In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

I don't know why it has never been domesticated. It is a neolithic
food plant and, as we agree, is in no way inferior to spinach as a
food crop. Most pseudo-spinaches are very coarse, but it isn't.

Isn't good-king-henry a recognised potherb? And you can buy seeds of it
from some of the veg suppliers.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article ,
Kay wrote:
In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

I don't know why it has never been domesticated. It is a neolithic
food plant and, as we agree, is in no way inferior to spinach as a
food crop. Most pseudo-spinaches are very coarse, but it isn't.

Isn't good-king-henry a recognised potherb? And you can buy seeds of it
from some of the veg suppliers.

Good King Henry is, and I grew it for years. I was referring to Fat
Hen.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes
In article ,
Kay wrote:
In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

I don't know why it has never been domesticated. It is a neolithic
food plant and, as we agree, is in no way inferior to spinach as a
food crop. Most pseudo-spinaches are very coarse, but it isn't.

Isn't good-king-henry a recognised potherb? And you can buy seeds of it
from some of the veg suppliers.

Good King Henry is, and I grew it for years. I was referring to Fat
Hen.

OK - I was reading it as chenopodium in general. I've never bothered to
get to grips with the identification of the individual species.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

Good King Henry is, and I grew it for years. I was referring to Fat
Hen.

fat hen is, IMO, far superior to Good King Henry. It is easier to
gather, crops better, and tastes marginally better too.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Kay" wrote in message
...
snip.....
Much more of a problem is Alchemilla mollis, which
seeds everywhere and is very difficult to uproot.


And to think that I've lovingly tended a clump of this for 2 years, weeding
it, pricking out the wee offsets, picking out the dried dead leaves....
It looks fantastic with dew on it.

A bad weed in my garden is something I've not identified with flowers
resembling forget-me-not, leaves big and rough (spiky enough to be scratchy
rather than prickly) with pale splotches. The whole plant grows about 3 ft
high if left to do so. Seems perennial, plus seeds all over the place.
Anyone know what it is?

Duncan

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:39:52 +0000 (UTC), "Duncan"
wrote:


"Kay" wrote in message
...
snip.....

A bad weed in my garden is something I've not identified with flowers
resembling forget-me-not, leaves big and rough (spiky enough to be scratchy
rather than prickly) with pale splotches. The whole plant grows about 3 ft
high if left to do so. Seems perennial, plus seeds all over the place.
Anyone know what it is?

Is this it?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plant...es/11268.shtml
Duncan





Pam in Bristol

Duncan wrote:

A bad weed in my garden is something I've not identified with flowers
resembling forget-me-not, leaves big and rough (spiky enough to be
scratchy rather than prickly) with pale splotches. The whole plant
grows about 3 ft high if left to do so. Seems perennial, plus seeds
all over the place. Anyone know what it is?

Borage? http://www.gardenguides.com/herbs/borage.htm and
http://www.ienica.net/crops/borage.htm

The bees love the flowers. Apparently you can put the leaves in your Pimms
and scatter the flowers in salads for colour. You can buy the oil of its
seeds in the guise of starflower oil. It does seem to be fairly useful from
a herbal medicine point of view, but it self-seeds like mad.

Is that it?

--
Sally Holmes
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

In article ,
Jaques d'Alltrades writes:
| The message
| from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
|
| Good King Henry is, and I grew it for years. I was referring to Fat
| Hen.
|
| fat hen is, IMO, far superior to Good King Henry. It is easier to
| gather, crops better, and tastes marginally better too.

As a pseudo-spinach, FAR better! But you can blanch Good King Henry
and eat the pink stems like asparagus (it is called Lincolnshire
asparagus). It doesn't taste much like it, but is quite good.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
"Duncan" writes:
|
| A bad weed in my garden is something I've not identified with flowers
| resembling forget-me-not, leaves big and rough (spiky enough to be scratchy
| rather than prickly) with pale splotches. The whole plant grows about 3 ft
| high if left to do so. Seems perennial, plus seeds all over the place.
| Anyone know what it is?

Look up alkanet.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message k
from "Sally Holmes" contains these words:

Borage? http://www.gardenguides.com/herbs/borage.htm and
http://www.ienica.net/crops/borage.htm

The bees love the flowers. Apparently you can put the leaves in your Pimms
and scatter the flowers in salads for colour. You can buy the oil of its
seeds in the guise of starflower oil. It does seem to be fairly useful from
a herbal medicine point of view, but it self-seeds like mad.

You put the flowers in your Pimms - they taste of cucumber.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , Duncan
writes
A bad weed in my garden is something I've not identified with flowers
resembling forget-me-not, leaves big and rough (spiky enough to be scratchy
rather than prickly) with pale splotches. The whole plant grows about 3 ft
high if left to do so. Seems perennial, plus seeds all over the place.
Anyone know what it is?

We seem to have been inundated with it this year. Alkanet, I think.

Maybe just about ok (pretty enough flowers, but not sure its worth the
mass of greenery) - as long as you yank the stems off before they seed.
(Chances are they will re-shoot and flower again from the base). Seems
a bit thuggish to me though - and its "roots" are pretty large and not
always easy to dig out. Personally, I'm getting rid.

--
regards andyw

In article , Duncan
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
snip.....
Much more of a problem is Alchemilla mollis, which
seeds everywhere and is very difficult to uproot.


And to think that I've lovingly tended a clump of this for 2 years, weeding
it, pricking out the wee offsets, picking out the dried dead leaves....
It looks fantastic with dew on it.

I would love it if I could just have a clump of it, or even a dozen
clumps ...

I am trying to keep it down to one 6ft patch bordering one of the ponds,
and another 4 ft patch surrounding a grey dwarf willow.

A bad weed in my garden is something I've not identified with flowers
resembling forget-me-not, leaves big and rough (spiky enough to be scratchy
rather than prickly) with pale splotches. The whole plant grows about 3 ft
high if left to do so. Seems perennial, plus seeds all over the place.
Anyone know what it is?

Green alkanet, Pentaglottis sempervirens?

Forget-me-not family, like the other suggestions of Brunnera and Borage.
Borage flowers are easily recognisable from the pointed 'spire' in the
middle, right size, but I think its annual rather than perennial.
Brunnera is less thuggish/coarse in appearance, and not likely to be
here unless someone planted it in the past. Your description matches
Green alkanet perfectly. It's a garden escape, (I don't think it's a
native) so you come across it in all sorts of places.

See:
http://tinyurl.co.uk/69v1
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"