I’VE BEEN EXPERIMENTING with a wider palette of brassicas—those good-for-you plants in the mustard family, a.k.a. cruciferous vegetables, or cole crops.
(Why are there always so many names for everything?) Lately, I’ve focused on cousins that are easier to grow and longer-producing in my Zone 5B of the Northeast than conventional broccoli with its large central head. Bigger isn’t always better (see that lovely half-cup-sized beauty above?) I had such good results from early plantings of new-to-me types including spigarello and ‘Purple Peacock’ that I’m sowing more—right now—to insure a steady supply into latest fall, and beyond. Can I entice you try some?
I’m most interested in what I’d describe as “cut and come again” varieties, where I don’t get all my harvest at once but can pick at the plants over a long season, from young, tender parts to the more mature flowering stage.
All of these choices have something to offer in that regard:
Spigarello, or spigariello, or simply “leaf broccoli” (or many other things this semi-mystery plant has been called, including minestra nera, or cavolo broccolo ‘a Getti di Napoli’) was a gift from Gayla Trail of You Grow Girl, who saves her seed each year. Eventually (apparently after 70-something days) it will make small florets, even less significant than broccoli raab’s, I suspect, but in that direction.
But who cares if it does? The leaves (above, on immature plants) are delicious, so you can eat spigarello anytime in its life cycle. I confess I have even stolen leaves to chop up, raw, in my salad, and sautéed some—just wilted, the way you might spinach, with some garlic and oil–but you can plant a whole stand and harvest entire flowering plants, too.
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Camassias, also known as wild hyacinth, Indian hyacnith, quamash or camas, produce tall spires of blue, white or occasionally pink star-like flowers in late April, May and early June. Grown from bulbs that are planted in autumn, they come into their own at a time of year when many spring bulbs have finished flowering and early perennials are yet to flower.
If you're a farmer or just want to raise goats, sooner or later you may have baby goats to care for, particularly if you're raising them for milking. Providing a baby goat, or a «kid,» with the right care will help it grow into a healthy, hearty adult goat.
‘Autumn Joy’ or ‘Herbstfreude’ sedum is a reliable and attractive perennial known for its ability to emerge in spring as if winter never happened, unscathed and still beloved by all. Its fleshy, green foliage fills in quickly and behaves well, rare
Marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis) is a hardy herbaceous perennial, the root of which was once used to flavour the sweets of the same name. Grown and used for thousands of years for a wide variety of medicinal and practical uses, marsh mallow is found from western Europe to central Asia in damp habitats such as marshes and riverbanks, coastal regions and salt marshes – hence its name. A substantial plant, marsh mallow can grow up to 1.8 m in height and spread, forming a clump of mid-green leaves, shallowly lobed at the edges, which are softly hairy on both sides. Stems clothed with pale pink or white flowers are borne from midsummer to autumn and are very attractive to butterflies.
Eucalyptus is a versatile plant in the home and garden. Houseplant enthusiasts adore the fragrance it brings to the home. In the landscape, eucalyptus makes a striking accent with gorgeous foliage and colorful bark. Eucalyptus plants are easy to care for and can be grown in containers, maintained as a shrub, or allowed to mature into a tree. They are often trained as a standard.
Bromeliads are members of the Bromeliaceae plant family. They typically have striking, sword-shaped leaves and a bright, unusual-looking bloom, which is actually a bract surrounding an insignificant flower. They hail from tropical rainforests, where they grow naturally on the bark of trees, rather than in the ground. Their roots are used to grip on to their host, and they get moisture from a central ‘tank’ or ‘vase’ in the middle of the rosette of leaves that fills with water whenever it rains. In the wild, frogs sometimes raise their young in these tanks.
My grandparents’ neighbor had a corkscrew weeping willow tree, and I was convinced it was something out of a fantasy world. How else do you explain the long, weeping, twisted bra
Lavender fields are impressive, not just because of how incredible they look, but because of the feeling of calm and peace they create that is so hard to find elsewhere. That relaxing property is just one of the many reasons why we love to grow this plant at home, but lavender is also wonderful when used ornamentally. Couple this with its soothing effect and charming aroma, and you start to scratch the surface of its many, many uses.