Wild Strawberry Woodland - Fragaria vesca

The 'Woodland Strawberry' comes from a selection of varieties of wild strawberries known for their subtle aroma. It produces delicious small fruity from June to September and carries them proudly above the foliage, making them easy to pick and avoiding contact with the ground. Its somewhat quirky appearance makes it suitable for cultivation in pots or containers to brighten up balconies and provide excellent service in the kitchen.
The combination of its tasty little fruits with mint leaves is simply divine. The two ingredients complement each other's flavour. Sow from January to the end of April for a late spring and early summer harvest. The plants spread out to 30 cm (12in) in width and 20 cm (8in) in height.

The strawberry is a perennial plant belonging to the Rosaceae family. Known throughout Europe, it naturally grows in all the undergrowth of temperate regions. However, most of the juicy strawberries cultivated in our gardens are hybrids derived from a species native to Chile and brought back by the navigator Amédée François Frézier. There are indeed several species of strawberries, the main ones being the Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), known for its particularly fragrant small fruits, the Musk Strawberry (Fragaria moschata), the Green Strawberry (Fragaria viridis) - also known as the Valley Strawberry - less attractive due to the acidity of its fruits, and finally the Chilean Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis). These are wild strawberries. The large-fruited cultivated strawberries are almost all derived from Fragaria x Ananassas, a cross between Fragaria chiloensis and another American species, Fragaria Virginiana.

The strawberry has a spreading habit that can reach 40 cm (16in) in width and height. The evergreen leaves are trifoliate, obovate, and finely dentate and form dark green rosettes with many small white, yellow, or pink flowers with golden centres that characterise their flowering. Then, depending on the varieties, they produce fruits that are mostly red, but recent cultivars offer pink, yellow, or white strawberries. From a botanical point of view, the strawberries are referred to as pseudocarps, with the achenes (seeds) protruding under the epidermis.

The flavour of the strawberry is very delicate and is characterised by a sweet and fruity scent, with sometimes a slightly acidic note in the background. We can distinguish non-remontant varieties that flower only once a year in spring from remontant varieties that bloom twice yearly or continuously from spring to autumn. The strawberry is a (pseudocarp) fruit rich in vitamins B8 and B9, very rich in vitamins C and E, and provitamin A. It is thus remineralising, hypotensive, and purifying. It should be noted that it can cause urticaria for some people as it stimulates the release of histamine in the body.

Harvest: pick the fruits as they ripen on the plants. Strawberries are fragile, so pick them with their stalks by pinching the stem 1 to 2 cm (0 to 1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of ripeness. It should be firm and yielding under the finger.

Storage: strawberries are best consumed fresh, simply with cream or as a topping for tarts. They can be stored for about a week in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator. They will not keep as long as they have suffered any impact or scratch. If you have a large yield, remember that strawberries are fragile fruits. Consider sugar, the fruit's best friend, for more extended storage. Naturally, you can make jams, marmalades, compotes, or syrups. Of course, you can also make ice cream or sorbets, but they will not keep as long. You can also dry them in the oven after slicing them into thin slices of at least 1 mm (0in), which you can then add to your muesli. Finally, strawberries freeze very well. Small containers for freezing small fruits like strawberries, raspberries, currants, etc., are now available.

Gardener's tip: strawberry plants are good companions for garlic, beans, lettuce, onions, leeks, thyme, and spinach. However, they do not appreciate the company of cabbage and other brassicas.