By Paula Peirce, Colorado Master Gardener

Gardening is always an adventure. It doesn’t matter if you are growing tried-and-true favorites or branching out to something new. No two years are ever the same.

As we are planning gardens for this year, we asked the teams at our community gardens to share the unique vegetables and herbs they have grown. Their ideas can inspire all of us to enjoy our favorite garden vegetables and branch out to something new. Here are a few that inspired us and a list of even more plants recommended by our gardening teams.

Bitter Melon

This bumpy skinned cucumber-shaped melon is known for its slightly bitter taste. The skin and flesh are perfect in savory soups, stews and stir-fry. It is rich in nutrients and antioxidants and produces abundant fruit.

Blue Hubbard Squash

Blue Hubbard Squash is a beauty to grow with light blue skin and yellow flesh. It can grow to an impressive 15-50 pounds or the Baby Blue Hubbard Squash averages 6 pounds for the smaller household. The rich, sweet flesh is great in soups and stews. It is easy to grow and makes a great addition to the colorful garden.

Chinese Noodle Bean

We were thrilled by this 16-20-inch-long bright burgundy bean. Each plant grows clusters of beans and can be quite productive. They require staking or trellising and regular watering. The bright color fades with cooking but they are excellent in stir-fry and salads.

Egyptian Walking Onion

What makes this perennial onion so unique is the way it grows. The plant sets bulbs at the top of the plant. If the bulbs are left unharvested, they flop over and re-plant themselves – walking across your garden! Harvest the set bulbs at the top of the plant for a slightly pungent shallot-like taste. The stalks can be used like a green onion. The plant is thought to be from India and Pakistan and was introduced to Europe by the Romans.

Stevia

We might think of Stevia as a new sweetener on the market, but it has been used in South America for over 1500 years. There are over 200 varieties of stevia but only two species, Stevia rebaudiana and Stevia phlebophylla, have a glycoside compound in their leaves giving them their sweet flavor.

Stevia rebaudiana is an easy to grow herb. It grows well indoors or out and can be in pots or the garden. The leaves can be used fresh or dried and can be added to tea or salads for a sweet flavor.

Recommended selections from Arapahoe County CMGs