Lettuce Love: Decorative & Nutritious Mesclun Mix 

Mesclun is from the Provençal region of France and translates to “mixture” as in a mixture of lettuce greens. The traditional Mesclun mix consists of chervil, arugula, endive, and lettuce in precise proportions, but nowadays, many other wild greens may be included. Create a mix suitable to your own palette by adding the frilly fronds of frisée, spicy mizuna, nutty-flavored mâche, or mahogany-red radicchio, watercress, parsley or other herbs. The objective is to have a mix that is sweet, spicy, bitter, crisp…and beautiful.  

Lettuces, herbs, container tomatoes, and edible flowers can be grown easily in planters on a sunny deck or porch where they are readily available at a quick snip for the kitchen cook. 

Strawberry Spinach for the urban kitchen garden. Botanical name: Chenopodium capitatum. Other common names:  Indian Paint and Beet Berry.   This Native American plant has been around for 400 years. The greens, very high in Vitamins C and A, have a nutty flavor and can be cooked like spinach. The red berries look more like raspberries than strawberries and have a subtle watermelon-like taste. They make a nice addition to an edible “floral confetti” (marigold petals, nasturtium, borage, etc.) for salads. Best grown in a full-sun container garden with regular watering for optimum performance. Expect the plant to grow about 2’ tall and wide, densely loaded with red berries by late summer. It is cold-hardy and heat-tolerant, but you will most likely have to grow it from seed, as it is rarely available at the nursery. In mild winter climates, it will self-sow easily, so keep it contained if you are concerned about a Strawberry Spinach invasion.  Before adding this plant to your diet, read about some of the precautions at Plants For a Future, here. 

Strawberry Spinach for the urban kitchen garden. Botanical name: Chenopodium capitatum. Other common names:  Indian Paint and Beet Berry.  

This Native American plant has been around for 400 years. The greens, very high in Vitamins C and A, have a nutty flavor and can be cooked like spinach. The red berries look more like raspberries than strawberries and have a subtle watermelon-like taste. They make a nice addition to an edible “floral confetti” (marigold petals, nasturtium, borage, etc.) for salads.

Best grown in a full-sun container garden with regular watering for optimum performance. Expect the plant to grow about 2’ tall and wide, densely loaded with red berries by late summer. It is cold-hardy and heat-tolerant, but you will most likely have to grow it from seed, as it is rarely available at the nursery. In mild winter climates, it will self-sow easily, so keep it contained if you are concerned about a Strawberry Spinach invasion. 

Before adding this plant to your diet, read about some of the precautions at Plants For a Future, here. 

True or false?  The Bell Pepper Fable: Male bell peppers have three lobes and the female has four. Fact….or fiction when it comes to Capsicum annuum?  The only “relevant” resource I was able to locate that might address the answer to this question (raised by one of my Facebook friends today) was at Helium.com where the discussion of three lobes vs. four lobes is outlined in some detail. The bottom line: there’s a lot of discussion, but not necessarily a definitive answer one way or the other, after reading the article.  My own conclusion: it appears that the Fable of the Lobes may not be true, but I’d love to hear from someone well-versed in plant reproductive morphology who can shed more light on this issue.  The good news: bell peppers provide many health benefits which are outlined at WebMD.com (whether they have three lobes or four). Bell peppers are nutrient-dense, and contain high amounts of Vitamins A and C, and just one cup a day provides 100% of your daily A and C requirements. Bell peppers also provide protection against certain diseases and cancers, so go ahead - make a selection, any color, three lobes or four. A few recipes, here. 

True or false? 

The Bell Pepper Fable: Male bell peppers have three lobes and the female has four. Fact….or fiction when it comes to Capsicum annuum? 

The only “relevant” resource I was able to locate that might address the answer to this question (raised by one of my Facebook friends today) was at Helium.com where the discussion of three lobes vs. four lobes is outlined in some detail. The bottom line: there’s a lot of discussion, but not necessarily a definitive answer one way or the other, after reading the article. 

