Salad Burnet
Sanguisorba minor

days to maturity: 70 days
plant spacing: 2 per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: worms
harvest notes: harvest leaves as you need them
annual

This is a new fun salad green/ herbaceous treat that we’ve just started growing but we’ve had our eyes on it for years. its adorable serrated ornamental leaves have a distinctly cucumber flavor and its feathery presence in the garden is a welcome diversity of shape and texture. While this is a perennial in colder climates we are growing it as a winter annual. Consider trying one out for yourself in the garden if you are into unique culinary goodies that are absolutely not available anywhere but in your garden.

We couldn’t say it better than “Garden Betty” did in her blog post about this unique her: “Salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) isn’t just for sprinkling on salads. It can be folded into cream cheese or compound butter to brighten little tea sandwiches, or infused into a bottle of vinegar to make a zesty salad dressing. It can turn into a fresh, tangy puree for topping steamed fish and swirling into light soups. And personally, my favorite is using it as a garnish for gin and tonics, iced teas, lemonades, and what I call “spa water” — cold, refreshing glasses of cucumber- and lemon-scented water.”