Yesterday I took a few photos of my walking onions just as the flowering scapes were emerging like aliens from glistening pods. You can chop up and cook the scapes for a garlic taste. I wrote about them last year for April’s You Can Grow That article. 
Posted in Edibles, landscape edible, plants
Tagged garlic, scapes, walking onions, You Can Grow That!
Pelargonium
The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG), in Washington DC, has just opened a new exhibit: the Mediterranean room. Part of the Conservatory, this room is full of plants native to or commonly cultivated in Mediterranean climates, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters with only occasional frost. Five areas have a Mediterranean climate: the Mediterranean Basin, California, Chile, South Africa, and Australia. These areas produce a wide range of foods reflected in Mediterranean cuisines: fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and unsaturated plant-based fats. Eating a Mediterranean diet has been associated with health benefits such as longer life spans, lower average body weights, and reduction of risks of heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain cancers.
“We are thrilled to showcase the amazing flora of Mediterranean regions, which are some of the most diverse habitats in the world,” said Ari Novy, executive director. “Beyond their ecological value, the Mediterranean regions have given us some of nature’s most enjoyable bounty including olives, figs, and wine. The fruits of the Mediterranean have truly enhanced both our health and cuisines.”
Kale, Lettuce, Thyme, and Violets
Fig Tree (Ficus carica)
This particular conservatory room has not had a new thematic exhibit in 15 years. The idea germinated several years ago when staff horticulturist Adam Pyle suggested that many of our foods and edible plants come from the Mediterranean region. Additionally, this cuisine has the highest number of foods that people recognize today. In an era where the number of people who produce food has reduced dramatically while the number of people who live in urban areas has increased, most people are not connected to food production, agriculture, and gardening. However, there is a high degree of “relatability” with Mediterranean foods–many people recognize citruses, pomegranates, olives, grapes, and figs, and culinary herbs such as parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
The Mediterranean room is bright but not hot, colored in soft yellows and blues to complement the yellow and blue tiles of the fountain. On one side is an urn modified to be a fountain and a tiled basin of water and on the opposite side is a 53-foot mural painted in hues of blue against a yellow wall. Rolling pastures, fields of grain, tall cypress trees, and ribbons of blue and purple flowers evoke images of a sunny Mediterranean country.
Strawberry Tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’)
Visitors may recognize common culinary herbs in terracotta pots: rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, parsley, and cilantro. More unusual herbs include rue, absinthe (Artemisia absinthium), golden feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium aureum), and fern leaf lavender (Lavandula pinnata). Edibles such as lettuce, kale, and spinach are grouped together in shallow containers. In the ground are fava bean plants, pineapple-guava (Acca sellowiana), bay laurel, fig, pomegranate, olives, and several different types of citruses.
To highlight the yellow and blue tiles in the fountain, flowering plants are strategically placed across the room from the purple-flowered pelargoniums, light lavender heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens ‘Marine’), yellow and peach snapdragons, and pendulous yellow blossoms of the tall flowering maples (Abutilon). One arch is covered with bougainvillea not yet in bloom but the other arch is covered by a black coral pea vine (Kennedia nigricans) blooming with slender black flowers. The sweet pea shrub (Polygala x dalmaisiana) has beautiful purple blossoms and the strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’) has bunches of cream flowers, very similar to a Pieris.
Black Coral Pea (Kennedia nigricans)
Sweet Pea Shrub (Polygala x dalmaisiana)
The Mediterranean room is only the beginning of USBG’s next foray into communicating the importance of food production and agriculture. Devin Dotson, public affairs and exhibits specialist, envisions many activities this year from additional signs highlighting specific plants, special tours, food programs, storytelling, and cooking classes. This new exhibit builds upon and continues USBG’s interest in reconnecting the public with food production and agriculture and the pivotal role all botanical gardens can play in educating people about agricultural and the future of food. USBG has had several exhibits in the past communicating the importance of plants through food such as its Food for Thought exhibit, Amber Waves of Grain, and Exposed: The Secret Life of Roots. The USBG is open to the public, free of charge, every day of the year from 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m. The Conservatory is located at 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, on the southwest side of the Capitol. More information is available at http://www.usbg.gov.
