Despite being sold as an ornamental landscaping plant plantain lily, commonly known as hosta, is fully edible and yummy😋. I harvest the young, tender shoots in the Spring to use the leaves like spinach and stems like asparagus. Hosta is a fast-grower, so keeping up with harvesting can be a challenge, but no worries. When the leaves become large and more fiborous, they can be prepared and enjoyed like a chard or collard. The BEST part is that this perennial vegetable grows all through our Georgia summer in the shade😎.

Got a spot in your garden that doesn’t get a lot of sun? For Georgia growers, this is not a bad thing, but a blessing! Below, is a (non-exhaustive) list of other edible plants to try growing in your Summer shade.

• mint (and all its 7,000+ Lamiaceae plant family cousins🤩)
• leafy greens
• ginger
• turmeric
• stinging nettle
• citrus trees
• rhubarb
• blackberries
• raspberries
• strawberries
• garlic chives
• bunching onions/scallions

Utilize the shady space you’ve been gifted to grow something nutritious and delicious this season!