Myoga Ginger Zingibur mioga is a perennial ginger from Japan. Small flowers form at the base of the leaves – harvest the young pink flower shoots before they open. Delicious fermented, pickled or cooked to provide a zesty ginger taste.
Amaranth Amaranthus cruisentus is an ancient gluten free grain high in protein, vitamins, and minerals. All parts of the plant are edible. The seed heads can be collected in the fall, dried, and stored for up to one year. Cook with rice to make a complete protein. The leaves can be sliced fine and added to salads or cooked like spinach.
Sea Kale Crambe maritima can be grown anywhere, not just by the sea. It is a perennial brassica with edible leaves, flowers, and florets – like broccoli. It’s quickly becoming a cult classic in permaculture gardens.
Sweet Cicely Myrrhis odorata is a perennial herb in the parsley family. The roots, stems and leaves are all edible and impart a sweet anise flavor. Prefers dappled light.
Sorrel Rumex acetosa is an herbaceous spring green that can be eaten raw or cooked. Cut back seed stalks for a continuous supply of lemony flavored edible greens.
Good King Henry Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus is a perennial spinach analogue. Leaves can be harvested and cooked like spinach. It is a dynamic accumulator with a long tap root and comes up early in the spring around the same time as Dandelion. GKH will bolt during the summer months, but the flowers are edible as well. The seedheads can be harvested in the fall and cooked like Quinoa.
Shiso Perilla frutescens var. crispa is an herb in the mint family native to the mountainous regions of China and India, and now can be found around the globe. Shiso is commonly used in Asian dishes with sushi, as a pickling agent, dried into colorful flakes, and added fresh to soups and salads.
Meadowsweet Filipundula ulmaria is a medicinal herb with white sweet-smelling flowers that are used in teas and extracts. It contains salicylic acid, the main component of aspirin. In addition to pain relief, it has been used to treat gout, rheumatism, and arthritis. Plant in part sun.
Asparagus is a perennial spring vegetable with harvestable young shoots that can be eaten raw, steamed, or grilled. Newly planted corms will take three years to get established for a sizable harvest.
Walking Onions Allium x proliferum are perennial scallion-like onions that drop their bulbs and self-seed. The green shoots can be harvested several times over the growing season.
Perpetual Spinach Beta vulgaris is a perennial chard type leafing spinach that tolerates summer heat and winter cold. Harvestable from early spring to hard frost.
York Hazelnut Tree Corylus avellana grows to 15’ and produces delicious nuts for eating or making paste. The shrubs are native to New England and are resistant to Eastern Filbert blight.
Chives Allium schoeonprasum are a herbaceous herb with edible leaves and flowers. More delicate than onions, chives can be cut back and used several times throughout the growing season. Mild enough to be eaten raw chopped into a salad or sprinkled on fish or incorporated into an omelet. The purple flower tops add a pleasing splash of color to and dish or plate.
Lovage Levisticum officinale is a perennial herb that tastes like celery with a bit of anise flavor. European cultivation over time incorporates Lovage into stews, salads, and soup stock.
Salad Burnet Sanguisorba minor is a perennial salad green with cucumber flavor. With a mounding habitat, it makes a splendid edible ground cover.
Vervain Verbena hastata is a strong late season pollinator traditionally used by Native Americans as a relaxant, cure for insomnia, expelling worms, and repairing a damaged liver.
Calendula flower was historically used for magical purposes such as attracting fairies, deciding between two paths, and adorning Hindu deities. More recently Calendula flower is commonly used in healing salves, as a natural dye, and to soothe inflammation. Sprinkle the petals on top of a salad and let her magic work for you.
Crandall Black Current Ribes odoratum sometimes called clove current, is a hardy fruit bearing shrub. Easy to grow, it sports showy yellow trumpet shaped flowers in spring that produce large, sweet fruit in August.
Rubina Red Current Ribes rubrum is a Swedish variety, sweeter and more flavorful than most red currents, great for fresh eating and preserves.
Honeyberry Lonicera caerulea is a small shrub with sweet tangy fruit like Blueberries. They are high in antioxidants and taste like a cross between wild blueberries and currents, preferring part sun in zone 5 and up.
Illinois Everbearing Mulberry Morus alba x rubra is a reliable heavy bearing fruit tree laden with fruit in early summer. Good for fresh eating and preserves.
Huckleberry, Evergreen Vaccinium ovatum is a fruiting shrub that prefers shade and acid soil. Producing tasty dark blue berries mid-summer, the foliage sports a deep bronze color in the spring and fall.
Red and Black Jostaberry Ribes x uva-crispa (red) R. nidigrolaria (black) are a cross between Currants and Gooseberries without the thorns. They grow well in part-sun and can be enjoyed fresh off the shrub or in preserves.
Elderberry, Nova Sambucus canadensis are an easy-care native berry with full clusters of creamy white flowers in spring ripening to sweet deep purple edible berries in August.
Pilgrim Cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon serves as an evergreen ground cover covered with pink flowers in the spring and then produces large cranberries in late fall. The fruit is high in antioxidants and promotes urinary track health.
Lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family and makes a tasty jam or preserves.
Nanking Cherry Prunus tomentosa is a dwarf cherry tree more closely related to plums with dark red fruits that ripen in early summer. Plant 2 or more bush cherry shrubs for cross-pollination. Nanking Cherry shrubs make a study windbreak and are drought tolerant.
Nannyberry Viburnum Lentago is native to North America, sprouting showy white flowers in May that turn into edible berries and burgundy foliage. The shrubs can grow to 18’ and make a stable hedge.
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