Early spring salads

What we've been eating the last 6 weeks

Here are the main early spring salad ingredients we’ve been using over the last 6 weeks in our mostly daily salads (this is not definitive, there are many other possible plants!)

Achillea ageratum – English mace

Alliums

                A. altaicum – Altai leek

                A. ledebournianum

                A. moly – golden garlic

                A. neapolitanum – Neapolitan garlic. Leaves and flowers

                A. schoenoprasum – chives. Leaves and flowers

A. ursinum – ramsons. Leaves and flowers

Golden garlic

Aquilegia vulgaris – columbine

Borago officinalis – borage. Flowers from the glasshouse.

Claytonia sibirica – siberian purslane. Leaves, stems, flowers

Crambe cordifolia  - seakale. Young leaves and the fabulous flowers.

Seakale

Fagus sylvatica - beech

Houttounia cordata – fish mint. Leaves are a favourite of ours.

Lepidium sativum  - cress

Melissa officinalis ‘Lemona’ – lemon balm. An extra lemony variety.

Mentha suaveolens – Apple mint

Myrrhis odorata - sweet cicily. Leaves early on, green fruits in last 2 weeks

Sweet cicily

Oregano vulgare ‘Greek’ – Greek oregano

Phyllostachys spp. – bamboo shoots, cooked and cooled

Plantago lanceolata - ribwort plantain

Rumex spp (sorrel/dock family)

                R. acetosa – garden sorrel

                R. patienta – monk’s rhubarb

                R, scutatus – buckler-leaf sorrel

Sedum sarmentosum – gold moss stonecrop. The best edible Sedum we’ve tasted so far! (yes we’ll have plants to sell in the autumn….)

Stellaria graminea – lesser stichwort. Leaves and flowers

Lesser stichwort

Toona sinensis  - toon

Tropaeolum majus – nasturtium. Leaves and flowers from the glasshouse.