Spinach

A leafy cool-season salad green in the daisy family (Asteraceae), grown as an annual (sometimes biennial) for its mildly bitter, edible rosette of leaves. NC State Extension describes an erect, rapid-growing plant about 10 inches to 24 inches tall, with two main leaf forms: the narrow, curly, dark-green leaves of the frisée types (var. crispum) and the broad, flat leaves of escarole (var. latifolium). It is native to the eastern Mediterranean and India and grows best at cool temperatures around 60 to 65°F, finishing a crop in about 70-100 days. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked, and growers often blanch the heads to soften the natural bitterness before harvest.

A cool-season leafy green eaten raw or lightly cooked - among the most fundamental garden vegetables. Bolts (sends up flower stalks) + turns bitter in heat above 70°F per NC State; cool-spring + cool-fall windows are the productive growing periods in most North American climates. Four habit groups: head (iceberg, crisphead), loose-leaf, romaine (cos), and butterhead (Bibb, Boston).

A fast, erect cool-season annual in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), introduced to all of North America from Eurasia and grown widely as a leafy vegetable. NC State Extension describes a rapid-growing plant about 12 to 18 inches tall and wide with large (over 6 inches) leaves - lobed lower leaves and shorter-stalked upper leaves, smooth with a whitish bloom and sometimes purple veins or fully purple coloring. It does best in the cool of fall and spring and bolts in summer heat, throwing up terminal clusters of small four-petaled yellow flowers and developing a strong, spicy flavor. The leaves, seeds, flowers, and stems are all edible raw or cooked, making it a productive, peppery green for the edible garden.

A fast cool-season annual of the mustard family grown for its peppery, mustard-like salad greens - irregular, pinnately-lobed basal leaves in a low rosette, each with 4 to 10 small lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe (Missouri Botanical Garden). First cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans and still widely grown across Europe, it is best grown in the cooler spring and fall months rather than summer heat; leaves are harvested young and tender before they turn strong and bitter. Pale-yellow four-petalled flowers with dark brown or purple veins appear in corymbs if plants are left to bloom.

An Old World cottage-garden annual grown for daisy- to chrysanthemum-like flowerheads (3 to 4 inches across) in bright yellow through deep orange, often with a contrasting darker center disk. In cool climates it blooms over a long summer-to-fall window; in hot summers it tends to languish and may need a midseason cutback to rebloom. The somewhat bitter flowers and lance-shaped aromatic leaves are edible, and the petals lend color to soups, rice, and baked goods.

A fast, fine-textured cool-season culinary annual in the carrot family (Apiaceae), native to the Middle East, Russia, and the Caucasus and now grown worldwide. NC State Extension describes an erect, spreading plant about 12 to 24 inches tall with light green, feathery, finely divided (tripinnate) leaves - like a more delicate parsley - and a mild aniseed scent. Small white five-petaled flowers open in saucer-shaped umbels 1 to 2 inches across in spring and summer. It is generally grown as an annual (occasionally biennial in milder areas), prefers cool weather in moist, well-drained soil, and is a classic component of French fines herbes, prized for a delicate flavor best used fresh.

A compact cut-and-come-again bed of salad greens and culinary herbs for near-kitchen harvest: cool-season leaves, a warm-season basil anchor, and a perennial herb backbone.