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Edible Plants in Your Garden—Part 1 |
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Written by Dianne Stortz-Lintz
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Thursday, 03 July 2008 |
Edible landscapes are the big “new” thing in horticulture. The reason why I emphasize “new” is because edible landscapes are not new but the concept is enjoying a revival now that food prices are increasing due to the cost of fuel.
As you evaluate your ornamental garden this year, planning for next year, or if you have to replace plants consider utilizing more edible plants.
Or better yet, use the plants, that you have in the garden as additions to your diet. Many common ornamental flowers are edible and are great in salads. Some weeds are edible and eating weeds is a good way to get some satisfaction out of their existence.
I’ve compiled a list of plants that you can eat now or plan to use in your next flowerbed. This month features half that list (it’s extensive). The other half will appear in next month’s column.
Artichoke: Great foliage and the flowers are neat but they’re not too hardy here.
Asparagus: Has lovely feathery foliage with red berries in the fall. Only the shoots are edible; older foliage and berries are toxic.
Cardone: Pronounced “car-doan-nee,” this relative of the artichoke is a beautiful hardy perennial. The foliage is silvery grey and the flowers are great. Cardone is rapidly becoming the darling of chefs. The cooked stems are very tasty.
Strawberries: The old-fashioned trailing types are good and attractive low-growing ground cover.
Sunflower: Besides producing edible seeds, the petals of the flowers are edible and have a spicy flavor. There are a variety of types and sizes and are easy to grow.
Runner bean: This pretty plant is good for the trellis and has great scarlet flowers that are edible (they taste like sweet beans). The beans are also edible.
Trailing peas: Do not eat ornamental sweet peas! Trailing garden peas have pink to lavender flowers that are edible. Some varieties such as sugar snap have edible pods.
Jerusalem artichoke: This is a perennial root vegetable that has a flavor similar to artichoke without the hassle of thorns. It has a happy sunflower-like flower and spreads easily.
Anise hyssop: Anise hyssop or licorice is a lovely ornamental perennial flowering plant whose lavender flowers taste like anise. Hyssop should not be consumed by pregnant women or persons with hypertension.
Safflower: Safflower petals are also used as a poor man’s saffron. Although rarely grown as an ornamental, they do have really interesting flowers. They lack the pungent aroma or flavor of the real thing, but they are spicy and impart an orange color similar to saffron.
Scented geranium: These are great plants. They have lovely showy pelargonium-type flowers, and the leaves are scented and edible. Scented geraniums come in a variety of flavors. These are tender perennials that can be easily propagated from cuttings. Maki sushi made with lemon geranium leaf with pickled plums and straw mushrooms is particularly tasty.
Chicory: Chicory is a weedy perennial found growing along irrigation ditches and in riparian areas. It is actually a beautiful plant with bright true blue flowers. The buds are edible but chicory is mostly used for its root. The roasted root is often used as a coffee substitute (albeit a poor one).
Coriander: Coriander is the Anglo term for cilantro. The leaves are a pungent additive herb to many Hispanic and Asian dishes and the seeds are used as spice. It is a low growing but tender perennial similar to parsley. If it dies in the winter, it will grow back from seed.
Snapdragon: This tender perennial is easy to grow, lovely to see, and the flowers are very tasty. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.
Garlic chives or society garlic: These grow like chives but have nice blue star–like flowers. The flowers and the leaves are edible.
Epazote: This is a weedy plant that is used in Mexican food to spice it up. It is also an anti-flatulent. It will grow to four feet in one season and come back from seed. It is not a very attractive plant, but it is an interesting conversation piece. Also, it is said that crushed epazote leaves repel ants.
Dandelion: Besides being a weedy tough little plant, young dandelion leaves are excellent in a salad and the flower buds taste like mushrooms when sautéed in butter. The buds also make a very potent and tasty wine.
Burnet: Burnet has cucumber-flavored leaves that are nice in salads; the flowers are also edible. It is a perennial that will survive Northern Nevada winters.
Nanking Cherry: This is a moderate sized shrub cherry that is easily grown and a great fruit producer. The fruit is small but edible and makes great preserves.
Lambsquarters: This common weed is a cousin to spinach, but it is easier to grow and is much more nutritious. Use the washed leaves in salads or steam them.
Day lilies: Day lily flowers have a sweet crunchy taste like chestnuts, but should be eaten in moderation; eating too many flowers can have a laxative effect.
Purslane: Yet another weed that makes a satisfying meal. Purslane is related to great succulent, moss rose and has a mild sweet texture when sautéed.
Dill: Dill is easy to grow from seed. It is a tall plant with showy yellow flowers that are good in flower arrangements as accent. The leaves can be used as an herb and the seeds as a spice.
English daisy: English daisy is a short ground cover perennial that is planted as an annual. All parts are edible.
Pansies, violets, and Johnny jump-ups: These are hardy, happy plants that will survive and bloom throughout the winter. The flowers are edible but should be consumed in small quantities. It is popular to crystallize the flowers and use them as decoration in desserts.
Rose: Rose petals are edible, but the ends should be trimmed of the bitter white portion. Rose petals also can be used to make rose wine, rose jelly, and rose water. Rose hips are also edible, and there are some interesting but labor intensive recipes that utilize them.
Dianne Stortz-Lintz is a horticulturist and greenhouse manager for the City of Reno. For more information, call 224-1680. |
