Asparagus

“Velocius quam asparagi conquantur!”   Shouted by Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus to his troops, it translates to “faster than cooking asparagus”—essentially, “get moving already!”   Augustus loved asparagus so much he organized an elite military unit called...

Clover

To Be in Clover By Jennifer Muck-Dietrich   “The sweetness of life lies in usefulness, like honey deep in the heart of a clover bloom.”  —Laura Ingalls Wilder   Trifolium pratense (red clover), Trifolium repens (white clover), and Trifolium incarnatum...

Dandelion

Our Harvest: Dandelion Make a Wish By: Jennifer Muck-Dietrich   “Mama had a baby and its head popped off.”   Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, is an edible herb originally from Eurasia and was revered by ancient people for its edible and medicinal value. In...

Black Locust

The black locust tree is one of North Americas’ treasures. Native to the Southeast, few trees can rival it for its usefulness yet in modern decades it appears to have fallen into obscurity. Our colonial predecessors grew black locust trees for both ornamental and...

Hip Hep Haw Hurray!

Hip Hep Haw Hurray!  Roses Roses are a woody, perennial flowering plant from the genus Rosa. They can be erect shrubs, climbers, or trailing—all with stems that are armed with prickles (thorns are an incorrect term because thorns are modified branches—prickles are...
Localvore: Peas

Localvore: Peas

Localvore: Pea     “I eat my peas with honey. I’ve done it all my life. It makes the peas taste funny, but it sticks them to my knife.” —Anonymous  Pisum sativum (both sweet peas with inedible pods, and snow peas—flat pods with small peas inside) is one of...