RE: Top 5 Edible & Medicinal Flowers to Grow This Spring
What an intense JOY to read. So very beautiful! And inspiring. All dynamic vegetable growers ought to grow plenty of the flowers you mention, for a harmonious vibe and to attract bees! You've included all my favorites. Stunned to learn the hemerocallis is edible. Also amazed by your (Oregon) calendula. It's colour and leaf is so different to the European calendula - only, now I think about it, it's probably poking through something else, right?! (and many varieties exist for the marigold). I dot this orange right around my garden: it soothes the pollution-bruise marring our city air!
The borage star is magical in its radiant sky-cobalt blue. (As an oil it's medicinal properities also shine! Both externally and internally applied.)
I let my nasturtiums go wild until the frost cuts them down.
I hope to be sowing some sweet-pea, lathyrus, my favorites, but I seldom have much success (soil needs to be very well fertilised) (not edible for us, but for the bees).
The antirrhinums (snap dragons) I sowed late summer already, and they have survived in the greenhouse, so far. Also putting variegated foxgloves in the front where everything has to improvise amongst old tree roots, rubble and too much sand
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Must not forget cosmea for some hot pink.
Wow! Thank you so much for stopping by, sharing your thoughtful comment and beautiful pics of your garden flowers, and reesteeming my post :).
Ah yes, the calendula picture was probably a little confusing as the leaves the flower is poking through are artichokes...haha. I can see why you thought, gosh what strange variety is this? Haha. This particular one is just your standard garden variety calendula :). I do have seeds for a gorgeous calendula that had petals fading from pale apricot to deep orange in its center that I can't wait to plant them. I'd love to get my hands on the crimson petaled ones too.
Thanks for the reminder about borage's use as an oil. Gotta love that little blue flower plant!
That's good to know you can propagate snaps in late summer and let them overwinter in the greenhouse.
Sweet peas are wonderful!!! I've grown very fond of them too. Your picture of the wild pink sweet pea reminds me of seeing them in the Edible Perennial book. The book claims the roots are edible, and roasted, tastes like chestnuts! Isn't that amazing? I can't wait to dig some up and try them.
Makes me so happy to see so many flowers in your comment! Thank you for sharing your photos and your garden know-how!
Never heard about sweet-peas having edible roots. Which Edible Perennial book have you got (there are several out there)?
This is the book I was reading from: https://www.amazon.com/Edible-Perennials-perennials-plants-future/dp/1516965345 and there's an online version of the part about the sweet pea here: https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lathyrus+tuberosus.
That's the book I was hoping you had (since it was on my wishlist to get!). Good to read about the caution to.
(In the meantime, I see you suddenly made it big, with this post! Well, done!)
I was shocked to see this post go up so much! Not sure how... I'm still pretty new to this. I'm very grateful and it certainly made my day!
I'm also trying to figure out how...it happened shortly after my resteem: I got hit last weekend....some kind of link? Curious little world here. I like how you widen it up so much with your blogs. Loved your other posts too, (just found them- wish we could back-vote!) Great introduction promising much more from you. I shall be looking forward to whatever you write. I hope the fame hasn't gone to your head! (not likely from what I have read!).