Posted in Edibles, Events, herbs, houseplants, landscape edible, plants
Tagged conservatory, culinary herbs, Edibles, health benefits, herbs, Mediterranean, U.S. Botanic Garden
Parsley is one of those easy to grow landscape edibles that adds beauty to your garden and flavor to your cooking. Here in Northern Virginia, parsley can stay green above ground all winter long (I took this photo in January 2016).
I always use parsley fresh, not dried, partly because I have several plants in my garden, year round. Since it is a biennial, I sow seeds every spring to ensure that I have plants. Mine are Italian Gigante from Renee’s Garden which is a type of flat leaf or Italian parsley, best for culinary purposes. There is a curly leaf type but that is best used as a garnish. Parsley can be grown from seed or can be bought as a small plant from the local nurseries in the spring/summer. Sometimes, if a plant begins to flower before I am able to harvest the leaves, I let it flower and set seed so the seed can drop and germinate next year. I started growing parsley years ago and now have a string of plants just beneath the deck, in a place that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Parsley likes organic matter, moisture, and morning sun or dappled sun. My plants are in the ground but they also can be grown in containers and window boxes.
To harvest, cut outer, older leaves at the base, leaving the core or inner, younger leaves. Cut with scissors (don’t pull) and put in a large bowl of water for about 20 minutes (to wash the foliage and drown any bugs). Pat dry and cut the leaves and stems into small pieces with scissors or a knife.
I harvest leaves for my bean stews, roasted vegetables, pierogis, pasta, and salads. I have used leaves for garnish for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and on plates of fruit.
Known for vitamin A, C, and K, parsley’s high level of chlorophyll also freshens your breath!
You Can Grow That! is a collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage others to grow something. Click on the logo to read more posts.
Posted in Edibles, herbs, landscape edible, plants, You Can Grow That!
Tagged herb, landscape edible, parsley, You Can Grow That!
volunteer butterfly bush
Early spring is the time to start your cool season vegetable and herb seeds but it also a good time to make more plants from the perennials in your garden, both edible and ornamental. This week, I literally hacked a chunk out of my sweet marjoram in my garden bed and put the chunks in the plastic containers that strawberry growers use (the plastic containers you buy in the grocery store, with the lid cut off). I added soil from the compost bin, labeled and watered the plant, and placed it on the deck to root and recuperate. I also pulled oregano and thyme and put them in similar containers. All of these plants are about 5 years old and have grown so big they would not notice if I removed parts plus they are more likely to root in early spring with cool moist temperatures.
I also chopped up the lemon balm to create new pups, dug up baby plants from my black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), tore out extra blanket flowers while they were still small (Gaillardia), and took a few stems from the ice plant (Delosperma), a succulent groundcover. I still need to pot up chunks of the chrysanthemum while the leaves are small and near the ground, as well as the bluets (Centaurea), hardy geraniums, Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida), speedwell (Veronica surcolosa), yarrow (Achillea), aster, and creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). These perennials have been in my garden for years and tend to either spread outward or become congested inward so I have plenty to share.
marjoram slices in plastic containers
I overturned my plastic containers of chocolate peppermint, peppermint, and spearmint that overwintered on the deck, broke up the plants into chunks, and re-potted into more containers. Mints are also easy to root in water but they are invasive and should always be grown in containers.
Usually I find a volunteer—a seedling in an unexpected place. This year I found a butterfly bush seedling (Buddleia) in January in a patch of dirt on the concrete steps. Last week I dug it up and put it in a small container. When it is bigger and older, I will either plant in an appropriate spot or give it away to a friend. I have started new butterfly bushes, wand flowers (Gaura), and flowering tobacco plants (Nicotiana) this way. Look around your garden for volunteers and plants that can be shared with friends!
Posted in Edibles, herbs, landscape edible, plants
Tagged achillea, aster, blanket flowers, bluet, Buddleia, butterfly bush, centaurea, chrysanthemum, creeping phlox, delosperma, flowering tobacco, gaillardia, hardy geraniums, ice plant, Japanese anemone, lemon balm, mint, Nicotiana, oregano, phlox subulata, plastic containers, rudbeckia, speedwell, sweet marjoram, thyme, veronica surcolosa, yarrow
bulbil on walking onion pulling stem down
You can grow walking onions, also called Egyptian walking onions, tree onions, winter onions, and perennial onions. Unlike an ordinary onion plant, Allium proliferum will produce little bulbs at the top of the plant in the summer. The weight of these marble-sized bulbils will pull the stem down, enabling the bulbils to root and produce a new plant. Although walking onions seem to walk by producing new plants a few inches away, they are not invasive.
