Plants For A Future

Many people find the concept of eating flowers to be a little strange - indeed there are a few who find the very idea to be distasteful. This is rather sad because, as well as providing a nutritious food, there are some amazing taste treats in store for those who are willing to experiment with their foods. We tend to eat quite a lot of flowers. They usually make a very attractive addition to salads, the only problem we have had with doing this is that the salads can look so attractive that people are reluctant to disturb what they see as a work of art! We also enjoy just snacking on the flowers when in the garden - they usually provide a tasty and thirst-quenching snack. We have not as yet tried cooking with them - they are so delicate that I am sure both their texture and taste would be destroyed.

There are over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world yet fewer than 20 species now provide 90% of our food. However, there are hundreds of less well known edible plants from all around the world which are both delicious and nutritious. We advocate a style of gardening mimicking a natural woodland system using perennial plants and following vegan organic and ecological principals Our database contains 7300 edible medicinal and useful plants.

Plant Medicine

Cinnamon is one of the most popular medicines in history. It has been used around the world for many centuries to stimulate digestion and circulation and to combat respiratory infections. Modern research points to a potential benefit in diabetes, linked in part to a constituent cinnamaldehyde.

Feverfew is a bitter herb sometimes known as the ‘mediaeval aspirin’ for its ancient reputation in reducing fevers and headaches. Its modern popular use in migraine prevention has been supported by clinical trials. A major problem has been that much ‘feverfew’ available to the public has not been the right species or has lacked the active parthenolide constituents.

Valerian is both one of the most established plant remedies in modern medicine yet its mechanism of action is still unknown. Today it is generally viewed primarily as a mild sedative, but in antiquity it had wider applications, including as a general tonic. Modern human studies of variable quality suggest that valerian may help with insomnia and improve overall sleep quality (particularly in poor sleepers), relieve tension, and support relaxation.

The strong aroma of chaste trees around the Mediterranean in late summer has long been associated with women. The berries have been used at least since the Middle Ages in Europe to relieve problems associated with the menstrual cycle, and to dampen sexual desire in men! Modern research shows the berries may suppress the secretion of the female hormone prolactin by acting on the dopamine receptors in the anterior pituitary gland.