Every time I eat garlic, I suffer from bad breath for several days.
That's why I try to avoid garlic in my meals. But when I saw the serpent garlic,
I could not resist it. I had to grow it in my garden. So, I bought me a few
cloves of this garlic (Allium sativum ophioscorodon) from Peter Nijsse (the
bulb supplier).
In the autumn I planted the cloves out in a terra cotta pot. Soon, leaves
appeared above the ground. In June, the straight stem started to curl. With
some imagination it looks like the serpent sign of a doctor. That is why this
type of garlic is named as it is. It is a very decorative plant.
A few weeks later, the flower buds burst open. But, as soon as the
flowers appears the stem stretches out completely! The flower itself is not very
special. It has a somewhat dull white colour.
After the plant died, I dug up the cloves and dried them properly.
However, there were a lot of garlic cloves in the ground ......
And so my garlic dilemma arises: In case I would plant all these cloves
again, I will have even more of them next year. And what about the year after
that, and so on and so forth ..... It will be just incalculable!
Or should I finally start eating the garlic and take the bad breath into
the bargain?
Gardening it really is a hobby full of dilemmas!
Serpent garlic, ready to be planted.
With some imagination the plant looks like the serpent sign of a doctor.
Serpent garlic, very decoratieve.
Before flowering. Suddenly the stem stretched out.
Flower.
The garlic cloves.
Flowers and cloves on the table.
Not spectaculair.
Dried garlic, replanting or eating?
Thanks for hosting
Dear Hetty, I love this particular garlic as an ornamental plant, no wonder that you couldn't resist planting it! I think it is pretty cool how the stems bend and bow and then suddenly straighten themselves out to flower. Talking about the flowers, I won't say that the blooms are insignificant, as a matter of fact I think they would be great in small flower arrangements.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide to do with all the garlic cloves that you harvested, I hope you enjoy them!
Warm regards,
Christina
Very nice series of garlic in various stages!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/11/sunset-on-bay.html
They are some beautiful plants. Go ahead, eat the garlic. Most people don't mind as long as you don't get too close!
ReplyDeleteIf you eat some honey after the garlicmeal, your breath will be less "bad" (so I've heard).
ReplyDeleteEat them, and plant new :)
ReplyDeleteI recently planted two sorts of garlic. Several years ago I hated garlic smell. Now I eat garlic almost daily, like most people. Don't notice any bad smell, but love the wonderful smell of garlic dishes...
Lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend
Hugs Maria