A Taste of Stockton Bury Gardens

Whatever else I expected of a press day at Stockton Bury Gardens, it wasn’t that I would be eating hostas. Come to that, lilac and magnolia weren’t on my radar as food either.

It was all part of a day for gardening press that talked about common garden plants that can be eaten, along with a look around the Herefordshire garden, and a discussion about what makes a good garden visit.

The foraging part of the event was led by food forager Liz Knight, whose latest book Buds & Blossoms has recipes and information on edible flowers.

The book (I was given a copy) has more than 100 recipes using everything from jasmine, hemerocallis and to marigolds, waterlilies and wisteria. These include ‘Wisteria, Pea and Broad Bean Bruschetta’, ‘Roast Squash with Bee Balm and Feta’, and ‘Calendula Martini’.

There’s information on the culinary history of the plants and how to preserve thems, including drying and making liqueurs and vinegars. The book ends with suggestions for other plants to grow and eat.

Liz told us that many plants now grown as ornamentals have been used as food for centuries. While fig leaves were something most of us knew about, the nutritional uses and benefits of things such as magnolias – both flowers and leaves – and lilacs were something new.

Hostas, as we later discovered, have a taste similar to asparagus and, had we not been told what the lunchtime quiche was made from, most of us would have assumed asparagus was the main ingredient.

Primroses – one of the few wild flowers most people encourage – are used in medicine as their roots have anti-inflammatory properties among other benefits, while the flowers can be eaten and have a buttery lemon flavour. We sampled this in a lunchtime pudding made with primrose curd.

Such is the demand for the plant, it’s becoming endangered in the wild in some countries.

“It’s why it’s important we grow them in gardens,” said Liz. “They are places where these species are protected.”

The later discussion about garden visiting was led by Tamsin Westhorpe, whose uncle created Stockton Bury Gardens, and James Madge, senior gardener at the nearby The Laskett (read about my visit here.)

The Laskett, created by Sir Roy Strong and his late wife, Julia Trevelyan Oman, is now owned by gardening charity Perennial. How to turn a private garden into one open to the public without destroying its charm is just one of the challenges James faces.

Whether gardens should change to try to attract new audiences – such as introducing children’s play areas – or whether they should stay true to their ethos was just one of the topics debated.

In particular, we were asked for ideas for putting Herefordshire on the map – it appears people often confuse it with Hertfordshire!

One of the hardest things, Tamsin told us, was convincing people that it’s worth visiting in spring, rather than waiting until summer. Looking around the garden with its cloak of fresh green and lots of early flowers, it’s hard to believe that they think there’s nothing to see early in the season.

For more information about Stockton Bury Gardens visit the website and there’s more details on The Laskett here.

Buds & Blossoms by Liz Knight is published by Hardie Grant Books with an RRP of £28. You can buy it here for £24.71. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.

You can read about more of my garden visits here.

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