V as in Viola

Family: Violaceae

Genus: Viola

Species: Viola odorata

Common names: wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist’s violet, garden violet Swedish name: doftviol, luktviol

Viola is a genus of flowering perennial and annual plants, a few are small shrubs. It is the largest genus in the family, Violaceae, containing between 525 and 600 species. Most are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but some are found in divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australia, and the Andes. A large number of species, varieties and cultivars are grown in gardens for their ornamental flowers. The terms viola and violet are normally reserved for small-flowered annuals or perennials. And the term pansy is normally used for annual or biennial large-flowered cultivars which are raised from seed. Cultivars of Viola cornuta, Viola cucullata, Viola odorata, are commonly grown. Other species grown include Viola labradorica, Viola pedata, and Viola rotundifolia.

Viola odorata is native to Europe and Asia, but has also been introduced to North America and Australia. The plant is known as Banafsa, Banafsha or Banaksa in India. Several cultivars have been selected for garden use. The sweet scent of this flower has proved popular throughout the generations particularly in the late Victorian period, and has been used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes. Viola odorata flowers and newly sprung leaves are also edible. The flowers, leaves and roots contain vitamin A and C.

Viola odorata – sweet violet.

Description: Viola odorata is a hardy herbaceous flowering perennial. The flowers are aromatic and normally either dark violet or white. The leaves and flowers are gathered in a basal rosette. The plant spreads with stolons (above-ground shoots). The sweet violet blooms in Spring (in Sweden April-May). There are cultivars with pink, yellow, blue and white flowers some are even double/filled. One of my favorites is ‘Königin Charlotte’ or ‘Queen Charlotte’ (and it is not because of the name).

How to grow: Viola odorata prefers a somewhat moist and humus rich soil in partial shade. Fertilization is not necessary. Giving it too much nutrition discourage blossom in advantage of leaves. It is suitable as a ground cover under airy shrubs and in garden beds. It is lovely in a woodland edge or let it grow wild in the lawn. Some treat it as a weed since it easily spreads with both the stolons and seeds in the grass. But to me it adds more value to the lawn.

To sweet to eat?

Violet Decoration. Photo: distopiandreamgirl ©

The violet was a symbol of fertility and love to The Ancient Greeks, they used it in love potions. Medicinal the flowers and leaves of viola are made into a syrup used in alternative medicine mainly for respiratory ailments associated with congestion, coughing, and sore throat. But the syrup may be used for other purposes too. I remember the small candy boxes with Violet Pastilles we used to get when I was a little girl. The lovely taste lingers in my memory, when I got older I discovered the awesome taste combination liquorice and violet.

Recipes:

• Edible Wild Plants Recipes: Violet Yam, Violet Vinager, Violet Syrup at Emergency Outdoors
• Floral Gift in a Jar: Home-made Sweet Violet Sugar for Cakes and Bakes by Karen at Lavender and Lovage
• Spring Flower Lollipops by Heather at Sprinkle Bakes
• Candied Violets and more from the edible flower garden…

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O as in Oxalis

Family: Oxalidaceae

Genus: Oxalis

Species: Oxalis tuberosa

Common names: oca, uqa, New Zealand yam Swedish name: oca

The genus Oxalis got its name from the plants content of oxalic acid giving the leaves and flowers a sour taste. Several species are grown as container plants (indoors and outdoors) or as ornamental plants in gardens. Four common species are O. versicolor, O. compressa (double flowers), O. triangularis (dark purple foliage) and O. articulata. The flowers of the Oxalis genus range in color and shades from white to yellow, peach, pink, or multi-coloured flowers.

The fleshy, juicy tubers of Oxalis tuberosa are edible and called oca. The root vegetable is a native plant in the northern Andes and were grown by the Inca people. It is still grown by farmers in South America. Oca is an important vegetable locally due to its use in crop rotations and its high nutritional content. The tuber is a source of carbohydrate and energy. And has a valuable content of vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium and vitamin B6. It also contains small amounts of fibre. Oxalis tuberosa has a slow growth and gives less yield than potatoes so it is not common on other continents. Except for New Zealand where it was introduced in the 1800´s and became very popular. There oca often is called New Zealand yam. The tubers can be processed and prepared in various ways. The leaves and young shoots can be eaten as a green vegetable.

Oxalis tuberosa. Photo: mpaola_andreoni ©

Description: Oxalis tuberosa is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinter as underground stem tubers. Several varieties are now available in yellow, orange, apricot, pink, as well as the traditional red-orange tubers.

