifida were used as spring vegetables, but I only find medicinal uses of this species.
Claytonia in flower was a common edible of woodlands – I hadn’t thought of this plant before as a shade lover…now I know :)
Erythronium and Dodecatheon in the woods
Rumex
…and Hablitzia tamnoides had preceded me :)
Hablitzia bed :)
Fuki (Petasites japonica) naturalising by the pond
..and fuki for sale
Prunus “Valentine”
A “Food security top pick”, perennial leek (Elephant garlic, I think)
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae)
Good? King Henry!
Day lilies
Wild ginger (Asarum)
Skirret
European and Asian plums
A single fawnlily was in flower
Mahonia
Saanicula +++
Sedum spathulifolium? in the woods
More forest dwelling Claytonia perfoliata (miner’s lettuce)
Sedum spathulifolium?
An early flowering Ranunculus spp.
Dodecatheon hendersonii?
Dodecatheon hendersonii?
Cardamine
Horseradish
…and for my last evening on Vancouver Island I was invited to a great potluck dinner at Eco-sense with Solara and Tayler (picture), the Bairds and friends. Thanks folks!
Continuing with another garden I visited in Victoria BC, Canada! My host Solara Goldwynn took me on a quick visit to the Government House Garden (from 1911) on 30th March 2017. The album shows a few pictures of the edimentals we found!
The garden web site is here: http://www.ltgov.bc.ca/gardens/history/default.html
Within the garden is some remnant Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) woodland, an endangered species rich habitat of which 95% has been lost.
Allium amplectens is one of the species found with Garry Oak. It has proven hardy in my garden in Norway (picture)
Fertile fronds of Ostrich Fern
Emerging Gunnera
Trilllium
Primula denticulata
Pachyphragma macrophylla is a beautiful woodland edimental in the cabbage family which is one of the earliest flowering woodlanders. I had it for a number of years, but for some reason didn’t make notes of tasting it…I lost it unfortunately…replanted it last year and lost it again..
Polyanthus…As they are thought to be a natural hybrid between the cowslip (Primula veris) and the common primrose (Primula vulgaris), these are also no doubt edible!
Cardiocrinum, giant lilies which have been foraged in the past
The next garden I visited in Victoria BC on 1st April 2017! The Abkhazi Gardens were created by Prince Nicholas Abkhazi from Georgia and his wife from 1947, taken over by the Land Conservancy to protect the garden against property development.
With Kelly Kerr
I think the garden was on the hill?
Pachyphragma macrophylla is a beautiful woodland edimental in the cabbage family which is one of the earliest flowering woodlanders. I had it for a number of years, but for some reason didn’t make notes of tasting it…I lost it unfortunately…replanted it last year and lost it again..
Pachyphragma macrophylla is from West Asia, N.E. Turkey to the W. Caucasus. It’s naturalized in Britain. Have a taste and let me know!
Trachystemon orientalis in flower
Polygonatum odoratum
Primula and Podophyllum
Petasites palmatus: the leaves and young stems were a vegetable for native american tribes
So much has happened this year that I haven’t had time to blog about several places I’ve visited this year….with a bit more time now I’m returning to my great trip to Canada in March and Victoria, BC. Solara Goldwynn, a local Permaculture Landscape Designer (Hatchet & Seed) had arranged a program for me including a walk and talk gig at the Garden of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, just 12 km from downtown Victoria! It’s a relatively young garden but full of interesting plants (far more interesting than the nearby world famous Butchart Gardens which doesn’t even merit a blog post!). It’s non-profit community focused garden with sustainable management practices. Here’s an album of pictures from the garden tour and talk – the participants preferred to stay inside and hear the whole lecture rather than going outside, so this album documents what we would have seen :)
Thanks to Solara Goldwynn for arranging this and great also to finally meet my friend Lara from Salt Spring Island!