Walking onions are very hardy, perennial plants in our Virginia area. They are also “passalongs,” easy to give away to friends. I received mine from a fellow member of the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America. I was interviewing her at her Falls Church home for the Potomac Unit newsletter because she had been a member for over 25 years and had quite a lot of herbal experience. After we talked in her living room, we walked around her herb garden and she snapped off a few bulbils from an enormous tub of walking onion plants. She said when her kids were young, they used to grow them along the fence and weave the stems in and out of the holes. The tub of plants came from her original set about 30 years ago! That was five years ago and so far, my plants have thrived enough that I can now pass along plants to friends as well.
walking onion stems in March
Walking onions prefer full sun, organic matter, and well-drained soil. They grow to 2 to 3 feet tall with hollow green stems. All parts are edible. If you cut the stems for cooking or salads, cut only a few stems at a time and don’t cut the ones that have bulbils. Stems can be eaten fresh in salad or cooked. You can cut the bulbils when they form in the summer and use them for cooking or pickling. In the fall, the entire plant can be dug up to harvest the underground bulbs. Simply divide and used some of the bulbs like you would with regular onions in the kitchen and re-plant the rest.
You Can Grow That! is a collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage others to grow something. Gardeners usually post articles on their blog on the fourth day of the month (fourth day, four words: #1: You; #2: Can; #3: Grow; #4: That).
I love to walk around the garden in March to see what is coming back but at the same time, I love to start new plants from seeds indoors. This week, mid March, the bright green foliage of parsley has emerged. A biennial, I harvested leaves from this parsley last year; I tend to use parsley quite a bit for meals. This year, the same plant has come back to flower and set seed. I hope to start a parsley patch that will self sow, creating more than enough for the kitchen.
parsley
The new growth on the tansy is pretty but the old growth is messy, which I will need to trim when it gets a little warmer. Last year, I used the tansy for flower arrangements. This year, I will see if there are more uses for tansy. I always try new herbs each year and a few weeks ago I started two types of fennel by seed in the house. They germinated so fast I had to pot them up and bring them outside for more light. You can’t really tell the difference now but the leafy fennel is on the left and the bulbing fennel is on the right. I have several more pots, I may have to give some away!
tansy
shallots
The slender shallots braved the snow; they were this size this last fall when I transplanted the seedlings to this bed. As the weather warms up the shallots will continue to grow and make little bulbs for cooking. Their cousin, the chesnok red hardneck garlic, was planted last fall to be harvested this summer. Their perennial cousin, the walking onion or Egyptian onion, has been thriving in the garden for years now and feel quite at home among a tulip and a hyacinth.
leaf fennel on left and bulb fennel on right
Posted in Edibles, herbs, landscape edible
Tagged bulbing fennel, chesnok red garlic, Egyptian onion, fennel, hardneck garlic, parsley, shallots, tansy, walking onion
chives coming back in early March
Chives are a great addition to the garden, any garden, does not matter what is growing already, add chives. These perennial herbs are great landscape edibles; they come back year after year. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are narrow plants, about a foot tall, so they can be tucked in between ornamental shrubs and flowers as long as they receive full sun. In my Virginia garden, my plants are already poking through the soil in early March and I can’t wait to cut the leaves for scrambled eggs, chive butter, and mashed potatoes.
To keep up with my family’s demand for fresh chives, I have several plants so after I cut the leaves back on one, I leave that plant alone until it rejuvenates and then harvest the leaves of another plant. Usually we are harvesting the leaves so often we do not see the pink, clover-like flowers but the flowers themselves are edible and pretty in a wildflower-country-garden-way.
In the spring, I divide my current clumps to create more plants, both for the garden as well as for friends. Chive can be grown from seed but it may take a while for the plants to mature to harvest so it is best to buy a few small containers in the spring and tuck them in different places in the garden (near the door so you can pop out with scissors before dinner). I always wash the foliage of course before eating but I have never seen pests.
