Garden Wisdom Blog — category: Vegetable Talk

About Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea Botrytis group) Modern cauliflower has been grown since the 15th century, and it was grown almost exclusively in Italy until the 16th century when it gradually migrated to France and then to American gardens 100 years later. The Italians grew a variety of different kinds, including the traditional white and Romanesco, and various colours including purple, yellow, and green. In the 18th century German growers developed the annual cultivar which grows so well for summer and fall harvests. French gardeners perfected the biennial cultivar for winter and spring harvest in the 1800s, about the same time...

Celery (Apium graveolens var. dulce) & Celeriac (A. graveolens var. rapaceum) The Latin names for the different types of celery are revealing. In both cases, graveolens means “strong smelling” or “heavily scented.” Dulce implies sweetness, while rapaceum means “turnip-like.” Few vegetables boast such accurately descriptive names. Celery leaves and flowers were among the plants discovered in garlands around the neck of Tutankhamun’s mummy, and he was entombed in 1324 BC. Homer mentions celery in his Iliad and Odyssey, so cultivation began early and it is still popular around the world. Celery, along with carrots and onions, are finely diced to...

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) Asparagus has very few close botanical relatives in its own family, Asparagaceae. The name “asparagus” simply comes from the Latin botanical title, with its roots in Greek and the original Persian, asparag, meaning “shoots.” The asparagus we eat, of course, are actually the young shoots of a large perennial plant, harvested shortly after appearing above ground in the spring. The shoots issue forth from an underground stem (crown), and if left to mature, form a dense cloud of diaphanous green foliage. The fern-like leaves are actually modified stems called cladodes, which emerge from the crutches of true...

About Arugula Arugula is a low-growing member of the Brassica family that forms rosettes that resemble a cross between lettuce and dandelions. Its leaves have deep, round indentations reminiscent of oak leaves. These, as well as the flowers and seed pods are edible. Arugula grows naturally all around the Mediterranean, and has been collected since Roman times from the wild. It only really caught on as a salad green for garden cultivation in the early 1990s. Traditionally, arugula is yet another vegetable (as we shall see) thought to have aphrodisiac qualities. There are numerous varieties of Arugula to choose from....

Artichokes are heat-loving plants of the large family, Asteraceae. The genus Cynara includes eight other wild, thistle-like plants, including C. humilis, which was grown as a food crop in North Africa. Some people grow these plants for their splendid purple flower heads and striking foliage. The plants, with their silvery foliage, can grow to 3m (10’) or more! Their flowers can be up to 20cm (8”) in diameter, and are easily identifiable as giant relatives of the wild thistles that are common around the northern hemisphere. We grow them for the wonderful flavour of the scales that surround the flower...