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Ivy-leaved Toadflax

2

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    We just don’t seem to have the little nooks and crannies that it likes @B3 … any places that are otherwise suitable are in deep shade. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I love it
  • puschkiniapuschkinia Posts: 229
    We have it growing up our fence and I love it, though as others have said I've never noticed any bees going for it.


    Since March it's taken off, and most of the growth through the paving slabs is new so it spreads like wildfire here! It's very easy to just pull out though.


  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I suppose something must go for it or there wouldn't be so many seeds😏
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    B3 said:
    I suppose something must go for it or there wouldn't be so many seeds😏
    It's a favourite with solitary bees and some of them are very small.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    You can eat the leaves and flowers. They are supposed to taste like watercress and can be added to salads.


  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    edited April 2022
    I like it too and find it grows best in some shade.  A really sunny wall is too hot and dry I think. 

    Didn't know you could eat it, will give it a go. Thanks for that info, @Fire.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I suppose where it's growing will make a difference to whether you want to eat it or not. I wouldn't fancy the one growing up the drainpipe, the ones in containers, I might consider.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited April 2022
    I think drainpipe might be fine but on the ground where a dog might pee, less so.

    There are a vast amount of edible plants and flowers out there, wild and cultivated, but whether you would choose to go out of your way to eat them, or really enjoy them is another thing.

    Baby lime leaves (Tilia x europaea) are coming out on the trees at the moment. They are suppposed to be good in salads when very young, but it seems somewhat like a last resort. New nettle leaves are actively delicious in masshed potato, on the other hand, and very much worth trying.

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Edible really just means it won't poison you. It doesn't mean it will taste good.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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