To make chive butter, simply let the butter come to room temperature, stir in chopped chives to taste, then refrigerate in a container. This can be done with soft cheeses as well. Chives can be preserved in the freezer, dried, or in ice cubes. Chives also can be used in herbal vinegars. Fresh minced chives add green to potatoes, soups, and rice dishes. Really, chives are so versatile in the kitchen and so easy to grow in the garden, there is no reason not to have them in your garden.
Posted in Edibles, herbs, landscape edible
Tagged chives, chopped chives, landscape edible, plants, Virginia garden
baby salad burnet plant
The photo that has been on the top of my website for the past year is salad burnet, which has thrived in my Virginia garden for 5 years. The toothed foliage is pretty, almost fern like, and from spring to fall I would cut the young leaves for green salads, egg salads, herbal vinegars, cheese spreads, and iced drinks. This week, when I was pushing away autumn’s leaves, I noticed that the mother plant had disappeared but left a few young seedlings. I remember that last summer the mother plant was flowering quite a bit for the first time, maybe it knew its end was near. I saved the seed: just cut the dried seed heads and put them in a paper bag. Today, I pulled the stems out of the bag and rubbed the seeds off so I could plant more salad burnet in the garden. I actually was pleasantly surprised at the amount of seed I have, I am anxious to grow more this year to replenish my supply. Salad burnet is a perennial culinary herb, hardy to zone 4. It is easy to grow; it only needs full sun and well-drained soil. The plant is about 6 inches tall and maybe a foot wide. The inch-long flowers bloom on wiry stems but they are so pale and small, they blend into the background. A landscape edible, salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is a pretty addition to the garden. Either buy as a plant at the nursery or grow from seed.
A colleague asked if I could recommend books related to edible gardening. I quickly replied that I have a Books Page on my site but afterwards realized that those books are about gardening in general but specific to the Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC area. Over the past few years, I have become much more interested in growing edibles rather than ornamentals and have read many books, most are specific to this area. I typed up a short, 2-page list to give to her and thought I would post my recommended list here in case any one is interested in growing their own veggies, herbs, and fruits in the Washington DC metropolitan area. These are in alphabetical order.
American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden & Gardens Across America, Michelle Obama
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden, Jessica Walliser, and her other books
Backyard Berry Book, Stella Otto
Cool Season Gardener, Bill Thorness (and his other book, lives in WA)
Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager, Jennifer Bartley
Eat Your Yard, Nan Chase
Edible Front Yard, Ivette Soler
Edible Heirlooms, Bill Thorness (and his other book, lives in WA)
Edible Landscaping, Rosalind Creasy (new edition and any of her other books)
Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist, Michael Judd (lives in Frederick MD)
Four Season Harvest, Eliot Coleman and his other books
Good Bug/Bad Bug, Jessica Walliser and her other books
Groundbreaking Food Gardens, Niki Jabbour and her other books
Grow a Sustainable Diet, Cindy Connor
Grow Great Grub, Gayla Trail (You Grow Girl)
Guide to Year Round Vegetable Garden in the Southeast, Ira Wallace
Homegrown Herb Garden, Ann McCormick and Lisa Morgan
How to Grow More Vegetables, John Jeavons
How to Grow Perennial Herbs, Martin Crawford
Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, Edward Smith (and any of his other books)
Landscaping Fruit, Lee Reich and any of his other books
Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles: DE, MD, PA, VA, DC, and WV, Katie Elzer-Peters
Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One Tenth of an Acre, Eric Toensmeier (and any of his other books)
Perennial Vegetables, Martin Crawford
Perennial Vegetables from Artichoke to “Zuiki’ Taro, Eric Toensmeier (and any of his other books)
Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, Claire Kowalchik, William Hylton, and other Rodale books
Square Foot Gardening, second edition, Mel Bartholomew, and his other books
Starter Vegetable Gardens, 24 No Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens, Barbara Pleasant (and any of her other books, lives in VA)
Take Our Advice: A Handbook for Gardening in Northern Virginia, Margaret Fisher
The Bountiful Container, Rosemarie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey (good for minimum depth of container to grow veggies)
The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook by Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch (and any of their other books)
The Sustainable Vegetable Gardener, John Jeavons
The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book, Barbara Ellis
The Virginia Fruit and Vegetable Book, Felder Rushing and Walter Reeves
The Winter Harvest Handbook, Eliot Coleman, and his other books
The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, Niki Jabbour (and her other book)
Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello, Peter J. Hatch
Fruits for Every Garden, Lee Reich (and any of his other books, lives in NY)
Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible, Edward Smith (and his other books)
Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way: 18th Century Methods for Today’s Organic Gardeners by Wesley Greene
Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits, Matthew Biggs and Jekka McGiver
Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, Ron Kujawski and Jennifer Kujawski
What’s Wrong with my Vegetable Garden, David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth, they have a series of “What’s Wrong” books
75 Exciting Vegetables, Jack Staub, has an “exciting” series – herbs, vegetables, and fruits, lives in PA
This list could go on plus there are books focused on particular types of plant/vegetables. Other sources are public or botanical gardens such as Greensprings in Virginia and Brookside Gardens in Maryland; both have non-lending libraries. One can look at publishers’ web sites such as Chelsea Green Publishing, St. Lynn’s Press, Timber Press, Story, Rodale Press, and Cool Springs Press.
