http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/
There is a silver lining to these clouds, though — we will mostly likely have a lovely wildflower season in the desert, where the hills and valleys are painted in desert colors of gold, blue, lavender and more. Look for the display to begin in ernest sometime in March and continue through at least a part of April. Last spring the hills leading up to Boyce Thompson Arboretum looked they were painted in solid gold, and sides of the road were in royal blues and purples - breath-taking.
To replace a chilly valentine weekend, promise your valentine a trip to the desert to enjoy the wild flowers and don’t forget to add chocolate to the picnic.
Speaking of chocolate — do you know there are chocolate scented flowers? There is even one that tastes like unsweetened cocoa!
Most chocolate scented flowers are not edible, but the exception is the Chocolate Flower (Berlandiera lyrata) with the flower head tasting of unsweetened cocoa and smelling like dark chocolate when opened in the morning.
Some medicinal uses were found among the Native People of the southwest (the plant is native here) along with references to use of the flower heads in sausage — kind of like a Native mole flavoring. —(Castetter, Edward F. 1935 Ethnobiological Studies in the AmericanSouthwest I. Uncultivated Native Plants Used as Sources of Food. University of New Mexico Bulletin 4(1):1-44 (p. 19).)
This plant is also called chocolate daisy, greeneyes, lyre-leaf greeneyes, and brooch flower.
Look for seed packets or plants for sale now into late spring. They will take full sun, but for a longer growing season, find a spot in the garden where they will get some afternoon shade moving into the summer.
With the temperatures eventually moving into spring conditions here I will share tomato growing tips in the desert in my next blog.
Have a great day,
— Catherine, The Herb Lady
Another all night google link:
Maybe we need to make a tourist trip to the desert to see those wildflowers this year. Lloyd has never been west. He would like to see something of desert. LOL
I can’t imagine not seeing desert in a life. I love desert. But, he grew up a fisherman in Maine on the ocean. I can’t imagine being in a boat and seeing nothing but water either so we’re even.
Spring flowers in desert are something to see in life though. We might have to do that.