This thread is a placeholder for this summer as I plan to grow all of the above and try to explain their differences, at least from a very rudimentary standpoint.  I am not a trained chef/cook, but it is interesting how they are used in similar ways, mainly in soups.  It took me a while to figure out the differences and hopefully it will be a fun thread!

I am going to post some pictures I took of planting my Lovage.  A more detailed explanation will follow, but for now this is a perennial that tastes and smells similar to celery.  Both the leaves and the roots are eaten.  I got the roots from my dad who is an avid gardener.  He grew up in Hungary so he has a broad fund of knowledge when it comes to gardening.  My mother also grew up in Hungary and is an amazing cook.  She knows how to use all of the above.

I had the Lovage in my garage over the winter in a pot that my dad gave me at X-mas (2015).  It was hovering around 32 to 35F.  It did dip below 32 a couple of times.  However, the roots will overwinter in the garden and tolerate very cold temperatures, down to below zero no problem.  I've just had bad experiences with potted perennial roots freezing so I wanted to be careful.

I hadn't look at the pot in a while but wasn't surprised to see it had started growing.  When I got it, there was nothing above the soil surface.  



I split the root ball in two and planted them about 15" apart.  The total width of the planted area was 3 1/2 feet X 1 1/2 feet.  The plant can take up a large space but I only have limited room in my garden.  I like variety over quantity since I'm limited on space.



When I cut the roots, there was an odor of celery.  Very pleasant.



All done:



These close-ups show its similarity to celery:





Of course when I went to take the Lovage out of the pot I accidentally let it fall over and bend the stalks.  They seem to have survived it reasonably well.  

More to come.

Update:  05/02/2016

I planted the Parsnip, Parsley Root and Parsley.  I also decided to grow both Celery (Tango) and Celeriac (Celery Root).

Not much to see in these pictures.  I planted these on 04/24/2016:

This is the lovage that was already planted.  This shows that it has grown some more.  It's looking really good.



All American Parsnip.  The rows are 12" apart:



Parsley Root.  I know the variety and will post it.  These seeds, however, are from my own plants.  They grow the first year and then flower and seed the next.  I will go through that process more later.



Parsley (Big Italian)



The Celery I bought as small plants.  I have been reading a lot about them.  Interestingly, you need to keep Celery warm.  If you allow the temperature to get below 55F for 10 days or more, the plants will bolt.  I will transplant my seedlings and keep them indoors until the end of May.

I planted some Celeriac (Celery Root) seeds.  I have two varieties and will post their names.  

A quick note on the Lovage:  It survived a recent snowfall 1 week ago today of about 1" and a hard frost down to 27F:

I would separate it into two categories:

1) Parsley:

a) Parsley:  The leaves/stalks are used to flavor soups, stews and other dishes.  The roots are small and essentially inedible as a result.  It is a biennial, growing the first year and flowering and going to seed the second.  

b) Parsley root:  This is also a biennial, but both the leaves/stalks and the root are eaten.  Again, this is used to flavor soups, stews and other dishes.  The smell and taste are pungent like parsley, but it is different.  This is more popular in Europe (my parents are from Hungary).

c) Parsnip:  Another biennial, only the roots are eaten.  The leaves are somewhat toxic and should only be handled with gloves.  They should not be eaten.  The roots are often left in the ground over the winter.  The following spring, as new growth emerges from the top and starch is converted into sugars, the roots become sweeter.  This can be roasted or baked, but also goes well sliced into soups, stews and other dishes.

2) Celery:

a) Celery:  The stalks are used to flavor soups, stews and other dishes.  The roots are small and essentially inedible as a result.  It is a biennial, growing the first year and flowering and going to seed the second, though I don't know how well that would work in my zone (5).

b) Lovage:  This is a perennial.  Its leaves, stalks and roots are eaten and used in the same way as celery and parsley.  The smell and taste is similar to celery.  If left alone, the plant will flower and produce seeds every year.  If the root is left in the ground, the plant will freeze and die, and re-emerge from the root the next spring.  This is also more popular in Europe.

c) Celeriac:  Also called celery root, it has stalks and leaves similar to celery which can be eaten, but it is grown mainly for its root that has a celery flavor and is used in a similar way in soups, stews, roasted, mashed and other dishes.  It is a biennial but harvested the first season usually.

I will keep this updated.  Feel free to ask questions.


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Update:  05/08/2016

I bought some Celery (Tango) a while back and have kept it indoors.  After a lot of reading, it's very important to keep them at temperatures > 55F.  If the temperature drops below
this for 10 or more days (which it is still doing here), then the plant will think it has gone through the vernalization process and think it's in its second year of growth, bolt and go to seed.
I have transplanted them into bigger pots since this photo and plant to keep them indoors until at least the end of May.  These photos are from bringing the plants outdoors on Friday
to transplant them only.





My Parsnip, Parsley Root and Parsley have not germinated yet.  I know it takes a long time, but I'm getting a little worried.

My Celeriac (Celery Root) I planted indoors has also not germinated yet.  

This is why I like perennials.  You have a lot less worrying to do.  The Lovage continues to do well.

Don't worry, as the plants grow (hopefully), I will get into a more detailed explanation of how I use them.  

I saw my first Parsley Root germinate 2 days ago on 05/10/2016 and my first Parsnip today, 05/12/2016.  I will get some pictures up!

