Diversity in the garden

[orflo]

most pictures have been made in 2007:
mashua:




amaranth:

cardoon:

perennial leek:


maca;

apios americana:

lathyrus tuberosus:

new zealand spinach (red leaf version):

curled mallow:

tree spinach magentaspreen:

chinese yam:

winter radish :rose de chine
some more to come...
Frank

[Alan]

Excellent pictures friend, keep them coming this season. I am truly envious of your soil! I'll be taking and uploading more pics shortly, just have to find the time!

[plantsnobin]

Thank you for posting those pictures, you must have one of the most interesting gardens anywhere! I have been looking into the Apios-wondering what they taste like?

[orflo]

Apios has a chestnut-like taste, with a hint of potatoes in it. I did send some to Alan, if they have the same weedy habit over there as they have here (and why shouldn't they?),...I will be lucky to live that far away ;D ;D ;D
Some research work has finally begun on apios, a few varieties have been selected on taste or production or even bigger tubers, I believe Louisiana University is working on them. I obtained a few of these, unfortunately one of them won't make it, it suddenly died, which is uncommon for apios, but the other variety seems to be going strong.
They're fun to grow , the marvelous autumn blossoms are abundant and loved by late bees,
Frank

[canadamike]

orflo, Mine are about 6 inches of the ground ( well...the pots) so, here are the questions:

1) Where should I plant them...sun, shade, semi-shade...
2) Given they are vines, are they rambling like squashes or climbing like Bill Clinton on anything?

3) Apparently the seeds are edible, have you tried them? More bean like or pea like?

4)Given that I have plenty of room, is it worth it to dedicate a spot to them?

5) Are they edible or delicious?

6) If delicious, do you have any recipe or way to prepare them?

7) Are the leaves edible too like sweet peas?

8) The flowers look REALLY beautiful, are they numerous and sizeable ( with a long stem) enough to bring home?

9) Do they smell good?

10) Can you recommend a tenth question? ;D (Is there something I forgot to ask, or a comment you would like to make?)

11) Why only loved by late bees. The ones that are alive can't stand them?

It should keep you busy for a while...

[orflo]

Grrrrr,all these questions... ;D ;D ;D
I never had any seeds, and I don't know if they are edible, same goes for the foliage. They should be grown far more south to produce seeds.
Take Bill Clinton as a reference, they twist around any stalk, I use bean stalks (people say: your beans aren't productive ).
Give them a sunny spot, they grow near forrest borders, but mine grew better in full sun, I'm probably too far up north.
I like to eat them, good chestnut taste, and you can do anything with them: boil, fry, mash, just like potatoes; and easy to grow...
the flowers are numerous indeed, and smelly, I never noticed if they have a long stem, I'll take a look at some pictures, but I guess you'll find out yourself ;D ;D
I would dedicate a little spot for them, I don't think you can sell them, because of the unknown aspect (crazy, people are conservative); they were eaten by indigenous people hundreds of years ago, and I read stories the first pioneers survived because of these tubers (well, in some regions)
Late bees must be a selection I just invented, coffin bees should be the next step ;D ;D
Frank

[canadamike]

Frank, I just checked, the plant grows wild here in Ontario and Quebec, up to zone 3. I was born in zone 3. No way your climate is as harsh, unless you experience minus 40 celsius ( orFarenheit, it is minus 40 for both) EVERY YEAR like I did in my youth and dad still get all the time. Here close to Ottawa, american zone 4, we get it less often. And my experience in the end of november in Paris, ( 16 days there) which according to someone who posted at Tomodori, has a climate similar to yours, convince me your fall is WAY warmer than the one we have in zone 3, and 5 or 6 degrees less than Paris still won't compare...

Although I have spent my youth in the forest and munched on many wild plants, I never noticed that one. I suspect it does not produce seeds because you do not leave the tubers in the ground, thus postponing emergence or maybe if the tubers were older/ bigger you would get earlier flowers/beans/seeds.

Speaking of wild plants, do you have the diminutive ''gaultheria procumbens, gaulthérie couchée in french or wintergreen in english...this one I could hide in an enveloppe

[bunkie]

beautiful pics mike! what a combo!

i'm very curious about the apios. it cannot be left in the ground for winter? what if heavily mulched? do the tubers survive long after being picked or are they ike jeruselum artichokes that don't have much of a longevity? can they be dried for later eating? thanks!

[orflo]

Apios tubers don't stand being dried out, they are best left in the ground during wintertime, supporting quite wintery temperatures. A few days out of the ground and they become soft and untasty, exactly, just like Jerusalem artichokes. Although winter temperatures aren't really low over here, I suspect if you can leave Jerus. artichokes in the ground for surviving, you can also leave the apios.
I never tried drying them, so I don't know if this will work,
Frank

[canadamike]

Gee Frank, why the heck don't they produce beans then?.It is a mystery to me...