Edible Garden

A water garden, like this one from Better Homes and Gardens book "Water Gardens," can provide interesting plants to eat as well as beautiful flowers or handsome foliage.

A Tasty Garden

This water garden appeals
to your taste buds.

You can eat the leaves of water fern, water spinach, and chameleon plant (although some find it too bitter for their taste). The leaves, tuberous roots, and seeds of lotus are mainstays in Asian cuisine. Add the leaves of water celery to soups for a mild celery flavor. Use the leaves of water mint as you would other mints. Harvest the tubers of duck potato and roast them.Watercress, the best known, requires moving water, and it is difficult to grow successfully in a pot.

You can plant water chestnuts in any shallow container that will hold water. If you plan to put them in a pond, use a container that has drainage holes in the bottom or sides. Gather the corms of water chestnuts and use them in a stir-fry or hors d'oeuvre.

What You Need: