No, this blog is not about Scarborough Fair, it is about herbs!
Our summer veggies did not do that well this season and it is that time of the year to let them go. However, we still wanted to keep some life and beauty in the garden. We also wanted to have something edible to occasionally snip and enjoy with our meals. So, we turned to good-ole, dependable herbs!
Herbs have a wide range of possibilities in the garden. To list a few, growing herbs are convenient when space is limited, easy to grow for the new gardener, useful to spice up cooking, can be grown from seeds or starter plants, are quite attractive, have a variety of design options, and most appealing is what I call therapeutic aromatherapy.
I love to start the day first thing in the morning by touching the plants and breathe in all their wonderful scents. We also grow them in a raised bed that is close to our kitchen door for quick access when preparing meals. Some easy to grow herbs to start in your garden are Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Culinary Rosemary (Rosmarinus), and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L). These herbs thrive in 6 to 8 hours of full sun and well-draining soil.
Parsley comes in many varieties and has a wonderful light, grassy aroma. Our favorite (pictured below) is the Curly Parsley. It has dainty little light-green leaves that have many nutrients and can be harvested for your savory dishes.
Sage has a lovely presence in the garden. It has oval leaves with colors ranging from light green to grayish green, and sometimes variegated. Depending on the variety, it has an earthy and sometimes minty scent. It grows from seeds, but it is better to begin with a small plant.
Culinary Rosemary adds a lot of flare of scents to an herb garden. It has a strong aroma of pine, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. It has dark green leaves that resemble delicate needles. It also produces stunning purple, blue, pink, or white tiny flowers.
There are many varieties of Thyme: Silver, Narrow Leaf French, Creeping, Lemon, Orange and more. We have the most common variety in our garden, the English/Garden Thyme. Thyme is a big part of what gives our Thanksgiving stuffing its savory flavor and smells sweet. It is a great addition to the herb garden with its small dark green leaves.
I am so glad that my husband is a great cook and gets to make full use of my herb garden creation.
Try it, you will like it!