The ferny leaves of salad burnet have a scent reminiscent of fresh cucumber. It is a dainty and hardy evergreen perennial that will grow to 45cm. It forms a low basal rosette of pinnate leaves with many paired, toothed, oval … Continue reading
There are more than 700 species of sage, many of them spectacular when in flower, and a number with leaves that are variously scented with pineapple, grapes, tangerine, grapefruit, anise, honey melon or fruit salad. The flowers attract butterflies and … Continue reading
Few herbs are as universally grown and loved as much as rosemary. The refreshing resinous scent and flavour of its evergreen foliage is indispensable in cooking. Rosemary flowers cart form pale to rich blue, violet, mauve, pink or white. The form varies, … Continue reading
The edible petals of herbal roses make delicious conserves and are used in salads and desserts. Herbal roses prefer full sun and most of the herbal roses flower only once a year, but abundantly over a month. photograph sourced from Wikipedia … Continue reading
Native to the Mediterranean basin and eastward to Turkey and Jordan, rocket has been popular as a salad green since ancient Roman times for its peppery, smoky, meaty flavour. It is an annual plant resembling an open lettuce, with deeply pinnately lobed … Continue reading
Like a number of ‘weeds’ condemned in modern gardens, this succulent herb was once appreciated as a salad, pickle and sautéed vegetable. It is now coming back into culinary fashion. Purslane is an annual that grows to about 7cm high … Continue reading
The opium poppy is a hardy annual that grows to about 1.2m with large, coarse, toothed, silvery green foliage and tall flowering stems bearing four-petalled flowers that may be white, pink, lavender or red, followed by a globose capsule with … Continue reading
This herb is described as a popular, spicily aromatic culinary herb that is used fresh in salads and for pickling and flavouring in my The Complete Book of Herbs book. I have to admit to never having heard of the word perilla … Continue reading
The Chinese peony is a herbaceous perennial. It has erect stems with lobed leaves and very large, scented flowers, which in the wild are white and single. Cultivated plants grow to 1m, are full hardy and can be red, pink … Continue reading
There are about 400 species of passionfruit. Many are ornamental, tendrilled climbers, some produce delicious fruit. Most require warm-temperate to tropical conditions. Deciduous in colder areas, it can survive occasional winter freezes. photograph sourced from Wikipedia A common wild flower in … Continue reading