Many of the flowers on this plate have come from early spring veggies and greens that are bolting in the early summer heat. All of them make for good eating, and the pollinators and beneficial insects like them, too. Allow the plants to mature and you’ll have free seed to sow in the late summer/early fall!
1. Peas: These days I grow peas for the flowers and tender young shoots and less for the actual peas. I can buy peas at the Farmers Market by the bag, but these delicious parts are a specialty that I can’t get anywhere. Their shelf life is short so growing my own means I can harvest the amount I need minutes before I eat it. I specifically grow varieties that have colourful flowers. Try: ‘Carouby de Maussane,’ ‘ Dwarf Gray Sugar,” Golden Sweet.’ When their season is through I leave a fair number of pods to mature on the plant and save the seed. I haven’t bought pea seeds in years and my own collection is now just a big, jumbled mix. I usually can’t tell what I’ve sown until the plants start producing. Flavour: Mild pea.
2. Arugula: These flowers are from the popular ‘Rocket’ variety. I’m not a fan of this variety because it bolts the minute the summer heat comes on and the leaves become tough, bitter, and hairy before you know it. However, a few plants came up with a packet of spicy mixed greens, so I’ve taken advantage by allowing it to keep going for the flowers (and eventually the seed). Flavour: Has a slight arugula-like kick.
3. Radish: I don’t always have success with radish. The soil stayed too cold for too long this spring and when it warmed up, it happened too quickly. Radishes like soil that is cool, but not too cool. They grow wooden and bolt in the heat. I did get a few radishes to harvest, but not nearly as many as I planted. No matter. My efforts were still rewarded. I’ve made several dishes of cooked radish greens and now that the flowers have arrived, they’ve found their way into my daily salads and I often pluck a few and pop them in my mouth as I pass them in the garden. Flavour: Mild radish bite.
4. Cress (Lepidium sativum): I showed you a photo of the plants about a month ago when they were still young and low to the ground. They are tall now, up beyond the height of the tomatoes that have gone in to replace some of the space these early spring greens once occupied within the same bed. I’m still eating the youngest of the green growth, but the older parts have become VERY spicy. Flavour: Tangy!
5. Giant Red Mustard: Here is another leafy green that I no longer need to plant with intention. Allow a few plants to set seed and you’ll have free food that lasts from the earliest spring into summer. The plants are large and bitter now. We’re eating the largest leaves sautéed and garnished with sesame oil and seeds. Flavour: The flowers taste like a milder version of the leaves. Eat individual flowers fresh or lightly sauté whole stems (unopened buds and all) like broccoli.
