Walk Around- Queen Anne's Lace, Carrots, Husk Tomato, Elephant Ear, Red Burgundy Okra

Another Monday at Smith Gilbert Garden and we worked among the vegetables today.

While we were weeding the vegetable garden Shon (SG’s Head Gardener) told me about this plant. This looks like Queen Anne’s Lace and it is in a way. It’s a carrot that has gone to flower. Queen Anne’s Lace is considered a weed but the wildflower has an eatable taproot which is a wild carrot. When a garden carrot flowers it looks like Queen Anne’s Lace. They are of the same family. Unfortunately this carrot has had it.



Doug took us on a "walk around" after work. It’s fun to learn about different plants this way.
Here is a Red Burgundy Okra plant. It has a flower very much like a hibiscus. I’ve never seen red okra before. It cooks just like regular okra. Don’t plant okra until summer temperatures have reached at least 75 degrees. The pods should be harvested when they are 2 or 3 inches long. Otherwise they get too tough to eat. It’s best not to wash them until your ready to cook them. Otherwise the pods start to get slimy. My husband loves fried okra. He’d rather eat that while watching a movie than popcorn.



This is a Husk Tomato - or Dwarf Cape Gooseberry. It can be used in sauces, chopped up in fruit salad or you can add it to your salsa. It has a husk around it that looks like a paper lantern and when that dries out the tomato is ready to eat. It has a melon type texture and is sweeter than a red tomato. They are getting popular in farmers markets. They are as easy to grow as a regular tomato so you should try to Grow It First.



Here is a Staghorn Fern. This is an air plant or one that does not require soil. They are in the same family as orchids. This one hangs from a piece of wood and moss. You have to bring them inside for the winter because they are a tropical plant. All this one needs is a little water and it’s very happy. These Staghorn Ferns are by the gazebo behind the main house.



This Elephant Ear was gigantic so I had to take a photo of it. See the pretty heart shaped leaves. This one is a light green color which also made it stand out. Elephant Ear is part of the Caladium family. I hear that they are heavy feeders and like high nitrogen fertilizer. If you have space for one of these you should consider planting an Elephant Ear.




That’s it for now. See you next time.