Well, no time like the middle of winter to start planning your garden! Seriousy, that's what I have been doing lately. Here's what I've been planning on growing so far:
Lycium Fruit (Lycium barbarum L.): A Chinese fruit known for it's high level of antioxidants (its berries contains more Vitamin C than an orange of equal weight), amino acids, and other nutirents. Very popular with Chinese herbalists. The berries are small, oval and bright red. They can be used in cooking or dried like rasins. Some sites claims Lycium Fruit only grows well in China, but it seems to be a hardy perrenial that thrives in my grandmother's backyard in a Zone 3 climate. I plan to transplant some from her yard to mine. Also known as the Wolfberry.
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens): Wintergreen is the plant well known for its evergreen leaves to flavour candies, toothpaste, tea as well as having medicinal qualities. It's red barries are small 6-9mm globes tha are edible and attract birds in winter. I've been searching for Wintergreen for a while and it just so happens that Hole's in St. Albert has some. Other common names include Box Berry, Checkerberry, Deerberry, Eastern Teaberry, Ground Holly, Mountain Tea, Creeping Wintergreen, Ground Tea, Partridge-Berry, Petit the du bois (Quebec, "little tea of the woods"), Redberry Wintergreen, Spice Berry, Teaberry, Winisibugons (Ojibwe, "dirty leaf").
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea): I discovered Lingonberries through Ikea. I love going there for their swedish meatballs which is served with gravy and lingonberry preserves and wash it down with lingonberry juice. Since it's a native of Sweden, I figured I can probably grow them here as well. Last year I started to track down a place that would sell the shrubs. No luck. This year, I found out Hole's is carrying it! Yay Hole's! Fruits are red 6-12mm globes. Other common names include: mountain cranberry, lowbush cranberry, dry ground cranberry, moss cranberry, alpine cranberry, shore cranberry, rock cranberry, lingenberry, lingen, lingon, partridgeberry, cowberry, foxberry, redberries, red whortleberry, vine of Mount Ida, tytteboer (Nor), Lus nam Braoileag (Gaelic).
An assortment of Cherry Tomatoes. I plan on becoming queen of the cherry tomato patch. I dunno why. I guess I just like cherry tomatoes. I can't belive the variety available. From white to purple. I'll have to start those as seeds soon.
Some culinary herbs. Most likely these will stay indoors. I'd like to grow some Cilantro, Basil, Dill, Parsley, and Green Onions for sure. I already have Chives growing in the yard.
A Meyer Lemon Tree . Indoor dwarf lemon tree! I always wanted one.
An assortment of Raspberries. I'm thinking of getting some HoneyQueens (a sweet yellow raspberry native to Alberta), and some Black Raspberries (unsure of which variety yet). I already have some wild Boyne Raspberries growing in my yard.
Lycium Fruit (Lycium barbarum L.): A Chinese fruit known for it's high level of antioxidants (its berries contains more Vitamin C than an orange of equal weight), amino acids, and other nutirents. Very popular with Chinese herbalists. The berries are small, oval and bright red. They can be used in cooking or dried like rasins. Some sites claims Lycium Fruit only grows well in China, but it seems to be a hardy perrenial that thrives in my grandmother's backyard in a Zone 3 climate. I plan to transplant some from her yard to mine. Also known as the Wolfberry.
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens): Wintergreen is the plant well known for its evergreen leaves to flavour candies, toothpaste, tea as well as having medicinal qualities. It's red barries are small 6-9mm globes tha are edible and attract birds in winter. I've been searching for Wintergreen for a while and it just so happens that Hole's in St. Albert has some. Other common names include Box Berry, Checkerberry, Deerberry, Eastern Teaberry, Ground Holly, Mountain Tea, Creeping Wintergreen, Ground Tea, Partridge-Berry, Petit the du bois (Quebec, "little tea of the woods"), Redberry Wintergreen, Spice Berry, Teaberry, Winisibugons (Ojibwe, "dirty leaf").
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea): I discovered Lingonberries through Ikea. I love going there for their swedish meatballs which is served with gravy and lingonberry preserves and wash it down with lingonberry juice. Since it's a native of Sweden, I figured I can probably grow them here as well. Last year I started to track down a place that would sell the shrubs. No luck. This year, I found out Hole's is carrying it! Yay Hole's! Fruits are red 6-12mm globes. Other common names include: mountain cranberry, lowbush cranberry, dry ground cranberry, moss cranberry, alpine cranberry, shore cranberry, rock cranberry, lingenberry, lingen, lingon, partridgeberry, cowberry, foxberry, redberries, red whortleberry, vine of Mount Ida, tytteboer (Nor), Lus nam Braoileag (Gaelic).
An assortment of Cherry Tomatoes. I plan on becoming queen of the cherry tomato patch. I dunno why. I guess I just like cherry tomatoes. I can't belive the variety available. From white to purple. I'll have to start those as seeds soon.
Some culinary herbs. Most likely these will stay indoors. I'd like to grow some Cilantro, Basil, Dill, Parsley, and Green Onions for sure. I already have Chives growing in the yard.
A Meyer Lemon Tree . Indoor dwarf lemon tree! I always wanted one.
An assortment of Raspberries. I'm thinking of getting some HoneyQueens (a sweet yellow raspberry native to Alberta), and some Black Raspberries (unsure of which variety yet). I already have some wild Boyne Raspberries growing in my yard.
Posted by Steph at 02:58 MT [ link to this entry ] [ 2 comments ]
