Backyard foraging with a Canadian twist
If you are not able to grow veggies, native plants in your flowers beds may provide an option
It is truly a luxury to be able to step into the garden and pick a few sweet berries or savoury greens for the table. But what if you are not able or interested in committing to a vegetable patch or fruit trees, is there an easier solution? Native plants may provide an option — they are not foolproof, or without work, but they are worth considering.
Food for thought, with a Canadian twist.
Serviceberry (Amelanchier) As our garden matured, I made a concerted effort to include more woody native plants in the borders. A pair of serviceberry (Amelanchier) bushes were introduced about five years ago. They have struggled to settle in because the local bunnies pruned the young stems back severely every winter (be careful when buying native shrubs that list ‘browsing’ in their descriptions). For the past few winters, the bushes were wrapped in chicken wire to protect the tender branches. We can finally enjoy their pretty showing of white flowers in the early spring, a bountiful crop of berries in the early summer, and glorious red/orange foliage in the autumn.
When the first crop of berries appeared, I did not realize that they were edible and left them for the birds. The small purple berries, that look like blueberries, are quite sweet and delicious. Clusters of fruit appear in June and evolve from white, to red, to purple as they mature. A crop of fruit is very showy against the glossy green foliage. The plants are not bothered by insects or disease, but I suspect deer will browse the young shoots as willingly as the bunnies do. The white flowers are attractive to pollinators and bees, birds will enjoy the seedy fruit or you can harvest the fruit to eat raw, add to baked goods or make a batch of jam.
Serviceberry, also known as shadbush, juneberry and Saskatoon berry, are very adaptable to soil and moisture. They grow in both partial shade and full sun; they are more floriferous in full sun. There are several forms. Multi-stemmed bushes reach about six feet tall, while the tree forms can grow 4.5 metres or more. Canada serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) has smooth grey bark, is multistemmed, with a low growing form; it has small white flowers and clusters of deep purple berries. It can sucker, but this has not been an issue so far. Autumn Brilliance serviceberry, is a graceful small tree that puts on a beautiful show in the spring and again in the autumn — it deserves to be planted more often.
Wild garlic (Allium Canadense) Wild garlic appeared spontaneously in our garden more than a decade ago. Thinking it was no more than a weed, I worked hard to keep it out of the front border, but allowed a few stray plants to settle in to the side bed near the driveway because I enjoyed their quirky, curlycue scapes. When the scapes developed seed heads, I would cut them back to the ground and forget them until the following year.
Fast forward to a visit to the local farmers market with my daughterin-law who bought a basket of garlic scapes. They looked remarkably like the wild scapes I had been growing (and ignoring) at home.
Wild garlic is smaller and reputedly stronger in flavour than standard garlic. Many parts of the wild garlic plant are edible, the young shoots make a handy substitute for green onions, the young scapes can be harvested and used either raw or added to cooked dishes, and the garlic heads can be dug up when they mature. Treated as a perennial, wild garlic will come back year after year.
Wild garlic is very adaptable, it thrives in the sunny bed along the side of my garage, where it is left to fend for itself. I cut the plants back hard just before the scapes go to seed, otherwise little seedlings sprout in every nook and cranny in the surrounding area — they even show up in the sidewalk cracks. In the early summer, the pointed flower buds on curly stems called scapes appear, twisting and turning in every direction, above the plants. If the scapes are all removed, the plants will put more energy into developing bulbs. If you leave the scapes intact, they will flower and produce a crop of seeds.
Young scapes are pliable and tender, they can be chopped and added to salads or sautéed and paired with other foods. I’m going to chop them up and mix them with fresh ricotta cheese and little flour for a batch of wild garlic scape gnocchi. You can’t get more local than wild food you’ve picked right in your own yard.
If the seed heads are left on the plant to mature, the seeds can be harvested to flavour soups and sauces ( they are actually miniature garlic cloves) and pack a surprisingly spicy flavour.
In the autumn, loosen the soil around the wild garlic bulbs, harvest the largest bulbs. Small bulblets can be left in place for the following season.
Happy Canada Day — stay safe.