Our heartsease plants have begun to flower. What is heartsease? THIS is heartsease:

I wanted to grow heartsease in the herb garden to add some interest and colour. Not only that, but the flowers and leaves are edible so they fit with my self-imposed rule of only planting edible plants in the herb garden.

Apparently heartsease has some health benefits too. However, the health benefits vary depending on what you read. Some places say it is good for remedying lung complaints (asthma etc). Others say that heartsease tea (made from dried and ground heartsease flowers and leaves) is great for sinusitis. Still others say the plant contains “cytotoxic characteristics” which apparently treats cancer.

Nevermind, I thought I’d try some heartsease tea made with fresh flowers to see if I would survive. The tea tasted like rocket. I am still alive, but not sure whether I’m feeling any better than I did prior to taking the tea! Anyway it’s an interesting experiment.

Oh, and finally I’ve read the flowers are a colourful addition to salads, so I think we’ll stick to that 🙂