Mererid puts a lot of pride into his ability as a gardener (and plant enthusiast) and deicides what gets planted and where. There are many gardens spread through the Imperial Palace, inside and out.
Outside are many vegetable patches and groves of fruit bearing plants.
Mererid ensures that the vegetable patches have:
Carrots: Three types appear in the patches; Candysnax which is delightfully sweet and disease resistant carrot, Purple Sun, a dark purple carrot that when cut open reveals a yellow/orange sunburst in the middle, and Dragon, a more wild variety of carrot that is a but spicy similar to radishes. Mererid himself prefers the Dragon variety while our dear Emperor will sneak the Candysnax variety out of harvest basket not being actively tended to. Purple Suns are used during banquets and feasts, as out of the darkness comes the sun.
Celeriac: Also known as Celery Root is a wonderful little nutty tasting root that stores incredibly well and makes for a good snack that’s easy to eat even while working in the gardens, throughout the palace, or behind a desk or pacing. Also used in many stews and will occasionally be served mashed at dinner.
Garlic is a staple in the Imperial Palace and among Nilfgaard in general, every house has some. The two varieties you’ll find are; Bavarian Purple, noted for its very strong flavor, and the Chesknok Red, which is incredibly nice in cooking. Bavarain Red is mostly used chopped or fined diced in spreads and dips. The cooks in the palace will use recipes from anywhere, however they always add more garlic than the recipe calls for. Who only uses 1 clove of garlic?!
Lettuce is another staple with two varieties. Milagro, a hearty disease resistant lettuce that is sweet and tender, Butter Crunch which does well in hot summers and into the fall season and holds well for a lettuce. Bullet Lettuce is sprinkled throughout as a sort of ‘back-up’ lettuce as it is a vigorous and hardy type.
Arugula which is mainly used in salads for small dinners hosted by the Emperor, comes in two types; Bellezia which is a hardy type, great for the sometimes drastic changes in between Nilfgaard seasons; and Speedy, which is quick to harvest.
Onions pop up in almost every vegetable patch as they are used for almost every dinner, feast, and banquet within the palace. Among the varieties you’ll find Oneida, a large onion that stores well for long periods of time; Monastrell, a disease and sun burn resistant type that’s a boon in the summer time; and Talon, a type of onion that can grow almost anywhere, even where most won’t even start to try and have a long storage life. A chef once accidentally dropped sliced onion into hot oil and now both Mererid and Emhyr can’t seem to get enough of fried onions. A few guests have also taken to them and try to replicate the dish.
Wega Parsley is the main strain of parsley you’ll find throughout Nilfgaard known for its tough nature that prevents bolting and bitterness and can be harvested late in the growing season.
Pepper plants pop up in planters around the palace they serve as colorful decoration and a source of food. Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry are best at being both. Their foliage is fantastic and the peppers produced are sweet and crisp. Emhyr hates noisy food, any crunching or slurping will drive him mad(more so than usual I suppose) but he makes an exception when Mererid munches on these as the man looks too damn happy to guillotine. Padron, a shishito like pepper that is sturdy and produces peppers all season long for a continuous harvest.
Potatoes are found in large numbers in a few patches with Dark Red Norlands, which produce a heavy yield and are disease resistant, to the Carola which are resistant to disease but still require monitoring but, produce a heavy harvest. A staple on the plate of almost every dinner and feast. Do not mash them, the Emperor will have your head for it. Mererid bless him, can only sigh and shake his head and secretly mash potatoes for him and few others servants/slaves.
Sweet Potatoes, a favorite of the Emperor when roasted with salt and olive oil. The Beauregard is the go to for being sweet and does well in cooler times.
Radishes, of which Mererid will go out and get a few and eat straight from the garden, you’ll find the Nile, which does well in heat, produces a sweet spicy root and edible leaves used for cooking. The Celeste can be found near fall as the are wet/cold tolerant and can stay in the field for sometime before being unharvestable.
Squashes of many varieties can be found; the Chiffon which grows upwards on tresses, or Cube of Butter which is a low growing kind with a heavy harvest. Butterbaby saves some room on the ground by growing on tresses like the Chiffon and is known for a sweet and rich fruit. The Golden Star has a tight plant and is disease resistant with a continuous harvest. Squash rarely shows up on the Emperor’s plate, Mererid however will always take some if there is any to be had, just a small bit.
Olympic Spinach can be found year round in the vegetable patches and on the table, Emhyr likes a good strawberry spinach salad and it’s an almost guaranteed way to make him eat something, at least in the summer time.
