Category Archives: Plant profiles

about plants – horticultural and holistic

Growing a starter herb garden.

Posted on August 19, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

If the covid-19 pandemic has taught us something other than the precious fragility of human life and society, it is that as individuals and communities we need to become a little more self-reliant, a little bit more self-sufficient. A simple … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

dandelion – the official weed with official healing potential

Posted on April 23, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) derives its name from the French for the lions tooth – dent-de-lion – the large toothed leaves are noticeably serrated but they also pack a medicinal bite with some potent bitter glycosides, terpenoids and a good complement … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

growing your own healthy Incan berries is no sacrifice

Posted on October 12, 2017 by The Holistic Gardener

Incan berries (Physalis peruviana) are the new kid on the block in superfoods but really they been growing round the block for a long time as an ornamental garden plant – still sold in your local garden centre as Physalis. … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

grow your own superfood goji berries

Posted on October 12, 2017 by The Holistic Gardener

The myth is that goji is hard to grow – well Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) have several names in the realms of ornamental gardening; Chinese Boxthorn, The matrimony Vine and Chinese Wolfberry. So if it is a landscape plant it … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

how to grow your own superfood blueberries

Posted on October 12, 2017 by The Holistic Gardener

Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum, V. angustifolium) are best known as an antioxidant superfood – so we link them in our brains as we put them in the shopping trolley or fresh picked on to morning muesli as a food that slows … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grow your own almonds for beauty and health

Posted on April 17, 2016 by The Holistic Gardener

I know this is going to sound a bit Mark Twain but the first almond tree I seen was in book. And an art book at that – first year of secondary school, on detention in the library (I know, … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Loving lovage

Posted on March 27, 2015 by The Holistic Gardener

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is in the same botanical family as celery and that’s kind of evident from its celery- like flavour and aroma and indeed its utilization in culinary terms in many similar ways to how we use celery – … Continue reading →

Posted in Food fixes, Plant profiles | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Dye Invader Dye!!

Posted on May 31, 2013 by The Holistic Gardener

How about we harvest out the invasive species for their craft and industry potential. Some have good woods for turning but many yield dyes to get fashion-minded heads turning. A rose-tinted dye is reputedly obtained from the bark of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Alien attack… Invasive plant species and how to deal with them. Part 3

Posted on May 30, 2013 by The Holistic Gardener

Previously I blogged about gunnera spreading along canals and streams… well another riverbank monster is Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)… But while the trend is to bash it, it has some good edible applications; The peppery seeds are wonderful in salads … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Alien attack… Invasive plant species and how to deal with them. Part 2

Posted on May 29, 2013 by The Holistic Gardener

So we are under attack, what is our response? Well if you are enlisting then the first rule of war is to know your enemy and I will equip you (within the posts on invasives) with all you need to … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant profiles | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment