Gardening Inventory: What Survived The Winter

Truth be told, I am an avid gardener at heart.

Herbs, flowers, vegetables and the odd mushroom.

I love them all.

I use to keep a large vegetable garden and several large flower and herb gardens but once we took over the restoration of the land around a small house that we purchased 3 years ago, I became a little more selective.

Now, I predominantly only grow perennials and herbs.

Every species that I have planted or grow serves a purpose and in some cases this material offers more than one benefit to myself, my household and my little neighbourhood.

(I’ve really put some thought into this process as @knarly327 and I attempt to live a more sustainable lifestyle.)

Next to being able to produce your own food, growing your own medicine is exceptionally valuable especially when you can preserve these preparations and build up a useful inventory to stock your medicine chest.

Perennials are plants that will come up every year in the Spring.

Providing, of course, that their root systems were able to lay dormant for 6 months and survive the harshness of winter (in Canada) in the process.

Let me show you what I am most excited about:

Rhubarb. Yes. I get excited about rhubarb because it’s an exceptionally old medicinal herb.

Once prized in China and Russia, rhubarb commanded a higher price than saffron and cinnamon did in active trade on the Silk Road.

The stalks have quite a tart flavour and even though it’s considered a herb, you generally treat it like you would a fruit. I like to make a compote with it and it often gets blended with other berries and used in pies and jams.

Rhubarb stalks and roots are powerful laxatives and the leaves are poisonous.

I planted this particular rhubarb late last Spring and I am pleasantly surprised that it has come up because I didn’t think it survived the transplanting or our exceptionally cold Winter this year.

I am also thrilled that my asparagus has come up!

This was the third Spring for this particular row of green asparagus which means that it’s now mature enough to harvest and eat. I have tasted some (gently steamed) and it was incredible.

Completely worth the 3 year wait!

I prize asparagus for its high sulfur content. It also has diuretic properties which are wonderful for keeping joint pain at bay, especially in the presence of gout.

Next is my raspberry bush...

I will use the leaves of this bush to make a herbal tea which is prized for its fragarine content.

Fragarine is known to help tone and tighten all the muscles in the pelvic region which can assist with cramping that is associated with spasms of these muscles. Useful for the cramping that comes with a heavy menstruation and to induce labour when a babe hangs on a little too long after his or her due date.

Beside the tiny clump of green leaves, you’ll notice a decidedly dead stalk. This is or was horseradish.

It is yet to be determined if the horseradish survived. (Stay tuned on the progress of that little project. Lol!)

Here’s a tiny clump of lemon thyme that also survived a late fall transplanting and the wrath of Winter.

I actually have a few clumps of lemon thyme growing. If I can get enough of it established, I plan to extract some essential oil from its leaves. This oil (like many essential oils) is a fantastic antiseptic and it’s also beneficial for respiratory conditions.

Lastly, here’s what my garlic patch is looking like...

I planted two different varieties. It looks like one has come up and the verdict is still out on the other.

I use a lot of garlic in my culinary endeavours so my plan is to keep adding different types of garlic to my patch.

Garlic is indispensable for treating many cardiovascular conditions including both high blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. This also makes it beneficial for treating enlargement of the prostate gland which is influenced by cholesterol.

Thanks for joining me on my early Spring garden tour.

I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey...let your food be your medicine and then figure out how you can preserve it for future use. ;)

~ Rebecca