Humans have always used plants in one capacity or another, and the mind-set of most people is that a plant grows and thrives in pleasant, sunny atmospheres, but all that is required for growth of plant life is air, sunlight, and soil and nature provides all.
The Arctic poppy can be found rising up out of layers of ice, in Greenland, and these large colourful blooms can be seen on mountainsides even when packed in heavy snow, furthermore at the other extreme many types of cacti are found in barren deserts.
Humans have always used plants in one capacity or another, and the mind-set of most people is that a plant grows and thrives in pleasant, sunny atmospheres, but all that is required for growth of plant life is air, sunlight, and soil and nature provides all.
The Arctic poppy can be found rising up out of layers of ice, in Greenland, and these large colourful blooms can be seen on mountainsides even when packed in heavy snow, furthermore at the other extreme many types of cacti are found in barren deserts.
Plants provide fuel, food, and clothing and even shelter sometimes indirectly. For centuries people have used the herbs and spices derived from plants as seasonings for their food. Sage and rosemary come from leaves, and cinnamon is found in the stem of the plant.
Even beverages come from plant life, and by steeping plants in hot water, coffee, tea, and cocoa are produced. The scented geranium plantsmakes wonderful flavoured lemonade, another use for the geranium leaves it to line a cake tin before pouring in the batter and cook, the leaves will leave their wonderful flavours infused in the cake, a lot more uses for this versatile plant, add a few small leaves to an ice cube tray also other edible flowers like pansies can be used, freeze and serve in cold drinks.
Cooking and garnishing with flowers is back big time, this form of cookery has been traced back to Roman times, and to the Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures, and edible flowers were especially popular in the Victorian era during Queen Victoria’s reign.
Many gardeners may be surprised to know that Tuberous Begonia plantsis also used in the kitchen the leaves, flowers, and stems are edible. The begonia blossoms have a citrus-sour taste, the petals are used in salads also as a garnish, and the stems can be used in place of rhubarb, but as in all things if you are suffering from certain conditions such as gout, kidney stones or rheumatism stay clear.
Nature provides us with another plant, sweet, floral flavour with lemon and citrus notes of course it can only be lavender plants, they not only look beautiful but taste good in a glass of champagne, with chocolate cake or a garnish for sorbets and ice creams, not only useful in sweet dishes but is great in stews and sauces.
A spokesman for Blooming Direct located on the island of Jersey said “nature has always provided food from plant life, and still primitive tribes use all sorts of plant life for medicinal purposes, garden plants are a miracle of nature and we deal with different species of plants every day. We are an online shopping experience and offer a wide range of plants. We are proud of what we do and can guarantee you will find what you are looking for on our website, we also deliver FREE on all orders to the UK”.
Many of the plants that were discovered by ancient civilizations are still in use today, for example the leaves of willows, contain a compound very similar to aspirin, and the foxglove contains digitalis a major treatment in heart disease, and even today plants are being discovered that yield much needed medicines, nature does provide.
For further information visit: www.bloomingdirect.com