Herb

We are growing several things to eat in our garden this year.  Among the tomatoes, basil, carrots and peppers, we grew a couple of pots of Coriander plants (Coriandrum sativum).  The leaves have proven to be rather pungent and we have found that a little goes a very long way.  The flowers however, have been a revelation.

As part of the carrot family, including the Hogweed which I mentioned a few days ago, the leaves start off as flat and rather Parsley-like, but as the plant grows, it produces thin, feathery leaves more akin to carrots.  But it is certainly the flowers which are the stars of the show.

Like the Hogweed flowers, the petals of Coriander are larger on the outer edges of the inflorescence than those on the inside.  Tinged with a delicate pink they are worth growing for the flowers alone.