I Want To Break Free

I dedicate that tongue-in-cheek song by Queen to these cheeky volunteer plants.

A Doug Fir seedling making a break for it behind the narrow slits of the willow screen enclosing the shed under the back deck.

 

Pseudotsuga menziesii (syn Abies menziesii) - Douglas Fir

Yellow Corydalis jailed behind a line up of garden tools parked there year-round that I'm too lazy to put away properly in the shed.

Corydalis lutea -  Yellow Corydalis

The ever so clever Lady Fern reaching for freedom from under the back stairs... perplexing me in how da heck it got through the 1cm grid of the hardware cloth (my feeble attempts at keeping critters like raccoons at bay), tacked to the undersides of the back steps.

Athyrium filix-femina - Lady Fern

The Bonny and Clyde of the weed world in my books; Buttercup and Morning Glory bullying its way through the layers of a heavy stack of rusted rebars, 6 inches deep of 3/4 inch clear-crushed gravel, and industrial grade landscape fabric beneath all of that.

Runnunculus acris - Buttercup and Convolvulus arvensis - Morning Glory or Bindweed

I've got to break free
I want to break free yeah

I want, I want, I want, I want to break free

Excerpts from I Want To Break Free by Queen

Edible Plants From Head To Toe: Part 1 - Leafy Greens

In my so-called postage stamp food garden in the city (Vancouver, BC), everything has to be chosen judiciously.  The plants have to meet some very important criteria to be short listed into my food garden.  One favorite criteria is what I call the "head to toe factor".  The head to toe factor to me, means the whole plant is edible from roots to tips.  There are many vegetables that fit into this category such as beets, turnips, cilantro, fennel, most salad greens, etc.  The following examples are some of my favorites in the leafy green category.

1.  Gai Lan - also know as Chinese Broccoli, can be eaten raw or cooked.  The whole plant is edible, the stalks tastes like a cross between asparagus and broccoli.  One of my favorite ways to cook Gai Lan is stir-fried with a bit of canola oil, Oyster Sauce, minced garlic, a pinch of sugar, and a few drops of water.  Stir-fry fast and hot but don't burn the garlic nor over cook the Gai Lan.  Excellent over steamed rice.  Eaten fresh, the young leaves and florets are fantastic in salads.

Gai Lan with the companion planting of green onions.

2.  Bau Sin - Chinese Mustard Green.  Mustard greens are best eaten raw, its crispy texture with its tangy-peppery flavour makes a fabulous fresh combination.  I love a sweet, pungent salad mix of arugula, mustard greens, mizuna, and Gai Lan, served with a protein main course like grilled fish or a steak.  Dress your mustard greens mix with a dressing of lemon juice, virgin olive oil, minced garlic, a few drops of honey, chili flakes, and sea salt, garnished with shaves of Parmesan cheese.

Bau Sin - Broad Leaf Chinese Mustard (foreground)

 3.  Shungiku or Edible Chrysanthemum has a peppery taste like a mild arugula.  The cute yellow flowers also bears a slightly peppery taste with a sweet note to it.  I like to eat Edible Chrysanthemum mostly in salads as the leaves are so delicate.  I've never tried it cooked but I imagine it would taste like steamed spinach but even milder.

Shungiku (in Japanese) - Edible Chrysanthemum (middle row)

 4.  Primula verdis - with a not-so-pleasant common name, Cow Slip, is I think one of the prettiest edible head to toe plants out there.  The young leaves are used mainly in fresh salads and soups, the leaves have a slightly bitter minty flavour, so go easy when using it.  The flowers have a bit more delicate flavour and is often used for garnish, colouring, flavoring vinegars and liquors.  The flowers are ideal for cut flower arrangement because of its tall sturdy stalks and it's very fragrant.  I plant my Primula verdis amongst my ornamental garden beds just as you're approaching the food garden.  I like the transition from the ornamental garden beds to the food garden as Primula verdis have those ornamental-edible qualities.

Primula verdis - Cow Slip

In future posts, I will cover the other must-haves elements for fruits and vegetables to be allowed in my mini city food garden.

Stop and smell the roses

The Rosebuds - "In The Backyard"

The Rosebuds are an adorable indie band from Raleigh, North Carolina, they are playing at The Media Club in Vancouver on July 12, 2011.  Come out and smell the roses in your back yard.

Good Ol' Charlie Brown

A reference to a Charlie Brown tree when shopping for a Christmas tree, or any tree for that matter, is often a reference to something gangly, awkward-looking, and "not all there".  Until of course you meet the princely (Charles?), Cedrus atlantica "Glauca Fastigiata" which is commonly known as the Blue Atlas Cedar.  Blue Atlas Cedars have those Charlie Brown qualities that most people disdain, but it's these qualities that make them princely in my books.

I planted a pair of these handsome Chucks in large zinc pots in my garden.  They act as sentries on either side of my gate as you exit my front garden.  My front garden is a shady woodland garden, full of Vine Maples, ferns, Bergennias, Turf Lilies, Epimediums, Saxifragas, etc.  The Blue Atlas Cedars, with their glaucous blue-green needles and their smooth silvery-gray bark acts as beacons of light in the moody, lush, monochromatic field of varying shades of green.

My Blue Atlas Cedars are located in a very sheltered area of my garden, partly shaded by a 6' tall cedar fence, and our three-storey house.  Last year, we craned in, and planted one of these conifers at a roof garden project in Yaletown, where it endured extreme conditions, like 100 km windstorms, -17 C icy temperatures during the long winter months, as well as 30+ C heat, and intense sun in the summer months, I'm impressed how well they responded to their very different exposures.  These conifers are not only princes, they are warriors!

photo by Yasmine Franchi

Good ol' Charlie Brown, your foibles, your perseverance, and your spirit are what makes you so loveable.


Care and condtions: Cedrus atlantica "Glauca Fastigiata" - Blue Atlas Cedar
Hardy to Zone 6
Part sun to full sun exposure
Fast growing (up to 60' in nature), behaves like dwarf varieties planted in containers.
Water wise plants
Pollution tolerant