The Potted Edible Garden
Imagine the potential culinary delights and healthful benefits of a garden of fresh herbs, salad makings and edible flowers… from just outside your kitchen door.
By Kate Seaver
These days, many gardeners favour only ornamental plants, shying away from the rigours of growing our own food. However, creating a potted garden of salad fixings, herbs for flavouring and gorgeous edible ornamental flowers in containers takes just a few simple and easy steps.
Herb Gardens
Growing herbs in pots is actually the most effective way to grow them for personal use. Corralled within containers, they do not invade the rest of the garden and are texturally and visually more appealing too. Ever healthful herbs require pots with good drainage, good container gardening soil and six to eight hours of sun a day. Frequent snipping to add delicious favour to your meals will keep them flourishing and many of them can be over-wintered indoors once the cold season hits. Start with some basics. Just like the song, try parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Edible Flowers
Edible flowers also offer creative seasoning options, are gorgeous as garnishes and, of course, are delicious to eat. The colours and shapes are truly spectacular additions to salads, appetizers, cakes and so much more.
Despite the seemingly new trend towards adding floral delicacies to your menu, using flowers in recipes dates back centuries. In fact, nasturtiums appeared in fourth century Persian cookbooks. In the 1800’s, the Victorians were wild about munching both violets and pansies. Still, before you begin to munch on any flowers, there are certain precautions to consider…
Edible flowers must be grown organically which means they are free of harmful chemicals, insecticides and additives. Most flowers grown commercially are treated with pesticides. Purchase your edible flowers from an organic grower or, if you can, grow them from seed yourself. If you prefer to start them from bedding plants, just wait until the second or third blossom before you start to munch.
(A note of caution; cut flowers from florists or garden centres are grown for decoration. Chemicals tend to be more intense in the flowers themselves so do not eat them if they come from a florist shop)
To enjoy edible delights, remove the pistils and stamens from flowers and eat only the petals. Avoid ingesting large quantities of any blossom before testing the effects of a single bud.
Sprinkle edible blossoms on salads, soups, cheese spreads and dips, rice and pasta dishes or flavoured butters. Lemon verbena, lavender, lilac and roses are sweet enough to add to ice cream, pudding, cookies, cakes and punches. Roses are wonderful for syrups or jams.
Edible Plants
Apple Blossoms • Bachelor’s Buttons • Borage • Calendula • Carnations • Chamomile • Chive Blossoms • Chrysanthemum • Dandelion • Daylilies • English Daisies • Geraniums • Hibiscus • Hollyhocks • Lavender • Lemon Verbena • Lilac • Marigolds • Monarda • Orchids • Pansies • Peach Blossoms • Peonies • Poppies • Queen Anne’s Lace • Roses • Sage • Scarlet Runner Beans • Scented Geraniums • Snapdragons • Strawberry Flowers • Sweet Woodruff • Tulips • Violets • Zucchini Blossoms
Plants that are poisonous include Sweet Pea, Iris, Clematis, Foxglove, Amaryllis, Lantana, Lupines, Datura, Daisies, Daffodils and Azaleas.
Potted Veggies
A quick visit to your local garden centre will confirm the increased popularity and availability of vegetables suitable for growing in containers. Look for patio or dwarf versions of your favourite salad makings, peppers and scrumptious tomatoes. Like any good container bound plant, they will require excellent container gardening soil, well-cleaned pots with good drainage and a little TLC. Daily watering is essential and deadheading once a week will keep them growing happily enough to fill you plate on a frequent basis. Even if space and time are limited, don’t forgo the privilege of growing your own food. With just a few pots, urns or window boxes, nature’s bounty awaits just outside your kitchen door.
Kate Seaver is the owner of Kate’s Garden Store located at Hwy. 7 and McCowan Rd. in Markham. Visit www.katesgarden.ca to discover more garden goodies.
2600 John Street, Unit 207, Markham, ON L3R 3W3 T: 905.475.5222 F: 905.475.6369
