A quirky and informative exploration of edible, medicinal and supporting perennial plants told from the plants' perspectives.
Growing Connections
Resources to help learn about, grow, and use useful perennial plants
Figuring out where to look for useful perennial seeds, plants and information can certainly be a daunting task. Over the years, I have spent long hours looking through websites and books for what I needed. Through that process I have discovered some truly amazing resources. Some of the seed sources and plant nurseries I have ordered from and others, although I may not have personal experience with them, have really interesting selections of harder to find plants. I hope that the information here will save you some time and effort by helping you connect to the resources you need.
Plant Nurseries
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Whiffletree Farm and Nursery- excellent selection of unusual (as well as common) fruit trees, nut trees, berry bushes, and other edible and useful woody species
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Golden Bough Tree Farm-some useful and edible shrubs and trees
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Richters Herbs- many, many herbs and some unusual edible perennial plants (both herbaceous and woody) that can be bought in plug packs or individual pots
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Green Barn Nursery- great selection of fruit trees, nut trees and berry bushes with some unusual varieties
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Rhora's Nut Farm- if you want pine nut trees this is the place to go but they have a great selection of other nut trees too
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Norton Naturals- a small selection of hard to find native and perennial vegetables
Seed Sources (other than the plant itself!)
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Richters Herbs - a huge selection of herb seeds with some perennial veggies
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Terre Promise- not a lot of selection but some unusual ones not easily found elsewhere
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Fedco Seeds - primarily annual veggies but I ordered sea kale from here
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Experimental Farm Network - interesting selection and a really fascinating organization!
Books
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Barstow, S. (2014). Around the World in 80 Plants: An edible perennial vegetable adventure in temperate climates. East Meon: Permanent Publications. I love this book! The author earned the title of "Extreme Salad Man" when he made a salad with 537 species!
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Crawford, M. (2010). Creating a Forest Garden: Working with nature to grow edible crops. Cambridge: Green Books Ltd. Great introduction to forest gardens and edible and useful perennial plants
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Jacke, D., Toensmeier, E. (2005). Edible Forest Gardens: Volumes One and Two. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. Amazing design information and the plant chart in the appendix section of volume two is comprehensive!
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Michael, P. (1986). A Country Harvest. London: Peerage Books. Although it's old, it has information on the history and uses of many edible and medicinal perennials
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Newcomb, L. (1977). Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. My favourite plant ID book! It's so easy to use
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Small, E. (2013). North American Cornucopia: Top 100 Indigenous Food Plants. Boca Raton: CRC Press. A FREE ONLINE book full of well researched, interesting and useful information on many native edible perennials.