Stepping Away, Herbally Speaking!

I never thought this would happen. I thought I would be blogging forever. First and foremost I want to give my thanks and love to the amazing Herbal Husband. He instead of building a tennis court at our house almost 30 years ago, got me into gardening.  And by the way, he reminded me today that I was into needlework before the herb bug struck!  He has always been the hands on gardener. I just followed along, read a lot and became a master gardener. As the years have gone by, the herb garden has gotten further away from how I envisioned it. I seemed to be traveling when it needed me most and then there was the rain this year when it wasn't needed. What chaos it created! Additionally as we are getting older, we need to find a new direction in our gardening lives. It is time for that new direction. 

I started this journey in 2008 as an online garden journal. I had been inspired by Rosemary's Sampler written by Nancy Reppert of Sweet RemembrancesTearoom and Susanna Reppert-Brill of The Rosemary House.  Thank you ladies for helping me bring Lemon Verbena Lady to life. I loved sharing my love of herbs and my garden with all of you. 

I still love herbs but they have taken a back seat to my needlework at the moment. I want to thank each and every one of you that have come through this blog asking an herbal question or leaving me an herbal comment. I hope that my joy for herbs will continue to inspire. It has been a blessing for me to be a part of your lives. l will be leaving my blog here as an herbal resource for you.

With lemon verbena joy, 

Nancy, Lemon Verbena Lady

Not Your Typical Scented Geranium!

When we left for Europe in July, we had to plant most of our potted herbs in the ground.  This scented geranium wasn't doing nearly as well as it is now that it has been raining 40 days and nights (kidding!).  I just ran out to get its name for you.  It's called 'Madame Nonin'.  Of course, had to find out about the Madame.  Known for its beautiful flower and I think I missed them!  I also stumbled onto this website Hobbs Farm and Greenery when I googled 'Madame Nonin'.  Lorraine Smith has a passion for geraniums.  She is in Hope, Maine.  Need to do a road trip some summer!  I think she must have every known scented geranium!  Could stay at Sharon Lovejoy's Comfort Found Literary Lodging!  Googled Hope and it's not too far away and then there is always L.L. Bean in Rockport (Ms. Sharon reminded me it's Freeport, not Rockport!)  I so wanted to be a mapmaker when I was young.  The math kept me from it!  So Lorraine says cut it back and bring it in.  Will do, Lorraine!  Going to have warm weather here again SOON!  Hope you are having a good day.  The Herbal Husband is getting ready to go to Florida!  Talk to you later.

This Is Ready to Come Inside!

This sweet lavender (Lavandula heterophylla) is not hardy for us.  Gardeners in the deep south or far west and south (like Zone 9 and south) are lucky enough to put this in the ground.  I would not use the flowers from this in cooking.  I would only use Lavandula angustifolia varieties, such as 'Hidcote' or 'Munstead' as long as it says angustifolia on the tag.

The only lavender outside the angustifolia variety of lavender would be one called 'Provence' in the Lavendula x intermedia varieties.  It is mostly hardy for us.  I was in love with it and during one cold wet winter several years ago, I lost 8 plants.  It was devastating!  This sweet lavender because of its size will either be in the garage (my favorite place for herbs) or the basement.  It may not have enough light in the basement and that becomes the real issue for herbs in the house, light.  The tag along plant is a nicotiana that seeded somehow.  I don't know how The Herbal Husband does it sometimes!  Those Peruvian tricks!  Well, the air is very brisk here and we are really wet!  We have a closed low that just keeps spinning around.  My grass is like a field and the weeds that I haven't gotten to weed are going to be great Halloween decorations!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  Hope you are having a great day in autumn.  Talk to you later.

Not Your Typical Basil! (UPDATED FOR TUFA GIRL A/K/A FW DIRT)!

This is one of my favorite basils.  It is a green pepper basil.  Yes, it does smell and taste like green peppers.  It has survived through the 40's because it has been close to the rock wall this season.  It is a very decorative plant.

Sorta of did a half done (You can insert the word you like better there.) post yesterday.  Tufa Girl a/k/a FW Dirt asked me botanical name, etc. If I had had time FWD, you know I would have. Here you go, FWD.
 
Here is a really good article link from The Herb Companion and Jim Long, FWD with the botanical name, Ocimum selloi.

We tried to save seeds from our plant and gave them to our niece in Peru.  The seeds didn't germinate.  Seeds when they drop in the container do germinate.   Jim mentions two sources Mulberry Creek in Ohio.  They don't do mail order any more.  Nichols is the other source and I can't see them there either.  Companion Plants in Ohio does sell the seeds and here is the link to buy green pepper basil seeds.  Hope you can get the seeds.