How to grow: Oxalis tuberosa can be kind of tricky to grow because of its dependents of day length to grow properly. If it is to be grown as an ornamental plant other Oxalis species are preferable. Oca needs a long growing season, forming tubers when the day length shortens in autumn. In areas with harsh winter climates, early frosts may cut back the foliage before the tubers have a chance to form. In tropical areas where the days are unchanging in length, oca will not set a crop successfully. But it is quite modest in other requirements and generally grows even in marginal soil quality. Oxalis tuberosa is propagated vegetatively by planting whole tubers.

Oca or New Zealand yam. Photo: Lamerie ©

Oca or New Zealand Yam Recipes

Warm Oca Salad – recipe by Carl Legge at Permaculture

Roast Yams – recipe by CheekyKiwi at Allrecipes

Oca Homity Pie – recipe by Carl Legge at Permaculture

And for those of you who would like to try growing oca visit Growing Oca a blog by Ian Pearson.

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C as in Cornus

Family: Cornaceae

Genus: Cornus

Species: Cornus mas

Common names: dogwood, cornelian cherry, european cornel Swedish name: körsbärskornell

The genus Cornus includes about fifty species of flowering shrubs and trees native in the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern hemisphere. Most of the Cornus species may be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. The fruit is named dogberries, houndberries or black nightshade. The fruit of Cornus mas is edible and tastes like a mix between sour cherry and cranberry. It is mainly used in jams and sauces. The fruit is very high in vitamin C. The wood of Cornus mas is extremely dense which makes it hard to prune. It sinks in water unlike the wood of most other woody plant species. This density makes it valuable for crafting into tool handles and parts for machines.

Cornus mas. Fruit (left) and flower (right) Photos: Wendy Cutler and prilfish ©

Description: Cornus mas is a deciduous shrub (up to four meters high) or a small tree (about eight meters high), with a quite low and wide growth. Cornus mas blooms before the leaves burst, like the Forsythia. The flowers are brightly yellow. In Sweden the blossom occurs in Mars to April which makes it valuable as an early Spring flowering plant. You have to be patient though since the individuals set their first flowers after five years or more. But it is totally worth the waiting since the sight is grandiose.

How to grow: Cornus mas is modest and have no strict demands of its habitat. It usually does not need to be pruned and does not need any special treatment. It is preferably planted like a solitary catching your eyes while passing by or sitting by the breakfast table. Cover the ground around it with bulbs which blossoms at the same time to make a spectacular scenery.

Recipe: Cornelian Cherry Sauce Recipe from Britain

 

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The edible flower garden

When talking about edible and garden most of us see this:

Vegetables, and perhaps fruit, herbs and berries. But how about this?

The flowers have found their way into the kitchen. And I bet the edible garden looks pretty and is full of life.

Here in Stockholm winter has it´s grip and the gardening season seems far away. Now is the time for pruning apple trees and other non-bleeders. Today the sun is shining and the snow is glistening. These days are lovely. I am sitting in my nook writing and came to think of all the amazing gardens I have seen on other blogs. Some of you never get snow or the winter season is still mild. Others already have witnessed the first signs of Spring. Maybe your bulbs and tubers are in their prime. At first I thought it was a little bit early to tell you about the edible flower garden. But after considering the varieties in climate and plant zones I changed my mind.

Once I made an edible flower composition for a public square in a suburb to Stockholm. I was given the task to decorate three large containers. I knew that during summer it used to be market stands selling fruit and vegetables on the square. So I came up with the idea to use edible plants in the containers to suit the theme. Unfortunately I did not get the chance to photograph them. So sadly I have no pictures to show you. Well the employer was very pleased so it have to have been a success. But I got the plants written down so I can try to give you a picture.

Before I continue I would like to tell you the story of being a gardener in Sweden and similar plant zones. First of all you have to order the annual Summer plants in the Winter often already in November. And the annual Spring plants is ordered during the prior summer. The nursery takes your order and start their work. So your plants is ready for delivery in the beginning of summer, often in June. Spring plants is commonly delivered in April. It takes a skilled planer and an established or at least good relation with the nursery.

