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Many medicinal herbs are easy to grow, and most of them can be used in both cooking and home remedies. Use herbs in teas and herbal infusions, in homemade herbal oils and salves, in herbal baths, and in home health&beauty treatments. Calendula Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is a traditional skin healing herb: it was already used [...]
You may know it as the toothpaste herb, but mint is a lot more than a flavor for your mouthwash, lozenge, or toothpaste. Its fresh smell and taste add a lovely flavor to salads, smoothies, meat, and tea. Mint is very easy to grow. In fact, it grows so well that you may soon [...]
I love chives. I’ve loved them since I was a little girl. These little onions are a gateway onion for little kids, since they look like grass, not big, bulky onions. My daughter will eat chives, but she will not eat onions – not unless they’re very well disguised, anyway! Why Grow Chives? This little [...]
Any way that you look at it, herbs are a win-win for the gardener. In the kitchen, they’re indispensable; in the garden they’re beautiful, textural, and attract beneficial insects. Plus, herbs are one of the easiest plant groups to grow. In fact, when a would-be-vegetable-gardener asks me what crop they should grow first, I [...]
I love Italian dishes, so rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) is a permanent fixture in my kitchen garden. Not that it’s hard to do since rosemary just happens to love our California climate and holds up admirably throughout the winter. But if you’re below zone 8, you’ll probably have to bring it in for winter protection. Consequently, [...]
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a shrubby perennial that’s not only an obvious herb choice for the kitchen, but it’s a great garden plant in its own right. It’s leaves have a thick, “bumpy” texture, and feel rather fuzzy. Depending on the variety, foliage colors can be bright green, blue-green, purple, or edged with cream or [...]
Bronze fennel has become popular far beyond the licorice flavor the herb brings to dishes cooked in the kitchen. It is found in many flower garden styles and potted combinations. Spending $2 or $3 for a pot of herbs has developed into an inexpensive strategy for adding variety to a mixed plant combination. Gardeners use [...]
If you’d like to plant a reusable or recycled container or you simply have a flair for the whimsical, container gardening leaves acres of room for creativity. Be on the lookout for containers that have adequate drainage. Baskets are a natural fit as planters, but there are ways to get the most out of them. [...]
A kitchen colander is a unique and appropriate container for growing plants like lettuce, peppers, cherry tomatoes, chives, or strawberries. It would also make a wonderful hostess or housewarming gift. I like the traditional stainless steel colanders, but they aren’t the only ones out there. Keep your eyes open for brightly colored plastic [...]
Photo by Swanksalot Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) basically falls into one of two categories; Italian (flat) or French (curly). While they’re both hardy biennials, meaning they flower and go to seed every other year, like many herbs and vegetables, they’re usually grown as annuals. The general feeling among gardeners is that the French curly parsley is [...]
