Grow Outside of Your Comfort Zone!

Generally speaking, its always a good idea to try out a few new plants each year. Its super fun to experiment and you might discover something awesome that you can't live without. However, this year I've gone a little bit overboard with new varieties and I'd love to share some with you. At the end I'll let you in on my sources.

Strawberry Spinach
Did you know you can buy spinach seeds that produce not only delicious leaves but also sweet berries? How cool is that? I've not grown them yet, but I'm going to this year and I'll let you know how they turn out.

Antique Flemish Poppy
Traditional poppies have never interested me as their flowers are simple and they make terrible cut flowers (they wilt quickly). However, some poppies have extra petals that make them prettier (to me) and a few types will produce culinary quality poppy seeds! If you're into baking you're probably aware of how expensive poppy seeds are at the store. Imagine getting to grow your own!

Lovage
This herb is rumored to taste just like celery and it's a perennial that is available this year. I have a bad history of throwing out celery before it's used up and this would be just awesome. Lovage doesn't have the same crunchy stems as celery but the leaves would be great for soup and casseroles.

Gherkins
Imagine if a cucumber and a cherry tomato had a baby - then you'd get gherkins. I've had one before at a friend's and it's delicious. If you like cucumbers then you should definitely try these.

Those are just a few of the new things I'm trying out this year. If you're interested in trying some you can find lots of great things from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (I don't get any money from them). Territory Seeds and Johnny Seeds are also trusted sources. For unusual fruit trees, look up Trees of Antiquity online (I only wish these places gave me money to mention them). If you're really brave, you can even find unusual plants on etsy but that's always a gamble.

Feeling inspired? Go out and try something new! It's also fun to do with kids. I love showing my daughter new plants and trying new foods. Feel free to post in the comments below on how you've grown out of your comfort zone!