Garden Wisdom Blog — herbs

In our relatively short growing season, we need to grow most food crops in a fairly intense way. We need to select crops that mature quickly. Some crops, like mescluns and salad greens grow so fast that we can take several harvests in a single season. Other plants, like pumpkins, use most of the growing season to produce masses of foliage, and then bloom and form fruits as autumn approaches. Whatever the case, the plants we cultivate in our food gardens take nutrients from the soil and energy of the sun in order to perform. Many crops require full sun...

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) This evergreen perennial herb is native to the Mediterranean region, where it still grows wild as well as domesticated. Its Latin generic name refers to the dew (ros) of the sea (marinus). For thousands of years, this attractive, intensely aromatic plant has captivated our senses as well as our folklore. The references about rosemary in both history and legend are abundant. In ancient Greece, the herb was burnt to cleanse the air and to ward off evil spirits. This tradition lasted well into the middle ages, when it was burnt in areas affected by plague. It was...

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Both the curly leaf form (P. crispum) and the Italian flat-leaf form (P. crispum var. neapolitanum) of this useful herb are members of the carrot family Apiaceae, and share a close botanical relationship to their cousin the parsnip (although the similarity in names is coincidental). As with most other members of this family, parsley grows feathery, deep-green foliage above a long taproot, and eventually flowers in its second year, sending up a tall umbel of white blooms that set masses of small, oily seeds. A third, less familiar variety of parsley is known as Hamburg parsley (P....

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) This perennial member of the mint family is native from eastern Europe eastward to China. It is a bushy, branching herb that grows to 50–100cm (20–39″) tall. Like many mints, its stems are square in cross section, and its leaves have a soft texture, being covered by minute hairs. Its white to pale-pink flowers are highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Catnip is hardy to Zone 4, and works well in containers. Catnip has been celebrated for centuries as a medicinal herb, and it has come to be known by many names: Catmint, catnep, catrup,...

Dill (Anethum graveolens) This well-known herb has been cultivated since at least 3000 BC by the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, and is mentioned more than once in the Bible. Dill was thought by medieval writers to provide protection from evil and enhance aphrodisiac potions. It has been cultivated in England since 1570, and used to be much more popular than it is today. Originally, it grew wild from southern Russia down through the Middle East and Mediterranean area. The word “dill” comes from the Old Norse dilla, meaning “soothing,” via the Old English word dylle. As with celery, the Latin...