In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked at
| the garden centre and received a blank look!
|
| Good King Henry
|
| Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
| the leaves used as a herb.

Primarily a root vegetable, actually.

| Sorrel
|
| Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
| all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
| however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
| that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
| common - is this true?

Yes and no. Hamburg Parsley wasn't, and the others were not
universal in the UK - sorrel was in France. I grow the first and
last; both are herbaceous perennials.

Good King Henry makes a mediocre spinach (fat hen is MUCH better),
but can be blanched in spring and the pink shoots are called
Lincolnshire asparagus. Watch out - they get stringy, fast. And
DON'T let it seed, or it will be a real pest. The seeds are
probably edible, but I have not eaten them.

Sorrel is an extremely useful herb, in salad, soup, stuffing fish,
as a sauce with fat meat and so on. It doesn't self-seed much
with me, but does with some people. It prefers a damp location.

Look at the edible herbs FAQ on rec.gardens for more ideas; you
may recognise the odd contributor :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.