Hints and tips:
...Petersham Nurseries sells an edible flower seed collection including cornflowers, marigolds and heartsease (£15, in store only)....
...“There are so many things to discover here,” says Samantha, marvelling at recipes calling for ingredients like dessert truffles, yarrow, borage, sparrows, purslane and asparagus....
...Focus on the likes of borage, lavender and verbena....
...“Then the men pass the fruit, seeds or leaves to the women, who prepare the final symbiotic ingredient,” adds his co-founder Anna Ayers. “They gather by hand only what they need – pruning the trees....
...Borage Planted to attract bees in the garden, and as a break crop as part of farm rotation, borage is also a high-value plant because it is a source of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), used in medicines to treat...
...Dioscorides (70AD) wrote that the seed heads and roots were placed on raw meat for killing wolves. His contemporary Pliny Secundus added: “There is no poison in the world so quick in operation.”...
...On the side: serve the potato rosti garnished with borage flowers, nasturtium and crème fraîche. Serve immediately to retain heat and freshness....
...Cultivation notes Borage grows to about a metre high with large hairy leaves and blue/purple flowers. It self-seeds and thrives in most well-drained soils....
...You can vary the garnish by using freshly grated lemon zest or horseradish, or by adding thinly sliced radish or other herbs such as chives or borage. …………………………………………………………….....
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