Peltaria alliacea

Garlic Cress Brassicaceae

Garlic cress with a floral performance that rather outshines its modest reputation. Peltaria alliacea is a wonderfully unusual perennial brassica, forming evergreen or semi-evergreen clumps of rounded, blue-green leaves which release a powerful garlic aroma when bruised. In late spring and early summer it erupts into a glorious display of pure white, four-petalled flowers, held in branching sprays above the foliage. The effect can be remarkably floriferous, with the white flowers almost obscuring the plant beneath. 

Native to central and south-eastern Europe, it occurs from Austria and Hungary through the former Yugoslavia and Romania to Albania, typically on rocky, stony sites and open woodland margins. It is an excellent plant for the dryish edge of a border or a sunny woodland garden, although it appreciates some moisture while establishing.

And it isn’t merely ornamental. The leaves are edible raw or cooked, with a distinctive flavour somewhere between garlic and mustard. They make an excellent spicy addition to salads, particularly during the cooler months when the foliage remains fresh and lush. The flowers are edible too, with a similar but milder flavour and much less bitterness, making them especially good scattered through summer salads. 

A particularly useful feature is its winter-green foliage; however, the leaves can become bitter during hot, dry weather. Cutting back the flowering stems after flowering encourages a flush of fresh new leaves. 

Height: 40–60cm
Spread: 40–60cm
Flowering: May–July
Hardiness: H6, approximately -20 to -15°C
Position: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Moist but well-drained; adaptable to most soils
Uses: Edible leaves and flowers; ornamental perennial; groundcover
Special feature: Powerful garlic-scented foliage and exceptionally floriferous white flower display.