Good King Henry (Blitum bonus-henricus) Perennial

Part sun/Full sun.

With the help of energy stored in its thick, perennial root, Good King Henry develops highly nutritious fleshy leaves that have been used as a spinach substitute.  Well, kinda of.  I find this plant best as a food when blanched in boiling water.

Clumping habit and grow luxuriously in rich, well drained soils.  Somewhat drought tolerant when established, but doesn't grow as much.  The leaves, flower shoots, seedheads and seeds  can be harvested multiple times a year.  The seeds remind me of quinoa in taste.  Dies back in hard frost/winter and comes back in the spring. 

Tricky to grow from seed but easy as a transplant.  Plant several, 3 or more, to have enough to harvest for many meals. 
$5/each, 2 for $8

Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) Short Lived Perennial

Part shade/Full sun.

I have an attraction to carrot family plants and so do butterflies.  This is a short lived perennial with bright yellow umbel flowers that persists by reseeding.  A host for black swallowtail caterpillars and nectary to many insects.  AND, the young flowers of this lovely being are edible to humans as well.  Excellent low-growing perennial 1-2 ft tall and does well in a variety of soils including heavy clay soils. 

$5/each

Oregano Ground cover (Origanum vulgare) Perennial

Full Sun.

This oregano is compact and the flowers are light purple.  Excellent ground cover and insectary (habitat and food source for insects).  Tasty medicianl/culinary leaves can be harvested year round with the most luscious leaves in spring/summer.  Shearing keeps the plant compact and offers multiple harvests. 

$4/each

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)  Perennial

Full sun/part sun.

Easy to care for, but prefers moist soils. Leaves, tender stems, flower buds used as a tea for a range of medicinal actions (bitter, diuretic, antioxidant, diaphoretic, nervine (relaxant), cardiac trophorestorative, emmenagogue, hepatic, hypotenstive).  A must have in my medicinal garden apothecary, I drink the tea regularly to calm and nourish my physical and spiritual heart. 

A range of sizes from $7-$12/each

Leaf Celery (Apium graveolens var. secalinum) Biennial/Perennial

Full sun

Sometimes called Chinese celery, the stems are small and crunchy and the leaves pungent but mellow after cooking.  Abundant and versatile I use the stems, leaves, seeds in cooking.   Loads of tall white umbel flowers support insects in the early summer, then I collect the seeds.  After flowering the main plant dies  but offsets, or small plants around the main crown, develop thus making this plant somewhat perennial.  One of our many overwintering greens that we harvest starting in later summer/fall/winter through spring until flowering begins. 

$5/each

Thornless Blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius) Perennial

Full sun/part sun

Extra large blackberries that will bare fruit the second year after planting.  Semi-erect canes makes for creative trellising.  This is a vigorous plant and will produce a lot of fruiting canes.  Prune the tips of the main canes to promote lateral grow which bares flowers and then berries.  I leave to 1-2 healthy main canes when I prune in the late fall/winter for the summer fruiting.  Generally, I then arch and support the laterals over pathways, garden beds, sidewalks.  Sounds complicated, but really, despite how you trellis you will get berries and you will find your way of supporting them over time.  

These berries make devine blackberry jam and jelly, my favorite.  I've also made blackberry infused vinegar.  The berries also freeze very well for muffins, smoothies, whatever.

rooted cuttings $6/each

Showy Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) Perennial

Part sun/Full sun with regular water.

Very floriferous.  This is my flower elder and I also have elders that have been cultivated for fruit.  Leaves are ornamental creamy white/green.  Thrives in part sun, roots moist and cool and where flowers can reach for the sun.  I harvest the flowers for elderflower cordial and also dry them for tea.  Elder has a wide range of herbal actions from both the flowers and berries and is another must have edible/medicinal plant at Crow Feather Farm.  Elder flower tea is my go to for relieving drippy noses during colds, allergies.  

Rooted cutting $8/each

Comfrey, Bocking 14 cultivar (Symphytum x uplandicum)  Perennial

Full sun/part sun/shade

Comfrey is an amazing being and I'm glad I have a vareity that has sterile seeds which makes a busy urban farmer's deadheading task list a bit shorter.  Comfrey is a stalwart insectary.  Flowers provide nectar and the leaves shelter for many insects.  I harvest the whole plant multiple times a year to add to my compost piles and regrowth is amazingly fast.  This harvest also enables multiple bloom periods for our inverebrate kin to enjoy.  Comfrey has a very long medicinal history and I can attest to the goey power of the roots and leaves to soothe and heal dry, cracked skin.  Yes I've made many comfrey compost teas but I opt for simplicity these days and add the biomass to my compost, in my worm bins and also in sheetmulch piles. 

3 inch crown cutting $4