Very comprehensive and informative!

I am intrigued by this statement: 'Urtica dioica, a plant not loved by many, but here the young leaves are used to make a famous soup and a very tasty cheese.' - What is the famous soup and the tasty cheese???

Great article! I am also curious about Urtica dioica. The other one I like the idea of is snacking on Myrrhis odorata. Yummy anise!

Really wonderful pictures and so much great information. I like a number of the plants you have included, but I do adore Anemone baldensis or any type of anemone.

Thank you so much for sharing the information and pictures with us.

Wow!! you have an incredible garden and your article is very detailed.
I love your pictures and your attitude towards wildflowers. Keep up the good work

What beautiful flowers you have in your garden and I appreciate your passion for wildflowers.

Thank you all for the compliments!

The cheese with stinging nettle can be made with milk from the cow, goat or sheep. It is usually made in Holland, where I was born. http://www.delekkerstekaas.nl/...
I never made cheese, so I don't know how to make it.
I do mix the leaves with fresh cheese. Only young leaves are used, so this is always made in spring. Pick the young tops and cut them a bit. Put them in hot water for a few seconds, so the 'stinging' will disappear. Mix it with the fresh cheese and add pepper, salt and a bit of garlic.

There are many ways to make the soup. The easiest one is to use a ready bouillon and add some fresh cream. Add the chopped young nettles to the hot bouillon and serve immediately. Never cook the nettles for a long time. You need quite a lot of nettles, because they shrink a lot.

Here are a few recipes with the stinging nettle:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Thank you! Now that I know the Dutch name for it I get the picture.

Most of us want to have a garden that is unique, full of plants that nobody recognizes... in this day and age of small world gardening, growing local natives seems to be a great way to stand out.
It just so happens to also be the best way to attract native pollinators and birds...
Great post!

with what's already been said! The great diversity that these plants offer my garden and its many visitors are a great source of joy! I still use nursery propagated plants as well, but they don't affect me with nearly the same intensity as the humble and easy-going natural plants I've started from seed or found in untended areas growing wild. It's like the difference between looking at a picture of a horse race, and actually being the winning jockey: one gets a moment's notice from me and a rather bland perusal, the other is an experience fully designed to savor with wonder and excitement and to appreciate at length. Here, Moldavica is never without masses of pollinators in action and the bees stick to the Licorice Mint like they're attached with elastic strings...they even spend the night there.



Great article, Jonna! Thank you!

Jonna, thank you for sharing part of your beautiful garden! And your interesting story about how you came to love wildflowers.

There are so many useful wildflowers with medicinal and culinary value. I had no idea about Glechoma hederacea!

Thank you for the links and recipes too.

If you want seeds of some of 'my' wildflowers, don't hestitate to ask me. From most plants I will be able to collect seeds this year.

Nice to see you here Jonna,
I am pretty sure I got some of your seeds -> plants...but mine never look this good.
Would this NOID be... Digitalis parviflora? I got three plants, and I have been intrigued cause I always guessed they were some kind of Penstemon.
It's been in the garden for a couple years, but no blooms yet.



By the way, mom also makes nettle soup sometimes. Early in spring. And also some kind of mashed nettle, like we usually make Spinach here... boiled, mashed, boiled again and mixed with milk/sour cream and some other stuff. I prefer Spinach, though

Jonna, what an interesting article! Your research is bringing many new plants to other parts of the world! i will share it with the Organic Gardening Club next week, so be prepared for seed orders from the group!
The way you showed us a close up of the flower, and then the whole plant is very helpful.
Thank you for sharing your story.

Calin, your NOID looks like a campanula to me.

Sorry to all for my late reply, but there were some family things that needed my attention.

Calin: yes, I think you have the Digitalis parviflora. Maybe you got seeds from me some time ago? It will take 1-2 years to get blooms, but it's a real perennial here. I think I have this one for at least 4 or 5 years.


Cindi, Thank you for your nice reply. If the Organic Gardening Club is looking for more seeds, please let me know. I have more seeds than listed on my website now. I'm always very busy in the garden, so my website is only updated whith new seeds late October.

How did I miss this wonderful article? Jonna it is priceless. The work you put into the details and the wonderful photos make it a beautiful and useful resource.

Thank you for your compliment Alana.

Joanna, good to see you! I would like to print out this whole article, it is so informative and full of good information. I Love all the flowers and I think it is a great idea to grow plants that will reseed. Less headaches in the future and fun trading. Thanks for doing all this homework for us! ( your pictures are wonderful! )

Thank you Susan, hope to meet you and other wild plant lovers on the Hog Wild Seed Swap (Piggy Swap) soon. I will offer a lot of seeds there.

Yes, I sure need to think about that one. I was a nervous wreck the last time I did it. Not enough hours in the day to take that many orders. It was fun though! Tell everyone I said Oink, Oink, Snort!!
I love the way you are committed to preserving wildflowers and you have a wonderful seed store which I do enjoy also.

super article!