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In bloom more months than not, outstandingly easy to grow, capable of ethereal beauty even as they die, and edible from petals to root tip, this is “floraldom” at its finest.
Read more: Dandelions, spring 2011 issue. Photo ©Benjamin Brandt/iStockPhoto.
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One might be surprised to learn that the Hawaiian luau has less to do with salty, succulent kālua pork and more to do with lū‘au, or taro leaves.
Read more: Taro, spring 2012 issue. Photo ©Melissa Burtram/iStockPhoto.
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As the name suggests, heirloom tomatoes have been handed down through generations of tomato growers because of their desirable flavour characteristics, and even their rustic beauty.
Read more: Heirloom Tomatoes, summer 2008 issue.
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To be blunt, Rheum rhabarbarum has a body to delight in and a head for death. Its big, sculptural leaves contain poisonous oxalic acid (although you would need to eat huge amounts to do yourself serious harm).
Read more: Rhubarb, spring 2013 issue. Photo ©Jeffrey Rauch/iStock Photo.
The Season’s Edibles
Spring bounty.
The vernal equinox has become synonymous with lightness, greenery, and refreshments of many sorts—three elements that marry quite nicely on a plate. Spring’s bounty has much to offer, including many overlooked garden delicacies. While the dandelion is a handsome botanical specimen, with its merry yellow flowers, it is often viewed as just a weed, and yet it is edible from its petals to its roots. Rhubarb, with its stately stalks, is technically a vegetable, but is more often used as a fruit. Taro—or kalo, as the root vegetable is known by locals—has been a staple food for as long as Hawaiians have existed in Hawaii, and it is still revered as the giver of mana, or life force. Heirloom tomatoes are traditional varieties that openly pollinate; that is, they pollinate naturally, due to wind, bees, and other forces of nature. These edibles are best served with longer days and outdoors when possible, where the sunshine offers a reminder of the season’s turn.