My Celeriac seeds have not germinated indoors yet.  I'm a little concerned as they have a long growing season.  My Parsley hasn't come
up yet outdoors either.  The Lovage is growing very nicely.  I transplanted my Celery indoors and will wait until nighttime temperatures come
up enough before transplanting which won't likely happen for another 2 weeks.

Update:  05/31/2016

I will get some pictures up.  The Lovage looks great.  The Parsnip is not doing great, just poor germination all the way around but the plants coming up do look good.  Parsley Root and Parsley look great.  I bought Celery and planted it outdoors on Sunday (05/29/2016).  I'll get some pictures up soon.  Lots of projects this spring/summer but I will keep this updated.  Celery Root is a bust.  None of it germinated indoors.  I'll try again next year.

Update:  06/03/2016 pictures but posted today 06/24/2016.  I will update again soon with some recent pictures.

The Lovage is huge but did admittedly start with a large root ball.  As I posted, the roots and leaves are edible.  The leaves can be dried for later use and I've experimented a little with that.







The Parsnip takes a lot of time to take off and the seed germination rate can be very spotty.  They recommend not even bothering with seeds that are > 1 years old as the germination rate is abysmal.  for these, only the root is edible and the leaves are in fact toxic to the skin.  If you handle them, make sure to use gloves or sun exposure to the skin afterwards can cause blisters.



The Parsley Root is much more robust.  In fact, I grew this 2 years ago, then let it flower the second year, collected the seeds, and the plants you see are from my 2015 seed stock.  Germination rate is very good and the seeds apparently have a decent shelf life, certainly much better than Parsnip!  Both the Parsley Root leaves and roots are edible.  I will thin out the plants and dry the ones I pull.



This is Italian Parsley.  The plants look great.  Only the leaves are eaten.  I plan on drying most of this for later use in soups.



This is my Celery (Tango).  You must be very careful when you plant it.  Exposure to temperatures below 55F for 10 days or more may cause the plant to bolt, so I bought seedlings, transplanted them to pots, and then kept them indoors until temperatures were satisfactory for transplanting.



I couldn't get my Celery Root to germinate so none for this year unfortunately.

I have another set of pictures I will update with soon.  Hopefully this weekend.

Update: 06/26/2016

The following pictures are from 06/13/2016.  I will update with some newer pictures since they've grown substantially since these were taken.

The Lovage has really grown nicely.  I've tried drying the leaves and it's very easy in my dehydrator.  I usually put them in overnight, but I'd bet even 6 hours would be enough to thoroughly dry them.  The leaves can also be eaten in salads and used to flavor soups, and are better fresh like most spices.





Parsnip.  This has grown slowly but has started to take off much faster since this picture was taken.



Parsley Root.  This has been growing solidly.  They have been thinned out since I took this picture and I saved and dried the ones I pulled to use for some split pea soup.  I ate a few of the tiny roots and it was tasty.



The Parsley is growing well!



Celery (Tango variety).  This is growing well but I was careful not to put it out until the weather warmed up as I noted in an earlier post.  I am also being aggressive about watering it as it needs more water than the other plants.  I also put down some Metaldehyde pellets to take care of any slugs.  I haven't seen any yet on the celery, but I am growing some Hungarian Summer radishes nearby for seed stock and the slugs were going crazy with them.  Those are beets to the right of the celery.  I think I may be allergic to them since the last couple of times I've eaten them I got a stomach upset, but that's over a period of several years.  I'm growing these to eat and see if I really do get an upset stomach.  I usually love beets.



I will get some updated pictures up soon as the plants above have grown quite a bit in the last 13 days.  The Lovage is actually starting to flower at the top.  The plant itself is > 6' tall but, again, this started from a root ball so I'm not surprised it grew so well.

BTT to prevent archiving.

I will update this soon with pictures.  Everything looks great.

BTT to prevent archiving.  I have the pictures, just need to post them.  I had a good year I think.

BTT

Update soon.  I have good pictures of the roots.

Thank you for this post!

After seeing your original post, I was inspired to try growing celery and successfully grew some from seed. Actual germination went well but somewhere along the way I neglected them. I think four plants survived to move outside. They all grew but I had 1/2-sized celery when I thought it was time to harvest them. They were tasty when making chicken stock! For some unknown reason, one of the plants was not harvested and seems to be doing just fine even after a couple of days of sub-20 degree weather before Christmas. Is this typical for a celery plant? I'd never tried to grow celery because I understood it to be a cool weather plant and I figured our summer would cook celery into the ground. At this point I think I'll leave it be and see how it fares. And I'll try to grow some more this year!

I'm currently eyeing lovage and parsley root offerings in seed catalogs to try this year. Please keep posting your tips for growing and using them! Your photos really help, too!

From what I've read and observed, celery loves the heat.  In fact, you have to be careful not to transplant them outside before warm weather or they will bolt.  Once they grow bigger, they can tolerate the cold.  As an experiment, it would be interesting to see if your plant will go to seed next season if you leave it in the ground.  However, it needs a ton of water.  The soil has to be kept moist at all times.  This is critical!

I will finish posting my pictures.  I've been dragging my butt on this!  

Lovage has a really nice flavor as does parsley root (both leaves and root for both).  You should be able to find small lovage plants at your local nurseries.  You can grow from seed and I did harvest some from my lovage but I do not know if they are viable.  I will try planting some.  

If you want to post pictures of your celery or of your spring plants, please do so.  I'm planning on keeping this thread updated like my garlic one.