The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

Today is Valentine’s Day of course, and because of that, Google had a Valentine image on its seach engine site. It was a chocolate fondue covered strawberry as the second “g” in its name…very clever. One problem, Google was spelled wrong!

Before I even saw the strawberry on that page, I intended to write a little about one of my favorite plants today, the Alpine Strawberry.

What I like about this plant so much is the fact that it bears its fruit all summer long. The berries are very small, just a little bigger than our wild strawberries. However, they have an intense flavor, more tart and flavorful than a standard strawberry. You don’t get a big “crop” from these plants, only a handful to eat as you are working out in the garden.

One thing I find curious about these small tasty treats is that the birds don’t eat them. I don’t know if it is because there is so much more for them to eat during the summer, or if it is something else.

We like to plant these along pathways where people walk. The low growing plant makes a nice edge to a path and they don’t send out runners like regular strawberries, so they stay put where you plant them. They also winter very well without mulching… we have some coming up in the same spot that we planted seven years ago.

They are easy and inexpensive to obtain. You can grow them from seed, just start them like a tomato or any other plant indoors. This differs from regular strawberries which are generally started in the garden from plants that were dug up by a plant supplier.

‘Alexandria’ is the variety we grow. They are available from Johnny’s Seeds in Maine. This variety often will produce fruit by late summer of its first season, then all season long after that.

Now get on over to LunaPierCook blog and see if Dave has written anything about chocolate fondue and strawberries for Valentine’s Day !

Bob