North Shore Gardener
Barbara Barger
—
Q: Is there a book or website that teaches one which growing things can be eaten and which can't? Specifically, I have some wonderful lemon geraniums — no flowers, just leaves. Every time I water them or the breeze moves them, the most wonderful smell hits me. I want to know whether I could use them to flavor something in cooking, or add them to my tea. I couldn't find this on the Internet.
A: The leaves of scented geraniums (and all parts of the plant) are safe to eat, but the leaves and flowers are most often used as scents and flavoring. Your lemon geranium is one of the most-used of the scented group, which includes nutmeg, rose, orange, peppermint, chocolate, etc. They are used as flavorings and scents as well as decorations on plates and floating in soups. They can also be dried for tea, potpourri, bug repellents, etc. A recipe for lemon pound cake flavored with lemon geraniums and decorated with the leaves was popular in Victorian times and sounds delicious.
You should be able to find the toxicity of any plant by just typing in the name of the plant and asking if it's safe to eat — try it! Just be sure you have identified the plant correctly. In addition, there are articles on toxic houseplants, toxic trees — almost anything you could want.
The Foxfire book series by Elliot Wigginton has some wonderful wild plant information (as well as planting by the moon phases, hog butchering, etc. — many old time ideas and skills). It's fun to just read.
Q: I have a deck going in that will end up covering a small section of a creeping myrtle tract. I want to transplant it rather than let it die. When I've pulled some up by mistake, there doesn't seem to be any root; rather, it breaks off from one continuous vine. I'd like to do it right. Any suggestions? Any special prep for the new location? It currently covers a pretty good chunk of yard where the dirt is not so good. Can I transplant it directly into the same not-so-good soil?
A: Your myrtle, or vinca or periwinkle, will make a lively ground cover in no time at all; move it this fall or next spring.
Do amend the soil in the new planting area and weed it well. It's the last time you'll get the chance to do it.
Lift each plant, trimming the runners if you want; otherwise, the runner can be partially buried and in a short time will form more plants. If it breaks off, it won't do any harm; just discard or replant the runner.
Space plants about a foot apart. If you want a fast ground cover and have enough plants, space them closer. Water well, and water through a hot, dry season like this summer.
While you're at it, a myrtle bed is a nice place to plant some spring bulbs. Plant bulbs that don't require full sun, as the vinca will be providing full shade, and plant bulbs that are high enough to stand above the vinca foliage. Vinca will, in turn, hide the dying bulb foliage, and that's a big plus.
Think about fall clean-up: the easiest way to remove dead tree leaves in the fall is with a blower. A rake will tangle in the runners.
When the little blue flowers appear in late spring, vinca will be a particularly lovely cover for the difficult spot.
North Shore Gardener by Barbara Barger of Beverly is a feature of Friday's Lifestyles section. Reach Barbara by e-mail at nsgardener@comcast.net or write to her c/o Gloucester Daily Times, 36 Whittemore St., Gloucester, MA 01930. Previous North Shore Gardener columns can be found at www.nsgardener.com.
c_
