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Are you looking for the best time/result ratio? Vote for rhubarb! For non-gardeners and occasional gardeners alike, rhubarb is a godsend. Requiring no care and growing in mid-shade and cool soil, this hardy perennial thrives every year. These giant leaves can reach a span of up to two meters. They are supported by their scarlet-red stems or petioles, tending to green, and form a particularly beautiful decorative ensemble in June.

Continue reading “Exuberant rhubarb”

Carrots make you look and feel good, so why not start the year with them? By the way, do you know where they come from? The carrot, like many of our vegetables, comes from the East, its ancestors having been found in Eurasia, and more precisely in Afghanistan. Not very fleshy like its cousin, the parsnip, still very popular in Great Britain, the carrot came in all colors: from purple to pink, from yellow to orange or even white. But it wasn’t until the end of the 18th century, when white carrots were crossbred with red ones, that they strangely became orange instead of pink.

But how can you tell by its foliage what color it is under the soil ? There’s only one solution: pull out the root to identify it ! The carrot is in fact a taproot, because its root is unique, straight and tapered. If we didn’t harvest it in its first year, we’d see it blossom into magnificent white umbels, followed by seeds like any biennial plant. You would see it growing wild on our embankments, not to be confused with the poisonous hemlock.

But how can you tell from its outer foliage what color it is underground? There’s only one solution: pull out the root to identify it ! The carrot is in fact a taproot, because its root is unique, straight and tapered. If we didn’t harvest it in its first year, we’d see it blossom into magnificent white umbels, followed by seeds. Just as you’d see it growing wild on our embankments, not to be confused with the hemlock with its sinister reputation. This is characteristic of biennial plants. Continue reading “Happy carrots, happy new year !”

Do you remember, during summer holidays in the countryside, coming back from the orchard, with a half-full basket of plums now, in your hand, and your mouth full of the other half? Yellow, golden, red-pigmented yellow, yellow with a hint of green, or blue with a hint of violet, the range of plum colors is very subtle. Continue reading “Plums of the childhood”

Did you ever see a teepee in a garden, around which the bean wrapped  itself in a race that last until the heart of summer ? Because it is indeed a vine that we are talking about. Its climbing or “paddle” form can reach up to three meters high. Hence for practical reasons, dwarf varieties have been selected.

Continue reading “A Vine So Familiar”