Posted in Books, Edibles, herbs, landscape edible, plants
Tagged books, edible gardening, fruits, herbs, Maryland, vegetables, Virginia, Washington DC, Washington DC metropolitan area
New Echinacea Cultivar
As an oldie to garden writing but a newbie to social media, I have discovered that Twitter can make life fun. It adds a new dimension to watching the Superbowl or the Grammy Awards but more importantly, Twitter grants you access to gardening experts and current information. There are several hour-long chats on Twitter related to some aspect of gardening, every day of the work week. This past Monday was a holiday so I was able to participate on #plantchat for the first time.
On Mondays, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST, Corona Tools hosts #plantchat, which is a great way to learn more about plants, gardening, and horticulture. Corona Tools (@CoronaTools) lines up a guest and a specific topic. The first few minutes are spent on introductions; people can elect to tweet where they live or their hardiness zone; most comment on the weather. I use tweetdeck to keep up with the conversation because it enables me to focus only on the plantchat conversation; not other tweets. Except for your internet connection, a twitter chat is free; all you have to do is sign in to Twitter and tweet using #plantchat. You don’t have to tweet; you can just read the conversation. With some chats, a transcript is available if you miss the live chat (as I have in the past when I am at the office). For #plantchat, @CoronaTools uses Storify to provide the recap.
This Monday’s guest was Rodale Institute (RI) and the topic was medicinal plants and herbs in the garden. I tweeted a question specifically to Rodale Institute about Echinacea. I knew the roots were beneficial in preventing or stopping a cold because I tried it years ago but wanted to know if the new cultivars on the market were equally effective. @RodaleInstitute first said: “General immune booster but most wait till symptoms start to take it. Prevention is best!” The person then responded: “Generally, it’s the Echinacea purpurea, other cultivars don’t carry the same quality at the same strength,” which is just as I had suspected but where else would I get such a quick answer from a leading expert? As people chatted, I learned the benefits of tulsi (holy basil) tea (reduces stress and anxiety) and the fact that comfrey and yaupon holly tea are anti-inflammatories. Someone recommended elderberry syrup for cough and cold, which led to another person chiming in that lemon balm makes a great tea and soothes the throat and stomach. Another person explained that stevia, an herb, can be used as a sweetener. I explained how I grow dill and cilantro in the cool months and someone said that cilantro provides Vitamin K, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. This was a paradigm shift; an herb such as cilantro may not be used for treating an illness but in addition to culinary benefits, it may act as a preventative.
Try out a Twitter chat, each are a little different but all are fun and educational.
Monday: #plantchat, 2-3 pm; #gardenchat 9-10 pm
Tuesday: #treechat 2-3 pm; #pollin8rchat 9-10 pm
Wednesday: #landscapechat 2-3 pm; #seedchat 9-10 pm; #rosechat 9-10 pm
Thursday: #herbchat 2-3 pm
Friday: #groundchat 2-3 pm
Eastern Standard Time
Posted in Edibles, Events, herbs, landscape edible
Tagged #plantchat, Corona Tools, Echinacea purpurea, herbs, medicinal herbs, plant chat, Rodale Institute, twitter, twitter chats