Got to run.  Already saw 50/50 at the movies.  50/50 is good, but language is rough.  If you don't like the f word, this movie is not for you.  Talk to you later.

Love The Late Summer/Early Fall Fairy Rose!

Really one of the workhorses in the garden for me is my 'Fairy' rose.  This one is pink and we have a little red one as well.  It is also blooming even in its first year stages.  Lovely in arrangements and as decoration on cakes or in tussie mussies, the 'Fairy' just blooms and blooms through the summer and into fall.  Remember it is an edible flower.  We are going to have a couple of nights in the upper 30's and I think as I remember from last season, it will survive those with flying colors.  Going to be making some basil jelly this afternoon.  As I said in a previous post, basil doesn't like the 40's and will start turning black.  So for those of you who have had frost already, I will be thinking of you when I make my first batch of basil this afternoon.  A couple of more basil jellies tomorrow and a batch of raspberry jam as well.  Made sure I got my walk in today because standing around in one place can be hard on the joints! Don't you love this time of year.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

The Only Way to Plant Mint!

Fortunately, this silver mint (Mentha longifolia) has come back from the dead.  It wasn't watered enough while we were gone.  Mints are survivors usually, but you never know.  You need to plant mints in containers.  I don't heed my own words, but you should!  Plant them in a 12" or bigger pot about three inches down from the lip of the pot.  Also you can line the bottom with landscape fabric so the roots don't creep out and plant themselves in the ground or patio!  I have several plants that are planted in the patio and need to come out before they take over the garden!  I think that's my new mantra!   Congratulations to Sam Stosur on winning the U.S. Open tennis tournament!  She played very well!  Looking forward to Nadal and Djokovic in a little while.  Hope you had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Tansy Workshop at the Village Herb Shop and It's My 900th Post! WOW!

Tansy Blooming in My Garden

Getting Ready for the Tansy Workshop

Ant and Insect Repellent Bags

Kathleen Gips, Herbal Owner of the Village Herb Shop

A Fragrant Pet Pillow

Breaking Up Cinnamon Sticks!

Corn Cob Fixative Waiting for Essential Oil

Moth Chaser Closet Bags

The Beautiful Herb Garden at VHS

Look Out Kathleen, the Garlic Chives Will Take Over!  Not On Your Watch!

Wish I Had Noticed That Truck!

Lots of Statuary and Bird Baths to Look At

The Edible Flowers Garden

Well, my herbal companion, Bonnie and I went up to Chagrin Falls for the day and spent time with our dear friend and herbal teacher extraordinaire, Kathleen Gips at her first tansy workshop at the Village Herb Shop.  Both Bonnie and I have a thick file of recipes and information from Kathleen that we have accumulated over the years.  We keep learning so much from our visits.  We enjoyed lunch with Kathleen as well at Rick's Cafe.


Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) can be an invasive herb that should not be used as a culinary or medicinal plant.  Never ingest tansy.  It is toxic. Tansy contains thujone which is a relatively toxic compound, capable of inducing both convulsions and psychotic effects in human beings. If you have older herb books, they may have recipes using tansy.  Please do not use those recipes.  It was trial and error back in the early days and sometimes mostly error!

In the workshop today, we started by stripping the tansy leaves from the stems to make up 1/2 cup of material and added a couple of stems of lemongrass chopped up and placed half in one small muslin bag and the other half in another bag to make ant/insect repellent bags.  They can be used on windowsills or any place where ants are getting inside your house.  They are also known to repel flies.  We also made a pet pillow (Bonnie took mine home for her kitties.  I couldn't call The Herbal Husband a pet!  Could I?)   Then we also made a couple of moth chaser bags and they are already smelling the closets up nicely.  Kathleen clips all of her very aromatic herbs through the season, drys them on trays in her dining room and then places them in bins to be used for her workshops.  In this case, santolina, tansy, and southernwood to name a few.

In the link above, it talks about interplanting tansy with potatoes and that reduces the Colorado Potato Beetles by 60 to 100%.  That sounds like a very good thing!  They link the reduction in populations from the avoidance of the beetle to the essential oils of tansy.  I would say if you are going to plant it, plant it in a back corner of your garden.  It will take over in a short period of time.  Tansy did attract ladybugs in all stages a few years ago when I wanted the tansy moved!  Yikes!  That was a dilemma!

