Efficient water use doesn’t mean giving up gardening. And with a Xeriscaped yard, there can be an extra harvest waiting in your flower beds. Here are ideas for combining Xeriscape and the kitchen.
Plant herbs as decorations and ground cover, and harvest them as needed for cooking. Dill, oregano, basil and garlic do well with low water demands, as do parsley, savory and tarragon. Coriander (the seeds), or cilantro (the plant), is a low-water herb that adds subtlety to salsa. Plant thyme as a lovely and delicious ground cover. Don’t confine herbs to the vegetable garden. Let them serve double duty.
Some decorative fruits are edible. Plant shrub roses for vitamin-rich rose hips and delicious petals. Plant golden currant and creeping Oregon grape holly for berries. Creeping Oregon grape holly is drought-resistant, and the yellow flowers give way to grapelike berries. You and the birds can share a harvest of tasty mini-fruit.
Harvest the nuts from your pinon pine for a salad garnish. Want to eat a tree? Select a sour cherry when planning your Xeriscape, and its fruit will be the secret of your pie recipe. Pitted and cooked, chokecherries make a great base for jam, as do currants. Some junipers produce edible berries with a distinctive taste that can perk up a cooking sauce.
Plants produce more flowers than they need; use the excess in your kitchen. Try flowers as salad garnish or decoration. Violets, English primrose, pinks and lilac flowers each have subtly different flavors suitable for desserts. English lavender, marigolds and hollyhocks are delectable in salads.
Raising tulips? The flowers have a crisp, tender texture and a sweet-pealike flavor. They can be stuffed with ingredients of a seafood or chicken salad. Daylily buds add an authentic touch to Chinese stir-fry dishes.
Edible Xeriscape should be pesticide-free, of course If you have plant or food sensitivities, sample your yard carefully. For information on edibles, check your library, bookstore or denverwater.org.
David Winger is a water conservation specialist with Denver Water.
Seafood Salad
Ingredients
1 cup cooked baby shrimp, fresh or frozen
1 cup cooked crabmeat, fresh or frozen
2 stalks celery, chopped finely
3 scallions, chopped finely
3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Pinch of garlic powder
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Combine shrimp, crab, celery and scallions in a bowl. Mix yogurt, mustard, seasonings and lemon juice. Add seafood and mix well. Cover and chill one hour. Wash tulips and carefully remove insides of flower. Dry and stuff with seafood salad. Serve with steamed asparagus and lemon wedges. Fills 5-6 flowers.
Curried Chicken Salad
Ingredients
1 cup cooked chicken, boned and cubed small
2 stalks celery, chopped finely
2 scallions, chopped finely
1/2 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
O cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup cashews or other nuts
Mix ingredients in a bowl until well coated. Stuff in tulip flowers. Serve with chutney on the side. Fills 5-6 flowers.