Before my talk Solara and I walked around the garden, making a plan for a tour of these largely ornamental gardens looking for edimentals!! A good start was this sign announcing the Hosta garden, although it was a bit early to see any spring sprouts (Hostas appear in late spring) ;)
Allium acuminatum is one of the west coast wild onions, widely used by Native American peoples as food, including the Coastal Salish and Thompson
Caltha, cowslip or marsh marigold is also widely used for food and medicine by native peoples
Cornus officinalis, Sanshuyu: the fruits are used fresh and in an alcoholic drink
Cornus avellana “Contorta”, contorted Hazel. I hadn’t seen the name “Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick” before. From Wikipedia, it has Scottish roots!: “Sir Henry McLennan Lauder (4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950) was a notable Scottish entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as ‘Scotland’s greatest ever ambassador!'” The Corkscrew Hazel was dubbed “Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick” because the comedian used a crooked branch cane during his performances.”
Harry Lauder and twisted walking stick
Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick
Sedum spectabile is a good spring salad plant!
Trachystemon orientalis took my thoughts to my friends in Bulgaria, Maria Tariyska and ИВАН КАМБУРОВ, plants bind us all together; see how this plant is eaten here – http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=1269
Nice touch at the entrance, including Trachystemon!
Lilium martagon has edible flowers and bulbs, a great plant for a forest garden
Trilliums and Polygonatums, more edible forest garden inhabitants
Erythroniums
…and more, Erythroniums
One of the edible berries of the west coast, kinnikinnick (melbær) is also widespread in Norway.
The native plant garden!
…with edible camas (Camassia) and garry oak
Edible camas and Dodecatheon
Ribes sanguineum “White Icicle”
Arabis
Allium tuberosum
Allium schoenoprasum
Bronze fennel
Lovage
Native Allium cernuum
Sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata
Guess what I chose? Dandelion Latte or Organic Bone Broth? ;)
My first day in Victoria and Vancouver Island, BC was a mixed one. As this was probably my only chance I decided to go to the Butchart Gardens, a one hour bus ride outside of Victoria, and rated by some as one of the finest gardens in the world. I didn’t have high expectations, but was disappointed that there were almost no plant labels (apart from the rose collection) and otherwise very few native plants as far as I could see…
The botanical highlight was walking back to my lovely Airbnb room along the 30 min long Songhees coastal path. A interpretive sign informed of the rare Garry oak (Quercus garryana) ecosystem in which both camas (Camassia), an important Native American food plant, and Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum) grew alongside Dodecatheon (shooting stars)! A couple of minutes later I saw many fawn lilies in the woods and one emerging flower stalk of Camassia (both leichtlinii and quamash grow here)!
Almost exactly a year ago, I was on the otherside of the Pacific witnessing the mass flowering of katakuri (Erythronium japonicum) in Japan: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=9121
I’m staying this week in an Airbnb in the Esquimalt district of Victoria BC
Remnant Garry Oak woodland in Victoria with Sea Blush (Plectritis), Shooting stars (Dodecatheon), Fawn lilies (Erythronium), Camas (Camassia), Sea blush (Sisyrnchium) and satin flower (Olsynium douglasii)
The Songhee First People and Camas
Garry oaks and masses of camas!
Camas almost in flower
Camas
Camas
…and then I saw this beauty growing by the side of the path, Erythronium oregonum
…and there were many more in the woods!
Erythronium oregonum
Erythronium oregonum
Erythronium oregonum…
…and I’d found this great little bookshop in Victoria
…and 4 books by ethnobotanist Nancy Turner were soon in my possession together with a few others! Turner shows little evidence of fawn lily having been used my native peoples and they may be slightly poisonous…
Thanks to my long-term “virtual” friend, vegetable and fertilizer innovator extraodinaire Michel Lachaume, I have been invited by well-known Québécois farmer and author Jean-Martin Fortier to hold a seminar at the farm he manages in Hemmingford, Quebec: permaculture-inspired la Ferme des Quatres-temps for leading chefs in the area! This will probably be on 11th April!
I’m going to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to do a little mini-tour of Canada, do a bit of teaching, learning and experience early spring edibles in another part of the world in nature and gardens! Here’s my rough tentative itinerary
Arrive Vancouver 28th March
29th March – 4th April: Salt Spring Island – Victoria – Vancouver
(5th – 6th April) Halifax, NS (uncertain)
7th – 12th (Montreal – Quebec – Ottawa area) with 11th at the farm!
13th Toronto (Botanical garden?)
13th Evening flight back to Norway!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden