Johann's Garden - Nursery & Farm

08/16/2025

I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that a number of years ago I stopped being active on social media. For that reason, you won't generally see new posts here, but the business itself is very much still around.

Please feel free to check out https://johannsgarden.square.site to stay up to date with what is available here at the nursery.

Your source for locally grown perennial edibles plus a range of noteworthy ornamental and native plants. Sustainability focused.

11/14/2020

Some helpful tips for eating sunchokes.

Now, how to eat them! If you're into permaculture or perennial veggie gardening you've almost certainly heard of sun chokes (or Jerusalem a...

11/13/2020

Well this is a surprise. My honeyberries are starting to bloom already! Not ideal, but very 2020.

10/02/2020

I know garlic chives are a vegetable (a super tasty one too), but I also can't help but think they're beautiful. It's super doable to work many of your edible plants right into your ornamental garden areas.

Not pictured are the super tiny bees which had been cutely attending to these flowers shortly before this photo was taken.

What's your favorite food plant to sneak into an ornamental garden?

09/27/2020

For those of you wondering what mature service trees (Sorbus/Cormus domestica) look like. This species is edible for humans, but would also be really well suited for timber production while feeding livestock off the fruit drop. The ground was carpeted in bletting fruit with plenty more still green in the trees.

https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/sorbus-cormus-domestica-service-tree/128

09/22/2020

I've always appreciated the striking aesthetic of twisted willows, but was disappointed that most of the twisted willow trees I've spotted in this area are disfigured by a disease which causes branches to die leaving the trees looking a bit less than graceful. After a bit of research I learned that the twisted willow clone which has been planted around in our region isn't the only clone available in this country. In fact there are a number of clones available from willow specialists. One of these called 'Dart's Snake' is even resistant to the locally abundant disease which causes the die back in twisted willows!

Picture one shows a severe case of necrotic wood from the common variety. Picture two shows a young specimen of 'Dart's Snake' growing here at the nursery. What a beautiful difference.

https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/salix-babylonica-dart-s-snake-jade-twisted-willow/151?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true

09/11/2020

I like spinach, but gave up growing it as it would usually bolt before producing a worthwhile crop. This plant here though, "spinach vine" is everything I want from spinach without actually being spinach (it is however in the same family). Spinach vine is an herbaceous perennial that will start pushing out harvestable greens before winter is even over. As spring progresses you can continue harvesting the tender vine tips and attached leaves as they twine their way up a fence or shrub in a shady spot. Eventually in summer they will go to flower, but until they do it's month after month of harvest potential once you have an established patch.

The first picture shows a flat of the young vines in nursery pots. The zoomed in look for pictures two & three shows the swelling bud cluster at the base of each vine just rearing and ready to grow for next year's greens.

https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/hablitzia-tamnoides-spinach-vine/57

09/10/2020

My 'Lemon Queen' perennial sunflower thanked me for giving it a bit more space this year by putting on this show. (The fence behind it is 5' tall).

https://johannsgarden.square.site/s/search?q=Helianthus

09/09/2020

For the past few years I've enjoyed growing and cooking with 'Susan Delafield' garlic. It never fails to produce large, beautiful cloves with great flavor. I can never resist eating a couple raw after harvest even though they're potent!

Rather than a bunch of little cloves, this delicious hardneck porcelain type garlic produces 4-6 massive cloves per head! Additionally, if allowed to flower before harvesting, the flower heads will produce a copious crop of mini garlic bulbs which can be harvested to pickle, dry or use fresh (no p*e...

09/07/2020

Have you ever paid attention to how long an individual rose blossom lasts in your garden? This is open day 15 for this seedling I'm currently evaluating.

1st pic: day 15
2nd pic: day 8
3rd pic: day 1

09/06/2020

These 'Flore Pleno' perennial sunflowers sure do give off a bright yellow dahlia vibe, but unlike dahlias they reliably overwinter in our local climate.

https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/helianthus-multiflorus-flore-pleno-perennial-sunflower/124

08/29/2020

Normally I pick the flower buds to use as a vegetable on this myoga ginger, but just for fun I left one to bloom. It's super cute. FYI, this plant is totally hardy in our climate.

https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/zingiber-mioga-myoga-ginger-/48?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true