This procedure makes gardening a bit more interesting and advanced. You are not able to choose the plants on the nursery and you cannot see your chosen plants live. So you depend on your experience and gut feeling. Viewing plants online or in a catalog seldom shows the correct colors. So you have to be careful and make your composition flexible. A second thing to take into account is that accidents happen. Even the best of nurseries may fail for many different reasons. This is why I always order some extra plants to be sure, about 10% of the total order is insurance plants. If you don´t need them while planting you can keep them as a reserve. Plants are living material and may die or deteriorate for some reason. Make sure you have a back up plan. Speak with your nursery and solve it together. Maybe you don´t have to have a particular variety or sort but rather a specific color, structure or habitus.

To cut to the chase… This is my pick of flowers for the composition I told you about earlier in this post. I named the theme Citrus and made two different compositions, Orange and Lemon.

Theme Citrus

Container Orange

• Tagetes tenuifolia ‘Orange Gem’ – Marigold
• Pelargonium ‘Orange Fizz’ – Scented Geranium
• Beta vulgaris ‘Orange Fantasia’ – Swiss chard
• Cynara cardunculus ‘Green Globe’ – Artichoke

Container Lemon

• Tagetes tenuifolia ‘Lemon Gem’ –  Marigold
• Pelargonium ‘Citronella’ – Scented Geranium
• Beta vulgaris ‘Bright Yellow’ – Swiss chard
• Helianthus annuus ‘Teddy bear’ – Sunflower

To keep the two compositions together I used Perilla frutescens (Red Shiso) as a pop-up plant in both containers.

I also found some recipes including edible flowers. I think it is a fun idea and actually tasty too. I once had Geranium cake and it was delicious. Have you ever tried to use flowers in your cooking?

• Geranium cake
• Candied Violets
• Rose petal ice cream
• Salad with flowers
• Ice cubes with Borago officinalis flowers
  

Do you want to read more about edible flowers?

Books

Caution: Never eat anything you do not recognize or know for sure it is edible. There are a lot of poisonous flowers so be wise. For Geraniums it is only the scented once you can eat including, Pelargonium graveolens. And I advise you to only use organic grown flowers. You do not want any pesticides or other chemicals in your food.

Source pictures – photo attributes:

• Huerta Orgázmika Red Shiso
• Kjeannette Orange Gem
• Melody Lemon Gem
• Mary´s heirloom seeds Green Globe
• Bosque Village Yellow Swiss chard
• Kenny Point Orange Swiss chard
• Three Gardens in Quebec Borage flower in ice-cube
• Oyvind Holmstad Flower salad
• Jonathan Lovekin – Rose petal ice cream
• Kort om gott – Candied Violets

This years first Shrovetide bun

Yesterday I went to visit my spouse´s sister who also is my friend. We had some lunch and talked a lot. We have so much in common, like gardening and the joy of creating things, so it is easy-going and nice when we meet. She served me coffee and home-baked Semla or Shrovetide bun and wrap (which is this years news). They were delicious and I can tell you she is a master at baking. Not only does it taste great her pastry always looks perfect like picked from a food magazine or bakery. Look at this cute little Shrovetide bun – it tastes amazing with coffee or tea.

Here is a recipe from one of Sweden’s popular public bakers:

Leila´s Shrovetide buns

Ingredients for the buns

• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 3 dl milk
• 50 g fresh yeast
• 1 1/2 dl sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 150 g soft butter
• 1 organic egg
• 11-12 dl fine wheat flour

1. Crush the cardamom seeds in a pestle and heat it with the milk until it is finger warm 37 degrees C
2. Crumb the yeast in a bowl and melt it with it with the milk. Add sugar, salt, butter and egg.
3. Gently add wheat flour some at the time and mix to a neat dough.
4. Let the dough rise in the bowl covered with a cloth until it reaches twice the size or for 40-60 min.
5. Put the dough on a floured table
6. Divide the dough in 18 pieces and roll them to round buns.
7. Put the buns on a baking plate with oven paper.
8. Put the oven on 200 degrees C.
9. Let the buns rise under a cloth for 45-60 min.
10. Brush the buns with lightly whipped egg and bake them in the middle of the oven for about 6-7 min. Let cool.

Filling

• 400 g almond icing
• 1 dash of milk
• 8 dl whipped cream
• Ev. some cardamom after your own taste
• Powdered sugar to put on top

Shrovetide buns

1. Cut the top of the buns and take out the center (make a howe in the middle)
2. Mix the bun center leftovers with almond icing and a dash of milk  until it is creamy.
3. Fill the buns with the almond icing mix.
4. Squirt the cream on the Shrovetide buns and put on the lid, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top.

Eat and enjoy this luxury. In Sweden it is served during January until April.