Flowers In The Garden

Dear Folks,

I thought I would show you some of the flowers in the garden this past week and month.  My hope is you can relax for a few minutes and enjoy this tour of my blooming garden

Nothing says spring like flowers, and in some cases the promise of fruit.  With the exception of the Amaryllis flowers, these are either edible or fruit producing.

This first picture is my Barbados Cherry aka Acerola (Malpighia emarginata).  She has been in the ground for several years and gives me cherries about 3 times a year.  This winter she took a really frost / freeze hit and I thought we were going to have to do major pruning.  The tree is/was healthy, then when the warm weather came on she put out new growth all over including the frosted branches.  We may still do a bit of pruning, but as you can see we have flowers and fruit.

This Amaryllis is a pup from a bulb my Dad gave me back in the 80s.  I still have the original bulb plus this and several other ones planted around the gardens.  I love the beautiful blush and look forward to it every year.

Nothing says spring like sunflowers. This wild one was so lovely in the morning sun. These wild sunflowers are here there and everywhere and each year we try to remove after flower before they spread their seed but last year we missed - a lot the opportunity :)

My non-wild ones - that I intentionally planted have not opened up yet, but looking forward to them.

This Carrot flower is just so stunning.

I still have carrots in the garden to harvest - this one I am going to let go to seed and catch - at least I hope to catch them this year.  Last year for a variety of reasons I was not as diligent in the garden (like with the wild sunflowers) and the result was a ton of carrots came up and in surprising places - like under our dump trailer on the other side of the property! The variety is Chantenay and is the only I grow now, as the flavor is awesome no matter the size.

This Carrot Flower Bud just opening up with a visitor may wind up being one of my all time favorites and was a happenstance one morning.  The ladybug is a very welcome visitor to the gardens.

The opening flower bud is only about 1 1/2 - 2 inches across.  I was so lucky to spot one morning while meandering through the garden.

The appearance of this and other Garlic Scapes means I can get ready to cut them back and look to lifting and drying my garlic in a few weeks.

Scapes are a short-season delicacy for many gardeners.  They are stir-fried, roasted or sauteed and added to foods.

If left to open, the scape produces a typical allium flower head, sometimes seeds.

On the other side of the flavor spectrum these strawberry flowers and fruit are one of our favorite additions to our garden where they grow as a companion next to (and sometimes throughout) our asparagus bed.  These are Alpine Strawberries - small but with an amazing flavor. We have both red and white growing.

Speaking of flavor the Pineapple Guava (not a true Guava) Feijoa sellowiana, has the prettiest and most amazing flower.  Those white petals taste like a piece of candy so sweet!

The fruit is actually the lesser tasting although still nice in its own way.  Like an astringent Kiwi, you have to let the fruit fall to the ground in November to know it is really ripe.  We rely on the thick duff under the tree to cushion the fruit after falling. 

My Arizona Wild Rose is till producing these sweet and lightly scented roses and it just a joy to see them.  This wild rose does not have the spectacular budding and flowering of some of the 'domestic' heirlooms (which I love too) - the open faced bloom is just so nice to admire for its simplicity.

I dry the petals along with other edible flowers to use as garnish for meals.

Stock (Matthiola incana) flowers are not only pretty fragrant and tasty.  They are related to broccoli and are another petal I dry.  These dark purple reseeded heavily in the gardens last year and are always a welcome addition.

It wouldn't be a garden without an old fashioned Hollyhock. I have attempted to keep colors true over the years - I have had maroon, white, pink etc. but hollyhocks have a genetic mind of their own and freely cross so I just gave in and let some plants come up in an appropriate place, i.e., where they won't shade other plants with their height and I can still enjoy them.  They too will freely re-seed ALL over. :)

When I mention re-seeding, I can't forget my Nasturtiums!  They have populated the gardens for years and I let them as they are known to help with some pest control, plus those gorgeous leaves and flowers are edible and I use them a lot in salads through the winter. Even making "Dolma" from the bigger leaves.  I have a nice mix of colors in the garden from pal yellow with splashes of color up to a dark red.

Cilantro is all going to flower now and the pretty little flowers will eventually produce the spice "Coriander" one of the most interesting herb to spice plants, because the seed tastes nothing like the fresh leaf.

Borage (Borago officinalis) flowers are the most interesting, sometimes called "Star Flower" and you can see why.  The flowers and leaves are edible with a light cucumber flavor.  The flowers make a stunning garnish.

Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus), another old fashioned garden favorite is just going and going!

(Those are some of my Johnny Jump-Ups around the Buttons.)

I am going to try and catch the seeds.  It has been a long time since I last grew them and since they are "so" happy in their current spot I want to make sure I have them next year to enjoy. 

My last flower, Feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium L, is primarily a medicinal plant, the flowers and leaves can be eaten.  I grow it (and it was another one that re-seeded a lot in the garden last year) for the fragrant leaves when you brush against them AND the bitter leaf when chewed will usually stop a headache for me.Those flowers are another one that says spring!

I wish you an enjoyable day.  Please stay safe, be patient, take care of yourself, and each other.



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.