It seems a bit weird writing a post about salads today when it’s gloomy, grey and lashing down with rain. No matter, it is the time of year when a salad is on my menu just about every day of the week, regardless of what’s happening with the weather!

I stopped growing my own lettuce and salad leaves a while ago because they were taking up too much space in my greenhouse. Instead, I started to grow some more interesting herbs and edible flowers that you can’t buy very easily. Now, I have a variety of lovely looking plants in the garden, with the added advantage of alternative flavours, textures and colours for my dinner plate.

At the end of my post, I have compiled an ID photo of the herbs and flowers in my salad above. Below is a brief description of what each one tastes like (by the way, you can make the strawberry vinegar by following the same instructions on my previous post for Sweet Lavender Vinegar):

• Land cress (American cress) – looks and tastes like watercress; grows in small clumps of glossy green leaves; loves damp soil. Leaves are best eaten small (the larger ones can be bitter and very pungent).
• Sorrel – larger leaves are cooked like spinach, but the smaller ones are delicious raw in salads. They have a citrusy, tangy taste.
• Salad burnet – one of my favourites; serrated leaves and tufty pinkish-red flowers, both with a mild cucumber flavour. Makes a lovely potted plant. Prefers limy soil.
• Nasturtium – you can eat the leaves large or small, and also the flowers if you like – I find them a bit big for my palate and I prefer their vibrant splash of colour in my garden. I prefer to eat the smaller leaves which have a cress-like, earthy flavour. Very refreshing.
• Herb flowers – herbs with tougher leaves like thyme and rosemary are a bit chewy and pungent to eat with soft salad leaves, but if you pick the flowers, they will add a subtle flavour of the herb, and are much easier to eat.
• Edible flowers – these add a splash of colour to any dish. Flowers from scented plants like rose geranium are often slightly sweet or earthy with a faint flavour of the plant scent. Flowers such as Viola or Garden pansy have very little flavour but do make a pretty addition amongst the green leaves and herbs. If whole flowers seem a bit daunting, break up the petals and sprinkle “confetti”-style over your plate – they make a beautiful natural decoration on iced cakes and cookies as well.