Who doesn’t love a garden around their home?
In the olden times, when space wasn’t such a huge issue and multi-storey buildings were quite uncommon, a garden with flowering shrubs and vibrant croutons used to be a prerequisite in every home. Neighbours would often try to outsmart each other by getting exotic and rare varieties of plants to adorn their spacious compounds.
Nowadays, the lack of space deters many from greening up their surroundings, but those who love gardening always find a way to spruce up their homes and limited outdoor areas through innovative and creative designs.
Ornamental gardens will always remain evergreen, but have you considered the possibility of including ‘edimental’ plants that are not just pretty but can also be utilised to fill your plate and palate?
Sangita Wahi Mohin, an advertising executive based in Gurgaon who loves gardening, has been successfully nurturing a garden with edible plants and is helping many others to do the same as well!
“Who needs special ornamentals when your driveway is lined with Chinese orange or lettuce beds?” said Sangita to The Hindu.
The patch of land where Sangita grows these edible plants used to be fallow. As her interest became more pronounced, Greenstreet, an online community of gardeners and gardening enthusiasts in Gurgaon took flight. Besides exchanging their gardening expertise, the members who hail from different parts of the country, also share their traditional kitchen secrets and knowledge on this forum.
Interestingly, consuming edible plants is not something that is new in India.
From batter-fried Agastya flowers (Sesbania grandiflora) in Bihar to cooked pumpkin flowers in West Bengal, Sangita shared that through this platform, many have begun to experiment with culturally specific edibles in their culinary spheres.
“Once you’re bent on finding edibles in your garden, you’ll discover ornamentals that are edible too. My daughter, Twisha, has made pesto and even chips from peppery nasturtium leaves, and salads and tea with nasturtium flowers. She sometimes adds them to pineapple and cherries or even grilled chicken, for their tang. Begonias, daisies and rose petals too can be added to salads. I even consume vinca leaves and flowers to keep a check on my thyroid levels,” she added.
You may also like: How Kitchen Gardens Enriched Village Diets for 600 Households in Jharkhand
We are sure that even in your state, different types of edible plants must have been incorporated in tried and tested recipes. Do reach out to us and share these culinary gems if you know any.
You can also look up and be part of Greenstreet on Facebook.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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