Thursday, May 29, 2014

Newly Planted Lemon and Maybe Some Lime Herb Garden!

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Newly Planted Lemon Herb Garden!

Well, it is a bit of this and that, but there are lots of lemony herbs and a bit of lime thrown in.  There were established herbs in all of these beds.  We didn't move those out, we just adjusted.  As you all know by now, I'm a plunker, not a designer.  Sometimes I come up with winners and then other times, herbs get buried by their bigger cousins!  So here are the new herbs that are growing in each photo.

Photo One (Spacing in diagram is NOT to scale!)-

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1 Big Angelica leaf in the left corner, up toward the rock wall is 2 Lemon-Scented Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum limoneum), then there is a 3 Swordleaf Elecampane (Inula ensifolia), to the right of it is a 7 'Well-Sweep Golden Variegated' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium crispum) and then there is an 4 Apple Scented Geranium (It's not all lemon!) (Pelargonium odoratissimum) and a 5 Coconut Scented Geranium (Pelargonium grossularioides) and a 6 coneflower called 'Primadonna White' and the three flowers in a triangle are 8 'Lemon Gem' marigolds (Tagetes tenuifolia) and a 13 German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and a 14 Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) in front and 9 is a 'Mabel Gray' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium x citronellum), 10 is 'Lemon Balm' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium x melissinum), 11 'Goldfinger' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium crispum 'Well-Sweep Aurea') and last but not least is my favorite, 12 Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla or citriodora).

Photo Two (Spacing in diagram is really off!)-

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                         10               12                       13                               

1 The Lemon Balm (Melissia officinalis) that started this crazy design and 2 is the Rosemary Xmas Tree (Romarinus officinalis 'Arp'), 3 is an established oregano that I lost the tag years ago, 4 is a Prostrate Rosemary (Romarinus officinalis 'Prostratus') that came back from the dead, 5 is another established oregano.  I have to check my records and see if I can tell what these two are.  6 is a Lemon Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora), 7 is a Lemon Catnip (Nepeta cataria 'Citriodora'), 8 is a German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), 9 is a Lime Scented Geranium (Pelargonium x nervosum), 10 is Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) and 11 is my favorite, Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla or citriodora).  P.S. There are established 12 Lavender Thyme (Thymus 'Lavender') and 13 Lime Thyme (Thymus x citriodorus 'Lime') towards the front of the bed.

Photo Three (Spacing in diagram is still off!)-

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In this space we planted 1 Rue (Rue graveolens), 2 Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) was already established here, 3 Dianthus 'Frosty Fire' (Dianthus x allwoodii 'Frosty Fire') were established and I added 4 Dianthus 'Chocolate' this year.

Photo Four (Spacing in diagram is off!)-

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This space has some established herbs with some newbies!  1 is Lovage (Levisticum officinale), 2 is a Green Pepper Basil (Ocimum selloi 'Green Pepper'), 3/6 is a mix of Oregano (Origanum vulgare) and Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), 4 is Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans), 5 is Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus), 6 are the Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), 7 is a Scented Geranium called 'Charity' (Pelargonium x asperum 'Charity'), and 8 is a volunteer Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina).  There are also lavenders that took a very heavy hit this winter sprinkled in this part of the bed.

Photo Five-


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These three lemon scented herbs were on the western facing windowsill during the winter.  They were all overachievers as far as size goes.  Remember we have the don't prune policy in our house.  Sometimes when we prune, we kill!  1 is a Scented Geranium called 'Lemon Meringue' (Pelargonium 'Lemon Meringue'), 2 is my favorite Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla or citriodora) and a Scented Geranium called 'Lemon Crispum' (Pelargonium crispum).  They all overachieved on the western facing windowsill.  Once they get comfortable in this part of the bed, I think we will give them a trim.

Photo Six (Once again, the scale is off!)-


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This bed is a jumble of mostly old herbs that took big hits during the winter.  I'm just going to discuss the new herbs and then in a later post if the established herbs do well, I'll talk about them.  1 are one of my favorites Lemon Mint or Monarda (Monarda citriodora) and 2 is a tarragon (2014 Herb of the Year) (Artemisia dracunculus 'Sativa') and 3 are Sage plants (Salvia officinalis).  I had two old woody plants that took a hard hit and now the young plants are being pecked by the birds.  Can't win!

Photo Seven (Scale is off!)-


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This bed is where we plant our basils and behind in the bare soil, we have planted our nasturtium seeds.  1 is a Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis) I forgot to get Lemon Savory!  Have to remember that for next year.  2 is a favorite Lemon Basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Mrs. Burns Lemon') and 3 is a basil called 'Boxwood' (Ocimum basilicum 'Boxwood').  We have sweet basil plants that are staying in a pot and basil seeds that were planted in pots as well.  We will see how they come along.  It hasn't been extremely hot yet.  It may take extra days to get them started.  Oh, and I got a Lime Mint that is going into a container.

So the last photo shows how it looks.  Why didn't I think of lemon sooner?  Hopefully in a couple of months it will be more filled out.  You know the photos will keep coming.  I just wanted to give props to the passionate herb growers who I bought these plants from this year and previous years, Well-Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey, Beech Creek Gardens in Alliance, Ohio and Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron, Ohio.  Also, in our immediate area here, I go to Brenkle's and McTighe's.  Those first three are my top three for herb plants.  They all are passionate herb collectors and all grow great herb plants!   We are going to be working on planting sunflower seeds tomorrow, mowing and weeding. (It never ends!)  We are supposed to have three beautiful days in the garden.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Talk to you later.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think there are advantages to being a plunker, it means the garden is forever evolving, and doesn't become dull.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

What wonderful herbs you are growing. I can only imagine what the scents must be like to be up close and personal to them.

Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

Pat said...

Not only are you a knowledgeable lady of herbs but what a clever blog presentation with the plants ID map. This time in the beginning of summer is always one of my favorites - to be outside and digging in the soil. We finally have spring here in the northwoods...sweet woodruff is just spreading - a little late for May wine? How about June wine??

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Hi Tracey, Yes, I guess I'm not going to move very far away!

Wish you could come for a visit FL! I think I'm finally having a lot of fun in the garden!

Hi dear TO, glad you are having a bit of May wine for June! Well, hopefully my maps will fill out and not get too overrun!

Thanks ladies for always stopping by! I always enjoy your company! xo

Carol said...

I've been plunking a lot this Spring too :) Replacing plants that didn't survive the winter and adding to everything in general. I love the way you set it all up and numbered the plants for us. Can't wait to see how it looks when things fill in. I had planned to take more photos today and do a garden post...Mother Nature had other ideas and it's pouring here. Will just have to write a post with what pictures I already have.

Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh said...

What a great variety! I have never grown boxwood basil. You will have to report on how you like it!

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Hi Carol, need to get around to my favorites! Haven't been a very good blogger reader! I'll share more photos soon! xo

Hi Marcy, I have been growing 'Boxwood' off and on for a number of years. Very similar to sweet basil. I'll keep you posted. xo

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