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Post by johno on Sept 16, 2007 22:50:23 GMT -5
Sometimes you grow something to eat, but it is better just to look at...
I want to reccomend one such plant - African Horned cucumber. The fruits are unusual and last long on the vine. They were definitely the conversation piece of johno's garden 2007. What really makes them a good ornamental, though, is the persistance and disease resistance of the vines. They make a dense covering for a fence which stays nice and green, and animals either have no interest in them or just plain can't eat them.
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Post by Jim on Dec 17, 2007 10:04:49 GMT -5
I like the flowers on my mint plants.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 17, 2007 23:42:40 GMT -5
Red Malabar Spinach!! Very attractive, tasty raw (I hear it's slimy cooked) and in the east, I hear it's used as an ornamental window shade to keep the hot sun from coming in through windows.
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Post by Jim on Dec 22, 2007 19:44:24 GMT -5
I like the look of tomatoes way better than eating them if that counts.
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Post by sandbar on Dec 23, 2007 1:54:33 GMT -5
Pansies are edible. At our final MG meeting, one of the ladies brought cupcakes with a pansy bloom iced into the top of the cupcake. Gave it a bit of a floral taste. Also, made me wonder whether I'd be puking it up in the parking lot later ...  |
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Post by sandbar on Dec 23, 2007 1:58:18 GMT -5
There are a lot of herbs I like, too.
I think basil is attractive with it's glossy leaves and terrific scent. (Genovese Basil)
German Chamomile has wispy foilage with pretty flowers. Use the flowers for tea.
Am still looking for a source of lemon grass. I've heard it adds a lemony scent to the air just by brushing your hand across it.
We do have MAJOR problems with deer eating most veggie crops here at home, so most herbs are grown in containers on the deck. Can't hunt Bambi in my residential neighborhood ... except with my car ...
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Post by Jim on Dec 23, 2007 7:00:07 GMT -5
Sandbar. Think "silencer"....jk
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Post by flowerpower on Dec 23, 2007 8:23:17 GMT -5
Sandbar, I could almost swear that LG has a big pot of Lemon Grass at her house. Maybe she could hook us up with a division.  |
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Post by plantsnobin on Dec 23, 2007 11:02:25 GMT -5
For shrubs I have serviceberries, aronia, sambucus, blueberries and (some) roses have hips. I use strawberries for groundcover. I have peach trees in my flower garden. I have lots of different herbs, but my favorite are lemon scented. I do have lemongrass, but for me it is iffy in my unheated greenhouse. It does smell wonderful, but the blades are very sharp and can cut your hand. Lemon balm is great, but it will self seed-a lot. When my girls were little they loved to go cut some for tea, but they acutally didn't like the tea, just liked making it.
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Post by sandbar on Dec 26, 2007 3:36:34 GMT -5
Sandbar, I could almost swear that LG has a big pot of Lemon Grass at her house. Maybe she could hook us up with a division. Hmm, FP, you may be on to something ... sooner or later she's going to be moving across the country and she surely won't be moving the lemongrass with her in a big ol' planter ... Hey, I'll actually be in Richmond this weekend (Glen Allen, actually) ... LG you don't mind driving a couple of clumps of that lemon grass over to my sister's house, do you? ;D |
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sammyqc
grub
Urban, small raised beds, Zone 5 (Canada)
Posts: 94
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Post by sammyqc on Jan 28, 2008 13:11:00 GMT -5
Lemon mint is one of my favorites, and my kids too. It's not as invasive as regular mint, and we love taking a few leaves and rubbing it to get that lemon smell. I also love the look of chives, especially when they flower. I do use it a lot in the summer, for all kinds of salads. One of my favorite gardening with my kids stories, is a couple years ago, my older dd (4 at the time) loved to take a break from all the hard work she was doing, and have a 'chive break'.
I also grow nasturtiums, leaves are very peppery, neat in salads, and sage just for the looks. I've never used it, but it's pretty hardy. I have some planted in the very front, right next to the street, and it withstands all the ice and salt from the winter coming back every year.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jan 28, 2008 20:39:21 GMT -5
You don't eat Sage?
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sammyqc
grub
Urban, small raised beds, Zone 5 (Canada)
Posts: 94
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Post by sammyqc on Jan 28, 2008 21:21:15 GMT -5
No, I never use the stuff that I grow! I wind up buying it! How goofy is that? Sometimes by the time fall rolls around, I'm just to darn tired of it all, to bother drying my herbs, plus I don't have any really good spot to hang them. The same with my thyme and oregano. I have huge clumps growing, but never use them, unless it's for fresh cooking in the summer. Come winter, the only herb I have is the potted rosemary, that comes inside, and the pesto in the freezer. I have to go buy the others!
And everytime I do, I tell myself next summer, I will dry those damn herbs, so I don't have to buy them!!!
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Post by flowerpower on Jan 29, 2008 21:53:26 GMT -5
Sage is one of the hardiest herbs. It can get very woody over the yrs. My plants are way wider than they are tall. And I love chives and scallions. I have a border of scallions at least 8 ft long. Just grew the garlic chives last yr. Hoping they survive the winter
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Post by plantsnobin on Feb 5, 2008 10:22:46 GMT -5
Garlic chives are very hardy, and in summer they do have a moderately attractive bloom, but watch out the next year. You will have them everywhere. If you don't want them to self seed you need to be careful about deadheading them.
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