Perennial Corner

The Perennial Veg corner has started to wake up.  It's so exciting to see things reappear, hardy little green bits of goodness.  Above, you can see one of the clumps of Good King Henry.  This is technically an herb, I suppose, but you can eat the leaves like spinach (raw when young, steamed/stir fried when older) and the stems like asparagus.  It's a wonderful spring pot-herb to add to salads or toss into soups.

The sunchokes are also emerging.  It's hard to believe now, but eventually they will grow to be about eight feet tall and sturdy.  I need to dig extras this fall, otherwise my little patch will take over the world.

The lovage is coming up nicely too, in two good sized clumps.  I'm hoping this year I'll have enough to harvest and dry--it has a lovely strong celery flavor, perfect to add to winter stews and casseroles.

The Egyptian Walking Onions are doing well--in fact, they've sown themselves in a couple of spots that won't really do at all.  So, I'll dig those up once they get slightly bigger and either give them away or use them as spring onions.  I think they'd be great roasted on the grill.

My horseradish has come up too.  Two lovely fat clumps of leaves, signaling a hearty root below.  Later in the season, I'll dig some up and make a mouthwatering sauce to top a locally raised grass fed steak, grilled to perfection...geez.  I'm making myself hungry!