Garden Wisdom Blog — seeds

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) This annual herb is known officially as coriander just about everywhere outside of the Americas. We often think of the fresh leaves as cilantro, and the seeds (which are very easy to harvest) as coriander. Cilantro is the Spanish name for coriander. The plant is native to North Africa and Mediterranean Europe, and is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae. Its close relatives include parsley, fennel, and dill, which is easy to see when the plant flowers, producing tall umbels of white flowers. Each cilantro “seed” is actually a schizocarp that can be divided into two...

Not so much an official trial, as an effort to grow out each of our sweet peas for comparative study. We grew out fifteen varieties among the other flowers and vegetables at our Kirkland House demonstration garden here in Ladner this year, creating one of the most fragrant garden experiences of all time. The sweet pea plant (almost all cultivated varieties are Lathyrus odoratus) originated in Sicily and the nearby surrounding Mediterranean region. They have been cultivated since the 1600s, and some of the oldest strains are still around. But every year new varieties and combinations are introduced, so a...