The easiest, laziest edible plants (part 2)

My 10 favourite edible perennials for a tasty, low-maintenance garden

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• It’s the second part of my two-part guide to growing edible perennials, and it includes all of my favourite low-maintenance edible perennials that I grow in my garden.

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Following right along from last week’s email extolling the virtues of edible perennials, I figured it’s only right for me to tell you exactly WHICH edible perennials I like the most. These are low-maintenance and tough plants that thrive in a Mediterranean climate (like Perth) and will feed you tasty morsels year after year.

Consider adding some of these to your own patch!

Artichokes

Everyone needs to be growing artichokes!! I’m almost as passionate about artichoke growing as I am about fennel growing because they are such versatile plants. Artichokes are tough as old boots and withstand our hot, dry summers like stoic soldiers (they like full sun and will appreciate a bit of extra water on really hot days).

Their leaves are structural and beautiful, their flower buds, which you can pick, boil and eat, are absolutely delicious, and if you leave the buds on the plant to burst open, they create the most beautiful, giant flowers that are a massive magnet for bees. Win, win win. They’ll often get a bit ratty towards the end of summer, the tall summer growth will flop over and die back, but it will soon be replaced by happy new leaves that burst out of the root at the base, ready for another year of growing.

Asparagus

Another winner of the perennial plant club! Homegrown asparagus tastes nothing like the shop-bought stuff. For this reason alone you must grow it. It is sweeter, crisper and infinitely more delicious. And it looks hilarious growing in the garden - with a big, spreading root-system underground, asparagus spears erupt from the soil in spring, as if someone had come along with a giant bunch of shop-bought spears and just rammed them in the ground.

They look silly and taste fantastic, and they are often one of the first perennials to begin fruiting after winter has passed, giving you a tasty early harvest while you’re still waiting for your spring annuals to fruit. Give them full sun, nutrient-rich soil and a nice big bed to spread their roots through.

For more in-depth advice about growing asparagus, check out this guide.

Curry leaf tree

If you like curries even a little bit you must grow a curry leaf tree! These trees can grow 4+ metres tall, so you will need a fair bit of space for them in the end, but they are well worth it. They have a truly beautiful canopy of delicate, feathery leaves, and their leaves are the perfect addition to so many delicious dishes. I harvest leaves from ours all the time, throwing them in dhals, curries and (my favourite) frying them up with mustard seeds, tamarind paste and par-boiled potatoes for a madras potato fry.

Kaffir lime tree

On the subject of delicious leaves, another fantastic perennial to add to your edible garden is the kaffir (or makrut) lime tree. The leaves smell exactly like Tom Yum and taste AMAZING in a spicy soup, finely diced and added to guacamole or shredded and thrown in a cocktail. The little wrinkly fruit they produce are also delicious sliced and added to soda water. Highly recommend.

Lemongrass