I would like to invite any of you readers who may have a gardening question or comment, to send an email, or post a comment. Each week, Garden Chat articles are posted as a” Blog” on our website, & recently, a visitor posted a question after reading last weeks article on edible flowers. I thought it was worth sharing it with you.

The reader didn’t have a vegetable garden, but had an existing flower garden, which was growing well, and wanted to know what could be added to the mix to have some “home grown salads?”

In response, there are many things that could be utilized, that are both ornamental & also have a wonderful fresh flavor for salads.

There are some beautiful lettuces available that have interesting color & form, that will make a good base for your salads & fit well amongst flowers.

Freckles lettuce is a unique romaine that I have grown, that has burgundy speckles on it and has a nice form as well as taste.

There are also many rich maroon varieties such as Rosemore, Fiere, Dixter, Cimmaron, Annapolis, Sentry & Calvary, all of which make a pretty contrast to what you may have already growing in your flower bed.

Many of these will be available as transplants at the greenhouse in spring to give you some instant color and a jump start on the season, but you can also order the seed from companies such as “William Dam seeds” to start yourself.

Other things to try would be Bulls blood Beets, that have beautiful dark ornamental leaves that are a beautiful addition to the plate when they are young, and later in the season, provide fabulous beet roots to add to the menu.

Rainbow Swiss Chard has very colorful stems and is good steamed or stir-fried, as are several varieties of Kale such as Redbor or Black Tuscany. 

Some other vegetables to consider are things like purple cabbage - very pretty,

Asparagus peas - low growing plants that form a very dark red blossom and the unusual peas are edible steamed or stir-fried.

I also carry a pink blooming strawberry plant here at the greenhouse, which is a pretty way to have fresh fruit to add to the salad, and don’t forget herbs such as Chives, which are great in salads & other dishes and have a bonus of beautiful purplish flowers which are also edible and can be used to flavor oils & vinegars.

With all those great edible vegetables and flowers growing in your yard, don’t forget to keep chemicals out of the mix, to be sure you aren’t inadvertently ingesting something you intended for the lawn.

Perhaps your question or comment will inspire next week’s edition. Till then….