Which Plant Do You Recommend Every Gardener Try Growing at Least Once?

[Finnie]

An equally good thread would be, 'what not to plant in your garden, even once'. I'd have a few for that list. And a lot less work every season if I had known.

Oh my gosh don’t EVER plant Cut Leaf Rudbeckia!!

I love rudbeckia, but this is entirely different. Lowe’s had it once and I thought “Oh, a new rudbeckia to try!”. I bought 3. They were pretty cool at first. Grew over 6 feet tall. Pretty yellow flowers, although kind of small sparse considering the thick vegetation they were blooming on. Within a few years they had made a huge dense hedge and were reseeding themselves all over the property.

It was a huge chore keeping them trimmed back because they would topple over in the wind and get in the way of anything near them. I decided to get rid of them, which was hard enough to chop down and dig out the thick established section, but even harder trying to stamp them out everywhere else before they can get a foothold. I know what their little leaf sprouts look like now and I hate them even more than bindweed!

 

[digitS']

Today's lunch included kale, from the garden. Yesterday's lunch included mustard greens, from the garden. The day before, lunch included bok choy, from the garden. Beyond that, my memory fails me but it is likely that we have greens almost every day .

Think about how a plant grows. The seed sprouts and the cotyledon emerge above the soil. Cotyledon – seed leaves. More leaves develop along the stem as the plant grows. The roots grow and later flower buds, flowers, fruit and seeds develop but those leaves have been available for all that time to harvest for greens, if they are suitable. Beets can be harvested for "greens" as they are thinned, roots and all. Shorter time to harvest, the fewer things that can go wrong!

Quick and easily prepared for the table, greens are generally, especially healthy foods. Much of my gardening is directed to maintaining a healthy diet. For many months each year, the production of greens can make a contribution. Along with many gardeners, I have some trouble having greens during hot Summer weeks but biennials like kale, beets, chard and cabbage have a role during those weeks. So do others – with a little special care to start and transplant, we have bok choy throughout the growing season and beyond. The brassicas are a very large family and are well worth exploring. There are several that can survive cold weather and even through the Winter.

Steve