Chives

I love the chives in my garden! I grow them mainly for the wonderful violet flowers that bloom in spring. But chives belong to the onion family and can be used as an herb to flavour many culinary dishes. In our climate they die back each fall and re-appear in early spring. It is the first herb I can harvest after a long winter. And nothing tastes better than some fresh chives on a baked potato shortly after the snow disappears. They can be grown from seeds and can easily be propagated by divisions.

Chives are the smallest species of the onion family. They are a bulb-forming herbaceous perennial that grow in clusters. The leaves are hollow and can be cut to their base without damage to the plant. New leaves will grow back as the summer progresses. Bees love chives and this plant can be used to lure bees to the garden to fertilize other plants. The plants themselves, however, contain sulphur compounds which repel other insects. Chives are rich in vitamin A and C and contain trace amounts of calcium and iron. But eating this plant in large amounts could cause digestive upsets. Early gypsies believed that hanging bunches of dried chives around the house would ward off illness and evil spirits.

Family: Alliaceae. Genus: Allium. Species: A. schoenoprasum

Common Name: Chives

A Weed is a Weed

Meet my Goutweed! This plant is doing a number on my garden and I didn't even plant it here! It came over from the garden behind ours. My neighbour thinks it's nice. And I will admit that the leaves are very pretty and it does look nice in the dark corner of the garden. But now that it's here, it is my job to try to keep this herbaceous perennial under control. If I don't, it could take over my entire garden. They don't call this plant a 'weed' for nothing. Goutweed spreads by rhizomes. If I dig them out and leave even one small piece of root, it will grow back.
It is a member of the carrot family. This seems strange until you see the flowers which are borne in umbrella-like clusters. They have never flowered in my garden, but I think that is because they are growing in a dark, shady spot and don't get enough sunlight. Apparently it is possible to pick the leaves of this plant in early spring and eat them much like spinach. I have never done this. Goutweed just doesn't sound appetising to me. There is also evidence of this plant's early use as a treatment for gout and arthritis. Hence the name 'Goutweed', but a weed by any other name is still a weed! Hours of back-breaking weeding fun are in my future!

Family: Apiaceae. Genus: Aegopodium. Species: A. podagraria

Common names: Goutweed, Bishop's weed, Snow-on-the-Mountain, Ground Elder

Colour in My Garden?

My garden is very green right now. Most of the flowering bulbs and early spring flowers have come and gone. I neglected to show you my violets. In late April, my whole garden was covered in these wonderful herbaceous perennial purple violets! The flowers are edible. My DD picked them and made candied violets for a cheese cake she made for a staff function. I wish I had a photo of the cake. It was breathtaking!


I have no idea which species of viola I have in my garden. They have all been there for such a long time that their name tags are long gone. I also have some white violets. I love these!

And then there is this large clump of speckled violets. They are light blue with darker speckles.

Family: Violaceae. Genus: Viola.

Common Names: Violets, Common Violet.

Sweet Cicely - Myrrhis odorata

Meet my Sweet Cicely!

I bought a tiny plant from the Scarborough Horticultural Society about 5 or 6 years ago and planted it into my garden. It was only about 3 inches high at that time and I had no idea what it was. The following year it grew to a height of over 3 feet! It didn't flower the first year, so I wonder if it is a biennial, but according to every source I have read it seems to be a herbaceous perennial. After that year, my Sweet Cicely keeps getting bigger and the number of flower stems increase. This is what it looks like right now. It also seeds itself into other parts of my garden, but it is not invasive. Any seedlings can be dug up and transplanted.


Sweet Cicely has triangular-shaped feathery leaves. They add a graceful lacy look to the garden and can grow to a foot or larger. Their light green colour and shape are a good contrast to other foliage. They also taste and smell like licorice or anise. The flowers are white and are borne in large umbrels above the plant. The seeds are dark in colour when ripe and resemble fennel and caraway.

All parts of this plant are edible. It has been used in many ways. The seeds have been pounded and used as a furniture and floor polish. All parts of the plant have been used in medicine. The roots have been boiled and used as a remedy for stomach disorders. The plant is currently being studied for as an artificial sweetener for diabetics. The roots have been used as an antiseptic.

In the kitchen, the leaves have been used in salads, soups, stews and as a sweetener for desserts. The roots can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable or chopped and added cold to salads. Unripe seeds can also be added to salads.

I have never had the courage to use this herb for anything other than a garden plant, but I may try a recipe or two this summer. There are many on the Internet. Having said all of this, I want to warn you that there are several other plants that look very similar to Sweet Cicely, but are highly poisonous. Just a precaution!

Family: Apiaceae. Genus: Myrrhis. Species: M. odorata
Common Name: Sweet Cicely

Back to Nature Part 3

Another fascinating native plant is called Wild Ginger. It is a very low-growing woodland plant. The leaves are an interesting heart shape. It produces very unusual dark brownish to deep burgundy flowers at ground level. The flowers are not visible from above the plants. Ants pollinate the flowers. Wild Ginger reproduces by rhizomes or seeds.

Although Wild Ginger is not related to the ginger root that you can buy in a grocery store, it can be used to flavour many dishes. Early pioneers used it fresh or dried as a ginger substitute. It is also said to have medicinal properties. Aboriginal peoples used this plant as a cure for many ailments, including digestive disorders.

I dug this little plant up because it had seeded itself into another part of the garden where I did not want it. I am going to give it to my daughter to plant in her garden. She is eager to grow a large patch of them so that she can experiment with using this plant as a ginger substitute! I was able to take a photo of the flower this way too!

Family: Aristolochiaceae. Genus: Asarum. Species: A. canadense

Common name: Wild Ginger