One of my decisions is to keep the front more of a perennial, self seeding garden, as opposed to the potager it is now. In other words, to have fewer annual vegetables. That doesn't mean it won't have veggies. Oh no. It will just have more biennual or perennial vegetables. I have salsify growing, which will have a lovely purple flower in its second year, and will be replanting parnip roots for their dramatic flower. I will also be transferring my 'radicchio' chicory with its arresting blue flower to the front.
These will join all sorts of nibble plants such as:
Seen grown here with overwintered hot peppers, nasturtiums, sage and thyme.
Also showing moonbeam coreopsis, a cultivar of a NA wildflower, gypsophilia repens - great for dry areas, basil, and lobelia.
Jeruselum artichokes, horseradish, rhubarb, daylilies and egpytian onions in my 'wild side bed'
The giant plant is Jeruselum Artichoke.
I adore the dramatic leaves of horseradish. Here seen with tansy that somehow snuck in.
Aples, plums, red current, gooseberry and rugosa rose as part of the foundation planting:
Seen her with native ninebark, hosta, iris and peony. Oh and a kid, nicknamed worse than the birds. This is where she was headed in the above picture.
I will, however, miss the strange looks of people passing by the cabbage planted with the lavender.
Cabbage temporarily planted where there are some so far well behaved raspberry vines...
I should probably include an
Optimistic Gardener Warning
I am planting the salsify beside a false sunflower. And the parsnip as a background plant. The chicory will probably grow in front of the parsnip, with the cosmos. As chicory is my favourite flower, I was happy to discover that radicchio has a flower nearly identical to the wild type, except the buds have a pleasing jewel tone before opening.
Photo updates next year.
Links:
A wild food site. How to identify and prepare chicory
Salsify flower - aren't they pretty!
