How do you like the words Brexit, Jedward, brunch, chillax
and mansplaining? These new words formed
by fusing together parts of existing words are known as blends. Some are more
popular than others as there will probably at least one word above that makes
your skin crawl.
Blends
They used to be called portmanteau words, but this term
isn't used as much nowadays. Blends are very common in the English language and
account for a very large number of the new words added to encyclopaedias each
year. Blends are not strictly the same as ‘compounds’, which are made by
joining whole words together, rather than parts of words. Examples include
website, housemate, keyboard, makeup, lawnmower, pitchfork, bluebell and
motorbike.
More well-established blends include guesstimate, motel,
fanzine, and shopaholic; among the more recent coinages are affluenza,
infotainment, botnet, and labradoodle.
The gardening world doesn’t escape the fusing of words
either, take the broccoflower , tomacco, peacherine and the latest buzzword is
taking the word edible and ornamental to make ‘Edimentals’ which translates
into decorative plants you can eat.
Petalicious
Edimentals fall into a couple of categories. We can have
leafy ornamentals that can be used in salads such as young hostas and
nasturtium leaves but this week I want to concentrate on edible flowers.
It’s the time of year
when we are spoilt for choice with colour.
The first plants that spring to mind are the pansies and
violas all members of the violet family. The leaves are added to soups and
stews and the petals can be candied and used as a cake decoration adding sugar
and eggwhite. Angelia flowers can be used in the same way.
Borage is next on the list. The leaves can be eaten (as long
as you don’t mind hairs) but it’s the flowers that have more versatility. They
can be candied like the violets and also eaten straight from the plant. They
look great individually frozen in ice cubes too and taken out on hot sunny days
to add to the drinks on the patio table.
Daylilies - although you have to be fast getting them
because as their name implies, they are not around for long.
For a huge show, how about adding hollyhock flowers to a
salad? They can be nearly the size of a side plate so really make a statement.
Flower buds can be added to stews.
The weedlike Bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) is a very
versatile plant with not only the flower but the whole plant being edible. The
young shoots are eaten like asparagus and the roots cooked up like parsnips
make a great talking point at lunchtime.
Chrysanthamum flowers are edible and make a fine drink and
let’s not forget nasturtiums for edible leaves and seeds.
You can keep the spread of forget me nots down by eating
their flowers and begonias and daisies can be nibbled too. If you are lucky
enough to have St Johns wort in the garden, these flowers can be added to
salads and made into herbal remedies.
Clover flowers are good if you have that growing in the lawn
and coltsfoot flowers are edible if you have them growing on newly disturbed patches
of ground. Lavender flowers add a touch of class in both savoury and sweet
dishes and like a lot of herb flowers; sage makes a great addition to stews.
Of course please take allergies onto consideration when
going around munching on the garden flowers; some of them such as chamomile
flowers might cause an allergic reaction.
Scrace (Scratched the
Surface- my blend)
I’ve only really scratched the surface of flowers we can eat
in the garden and I can only ‘guesstimate’ the vast range available. If you have
young children playing in the garden it’s always handy to know which flowers
are edible so we don’t fly into a huge panic when we see a stem sticking out of
some smiling teeth.
Children’s safety is important, so much so I’ve just
invented a new portmanteau word especially - “Chifty” – Children’s Safety - You are
welcome…..There’s one for the English dictionary (drops microphone and walks
off the stage)
