Garden column this week

Why grow herbs? There are many reasons to grow them. If you like to cook, there are herbs that will add oomph to many of your dishes. Some herbs I grow for the scent alone. Most herbs are simply very attractive. If you don’t have an herb garden, it is not too late to start one. A few square feet in a sunny area, or a few pots on a patio or balcony with plenty of sun is all that is needed. I am emphasizing sun because that is what herbs usually want most – the more the better.
Good drainage is essential; so don’t pick a spot that has standing water after every rain.
It is usually not necessary to fertilize herbs; doing so may even diminish their flavor.
The next thing to do is pick out the herbs you want to grow. Today and in the next couple of weeks I will discuss some good herbs to grow.
Parsley is a commonly grown herb, and can be used in so many dishes when cooking; I would consider it almost indispensable. I grew mine from seed this year after two tries, so they are still small, but they can certainly be purchased as plants. I find the large flat leaf parsley is better tasting than the curly variety. To use it, just pick some sprigs to garnish a plate or chop to sprinkle over all kinds of things – some simple boiled potatoes, a hot bowl of soup, rice pilaf, whatever! Parsley adds flavor and lots of nutrition. I like to pick sprigs to chew when out in my garden – it freshens your breath as well. Parsley is also said to improve the health of roses when grown nearby.
I have annual nasturtiums growing in pots here and there in my yard. Nasturtiums are beautiful cheery plants that like sun, soil that is not too fertile. There are both bush and trailing types; the trailing types can grow up to three feet long. The round lily pad like leaves are either a gorgeous bluish green or can also be variegated green and creamy white. The leaves and flowers can both be picked to add to salads or sandwiches, or just used as pretty garnishes for various dishes. Nasturtium leaves have ten times the Vitamin C of lettuce. The taste? Kind of fresh and peppery – very appealing. I like to eat a few leaves when out viewing my garden. The flowers can be stuffed with seasoned cream cheese or guacamole for an easily done fancy appetizer – serve that with your next Margarita! Even their seeds are edible, and can be ground and used like pepper.
Nasturtiums are easily grown from seed or can be bought started as young plants at plant nurseries. Plant them in the vegetable garden for their colorful blooms and their fresh looking foliage.
A must have for me is rosemary. The plant is actually a perennial in warmer areas, but either needs to be treated as an annual here or wintered over in a very sunny and cool window indoors. The plant is very attractive so can be a feature in an attractive pot. The leaves look like pine needles. One can cut sprigs and use them whole or chop them to add to any pork, chicken, lamb, beef, or rabbit. When I spent time in Italy as a child with relatives– Sunday dinner meant roasted rabbit with garlic, olive oil, and rosemary. I like to make a marinade of chopped rosemary and garlic, olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to use to marinate chops, chicken pieces, and roasts. Lemon juice is good added to the mix to flavor chicken pieces or whole chickens for lemon herb chicken.
The perennial herb thyme is also a very good cooking herb as well as being very attractive. Give it lots of sun and good drainage. There are many kinds of thyme – I like to grow the variegated, common, lemon or French thyme for cooking purposes. I also have some Elfin thyme just for looks that, as the name implies, is very tiny, growing in a pot with some other tiny plants. Elfin thyme or Wooly thyme would be excellent to grow between paving stones, as they grow thickly and remain very short. For luscious scents try lemon thyme, lime thyme, lavender thyme, or orange balsam thyme. They smell so good you will want them for the scent alone. I just bought three orange balsam thymes – one for me and two for friends. Thyme is good for flavoring fish, summer squash, scrambled eggs and more. Both rosemary and thyme can be easily dried and used all winter.
More herb talk next week…