My own conclusion: it appears that the Fable of the Lobes may not be true, but I’d love to hear from someone well-versed in plant reproductive morphology who can shed more light on this issue. 

The good news: bell peppers provide many health benefits which are outlined at WebMD.com (whether they have three lobes or four). Bell peppers are nutrient-dense, and contain high amounts of Vitamins A and C, and just one cup a day provides 100% of your daily A and C requirements. Bell peppers also provide protection against certain diseases and cancers, so go ahead - make a selection, any color, three lobes or four. A few recipes, here. 

Vaccinium ‘Sunshine Blue’ (Southern Highbush Blueberry) This beautiful compact blueberry bush is ideal for hot, humid climates, and works well when planted in a large container. Afternoon shade is suggested in regions with particularly hot summers (Georgia, for example). Blueberry bushes are good companions for other shade-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangeas in a woodland border garden where the soil is naturally acidic.   Although blueberries are self-fertile, cross-pollination produces larger berries in abundance, so it’s better to plant more than one variety that blooms at the same time to obtain the best crop. ‘Sunshine Blue’ is not an abundant berry-producer and may work better as an ornamental shrub. Spring flowers and fall leaf color are both superb.  Birds love blueberries, so unless you plan to grow them to attract wildlife, it’s best to put some netting around the bush to protect it. ‘Chandler’ (late-season variety) is a larger cultivar producing cherry-size blueberries. Allow plenty of space for this one.  Blueberries are usually harvested mid-June to late-July, depending on the climate zone and the variety. To extend the harvest season, combine early, mid, and late season cultivars. 

Vaccinium ‘Sunshine Blue’ (Southern Highbush Blueberry)

This beautiful compact blueberry bush is ideal for hot, humid climates, and works well when planted in a large container. Afternoon shade is suggested in regions with particularly hot summers (Georgia, for example). Blueberry bushes are good companions for other shade-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangeas in a woodland border garden where the soil is naturally acidic.  

Although blueberries are self-fertile, cross-pollination produces larger berries in abundance, so it’s better to plant more than one variety that blooms at the same time to obtain the best crop. ‘Sunshine Blue’ is not an abundant berry-producer and may work better as an ornamental shrub. Spring flowers and fall leaf color are both superb. 

Birds love blueberries, so unless you plan to grow them to attract wildlife, it’s best to put some netting around the bush to protect it. ‘Chandler’ (late-season variety) is a larger cultivar producing cherry-size blueberries. Allow plenty of space for this one.  Blueberries are usually harvested mid-June to late-July, depending on the climate zone and the variety. To extend the harvest season, combine early, mid, and late season cultivars. 

Inspiration for an Urban Kitchen Garden.

Tucked snugly around a terra cotta garden cloche in raised beds: lettuces, chives, rhubarb, and borage occupy a fairly small space. More ideas for the modern urban kitchen gardener include the use of creeping thyme as a ground cover and growing herbs and other vegetables in pots vertically, by arranging them on a vintage step ladder. The cold frame is built into the eaves of an A-frame structure. Take a look at your own outdoor space, and figure out which areas can be transformed into a more serviceable garden. 

Photos from the Malvern Spring Gardening Show by Sally Nex.

Black-eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata) can be easily grown from seed. For a bright blast of summer color, use in hanging baskets or train on an obelisk. This climbing vine blooms profusely throughout the season. To achieve optimum results, and maintain flower production the whole season, provide morning sun and afternoon shade, especially in hotter climate zones. (Blue bottle tree from Felder Rushing, who has a new book out January 2013, Bottle Trees.)  

Soak the seeds for 12 hours in water (or organic cow manure tea, available from Authentic Haven Brand) and then plant them in peat pots to germinate. In two to three weeks, transplant them outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. 

Other seed varieties to look for: ‘Arizona Dark Red’ (reddish-orange), ‘Salmon Shades’ (pretty coral-salmon blend), and ‘Susie White Black Eye’ (pure white with a dark eye, just like its name).