Earlier this year we were enjoying the artichokes from the garden that were from a plant that had been growing about a year and a half. They were tasty and meaty, however there are only five or six blooms a season so we planted a couple more plants. They are perennials with attractive foliage so as usual they were mixed in the flower beds. Unfortunately the two new plants gave us lots of produce, but they did not meet our expectations. There was very little tough "meat" on them and when I went through the trouble of stuffing them I was very disappointed. I am not sure if it was they type of artichoke or the fact that they were new, younger plants, but I decided to let them bloom out and wait for next year's crop. The bees love the flowers and they are very showy in the flower bed!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Artichoke Blooms
Earlier this year we were enjoying the artichokes from the garden that were from a plant that had been growing about a year and a half. They were tasty and meaty, however there are only five or six blooms a season so we planted a couple more plants. They are perennials with attractive foliage so as usual they were mixed in the flower beds. Unfortunately the two new plants gave us lots of produce, but they did not meet our expectations. There was very little tough "meat" on them and when I went through the trouble of stuffing them I was very disappointed. I am not sure if it was they type of artichoke or the fact that they were new, younger plants, but I decided to let them bloom out and wait for next year's crop. The bees love the flowers and they are very showy in the flower bed!
I like to let some of my artichokes bloom too. The flowers are so unusual, but lovely!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
Wow! I didn't realize they get such a lovely bloom on them. I'm a novice veggie gardener. I did hear that it takes a couple of years for them to get established and produce the "meat" on them needed. You are inspiring me to want to plant some.
ReplyDeleteThe bloom on those is spectacular! I have not seen the actual blossom before!
ReplyDeleteI'd never seen an artichoke bloom before either -- they're huge, and lovely.
ReplyDelete