Lessons From My Herb Garden

The new herb garden I started last year was as lovely as I had hoped. After a year of hospital and doctor visits because of my psoriasis which led to infections and a nasty drug interaction, I was ready for a round of stress relief. Growing and harvesting herbs has always been relaxing and peaceful. 

I've been growing herbs since we lived in the city almost 20 years ago. I learn something new each season, which, for me, is part of the joy I find in gardening. Below are the herbs I grew last season. I've included the good, bad and the ugly in growing each plant. 

Nasturtiums:  I've grown this beautiful herb from seed every year in whatever plot of land served as my garden. I find they do better in the ground, rather than in pots.Nasturtium will trail far and wide with optimum conditions. In my excitement, I ignored this lesson. They will also crowd shorter herbs such as thyme or oregano. The picture below was taken after I pulled up an entire plant that had grown to cover half of the oregano plant. This year I will plant fewer nasturtiums and sow them next to the outer edge where I can guide them to trail over the edging blocks, so they won't crowd other plants. Lesson: Sow nasturtiums where they can trail and wander without crowding other herbs.

Calendula: This is another of my favorite annual herbs, which is why I lost my mind momentarily when I planted TWO packets of calendula seeds.  Honestly, this size herb bed only needed 2-3 plants. They grew fast and furious, giving me more blooms than I could keep up with in the deadheading department. I ended up making four small tins of salve. (I'm tweaking the recipe this season before I share it.) The picture below shows both blooms and seed heads. Lesson: Sow LESS seed.

Lemon Verbena: The first time I grew lemon verbena was at least 13 years ago. I bought a small pot, knowing it wouldn't survive our Zone 5 winters. The fragrance of lemon verbena is unlike any other lemon scented herb. I can only describe it as delightful and uplifting. Last season I bought the same size pot from a local nursery, planting it in my herb bed. I watched in amazement as it grew to at least 5 feet tall and about 3 foot wide. The main "stem" by the end of the season was thick and woody, much like a small tree. Lesson: Give lemon verbena it's own space. 

Oregano/Lavender/Catmint: The only problem these three herbs developed was a lack of growth because of overcrowding that resulted in shade from the nasturtium and monster lemon verbena. They should recover this year.  Lesson: Pay attention to the spacing requirements given for an herb or flower. It makes a difference.


Other herbs grown last season:
Sage
Oregano
Lemon Thyme
Assorted Pansies
Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora)
Lavender
Chives
Catmint

From seed:
Basil (pots)
Nasturtium
Calendula

Lastly, the pansies and moss rose were a pretty addition to the herb bed, adding color while I waited patiently for the herbs to bloom. The pansies needed watering quite often, but the moss rose LOVED the heat and sun. They do well in the hottest part of the summer and rarely need watering.

I can't wait to apply these lessons this year!

I hope you all have a lovely day,
Brenda

Edible Flowers in the Herb Garden

When buying herb plants and seeds I always look in the flower sections. Many herbs are also considered edible flowers. They are beautiful and can be used in salads, as a garnish, in vinegar, herb butter and much more.  

Calendula and Nasturtium varieties will often be listed in the flower sections of seed catalogs. 

Below are some of the edible blooms I'm growing in my garden.

I've planted three lavender plants in my herb garden. Lavender can be dried easily and used in teas, dessert, sachets and balms.

Calendula petals are edible and medicinal. The flowers turn to seed fairly quickly, but at the stage shown in the picture they can be harvested by snipping them off the plant at just above the first set of leaves. The petal pull away from the center easily and are ready to use in salads.  They also can be used in recipes for lotions and balms.

Nasturtiums are one of my favorite herbs because it's easy to sow and grow. Cherry rose, below, is a lovely variety.  

The Alaska variety is another good choice with it's pretty variegated leaves. The blooms and leaves can be used in salads, or as garnishes.

There are many other flowers and herbs that are edible such as:

Chives

Basil 

Borage

Mints

Chervil

Fennel

Dill

Thyme

Rose

Oregano

~Brenda

Growing Culinary Herbs Again

Since leaving behind my herb garden in the city I've struggled with creating another garden. I think it's much like an artist looking at a blank canvas three times larger than they've worked with in the past.  I was overwhelmed.

We went from a city lot to ten acres in a rural area with a large field, horse pasture, a small wooded area and a bit of wetland scrub. At the time I had visions of grandeur where I created large, amazing gardens, a pond and fields of wildflowers.  While some of that may yet become a reality as money becomes available, it wasn't a realistic plan. My imagination was much larger than our wallet.

However, after much experimentation I finally turned part of our yard into a garden area, starting with a round herb bed.

Last year we placed the blocks and put down plastic to smother the weeds and grass. This year, in early spring we bought a yard of planting soil, which was a step up from topsoil. I worked in an organic fertilizer and allowed the bed to sit for about two weeks. This was the bed after I added a few pansies and the "centerpiece" of the bed, which is the top of a cast iron chiminea we've had for over ten years.

It's shaded in the morning, but only before about 11:00 a.m. or so. The rest of the day the bed is in full sun. Here is the herb bed now:

I planted annual herbs and flowers until the perennial herbs fill in the bed. I included:

Pansy
Moss Rose
Calendula
Nasturtium
Petunia

The perennial herbs include:
Oregano
Thyme 
Sage
Lavender
Catmint (Nepeta)
Chives

I also planted lemon verbena, although in Zone 5 it can't be overwintered. I simply couldn't resist the wonderful fragrance. I also planted basil in a long "windowbox" type planter and dill in another pot. 

I've been watering the herb bed in between rains. The containers always need more watering. After the perennials establish themselves they won't need extra water. Which is one of the many reasons I love herbs. They are easy to grow, lovely, fragrant and useful.