So a few photos of the workshop and then the Village Herb Shop's lovely gardens.  Kathleen has classes where you work in the gardens and learn about the herbs and how to maintain them.  They may be just about over for the season. You can check out the Village Herb Shop to see what events are upcoming.  They are definitely ready for Halloween!  Hope you had a good day.  Keeping our fingers and toes crossed for all of you on the east coast, especially all of my blogging friends up and down the United States.  Please stay safe and blog when you can to let us know you are OK!

A Great Repeat Herbal Flower!

If you can keep deadheading your calendulas, you will have them until frost.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that I keep repeating myself!  Yikes!  Why don't you tell me these things?  You just let me blab away!  It's a slow garden year and I feel disconnected at the moment.  I spent a good part of yesterday weeding which was very fulfilling.  A good weeding always helps me get back in touch with my garden.  Maybe I should get back to traveling and take you with me?  More traveling tomorrow!

A New Favorite Basil!

Since we were away so much this summer, we didn't buy a lot of herbs like usual.  I found several sweet basils at the nursery and one 'Siam Queen', a spicier version with an anise flavor.  It is nicely ornamental with purple flowers and one of the leaf stems is variegated.  Usually variegation comes from a virus, a good one not a bad one, I think.  'Siam Queen' has added an interesting note to our tomato, feta, olive and basil salads sort of a Greek caprese salad.  The Herb Companion had a great article on the original Italian caprese salad in the last issue.  Hope you enjoy it.  It was a beautiful day in the 'Burgh and I was sitting in Home Depot trying to get my door order straightened out!  Ugh!  That's all I have about that!  Hope you had a great day!  Talk to you later!

Late Summer (OMG) Garden!

The native monarda (Monarda fistulosa) is blooming nicely.  It is leaning a bit trying to get the most sun.  We propped it up with some sticks and strings this afternoon.  We had some blooming when Jekka was here in June and now the late summer (OMG) plants are blooming away.  Having a long vacation in the middle of summer has thrown me completely for an herbal loop!  I'm slowly finding all of the weeds that were just about to bloom.  They can disguise themselves very well.  There was one weed in the raspberries that was at least 7-1/2' tall and had a stem like a small tree trunk.  Had to make sure I got that one out before it sprang forth and multiplied!  Rain tomorrow.  Hope to get my handouts for Seven Springs finished.  Will show you more garden photos tomorrow.

This Poor Tree-Herbally Speaking!

This poor bay tree is on life support!  It has been in the living room until we came home from Europe.  It probably should have been outside sooner.  Although it might not have made it with the heat we had while we were gone.  The good news is is that it is growing new leaves and if any plant can make it, it would be this one.  The Herbal Husband has had some herbal miracles happen on his watch.  We had a Kaffir lime get down to one solitary leaf and survive to be big and beautiful.  So expect nothing less than that from the bay!  It was a beautiful day in the garden.  Was out weeding and will talk about it tomorrow after I mow!  Enjoy the day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Two Dutch Nurseries-Double the Fun!

Catalog for De Hessenhof

A Salvia 'Crispa' I Hadn't Ever Seen

Hope The Plant Tag Police Aren't Watching!

Compost for Sale

Beautiful Display Gardens

Lavenders in Full Bloom

Very Much Like A Trial Garden Here

Can Get an Idea About the True Size of a Plant

Our Dutch hosts just knew the right activity for me would be to visit two plant nurseries in their area.  They did not disappoint!  The first called De Hessenhof had a beautiful catalog which I can't read, but I do know botanical latin names so there were a lot of familiar plants to see.  When you click the link above, you can get an English translation for a description of the nursery.  I found four herbs, two salvias and two rosemarys that I had not heard of before.  They did have a small hedge of the 'Crispa' salvias which I thought was very effective.  The display gardens were just beautiful and I think it was a great help to buyers coming to buy a specific plant to see how tall, wide and what shade was the flower.

Then we were off to Boshoeve (which translates to Wood Farm) in Wolfheze.

Typical Dutch Farmhouse

Espaliered Apple

Nasturtiums Under the Espaliered Apple

Mint and Lovage

Perilla for Japanese Cooking

Boshoeve's Display Garden

A Stand of Pink Monarda

You Knew I Would Find a Blooming Lemon Verbena!

Ladybug Loves the Mint!

A Floral Arrangement Graces the Table in the Market Area

Nigellas Are the Standout in This Arrangement

I loved this nursery as well.  It was smaller, but it was lovely.  They had wagons or carts full of plants.  Of course, I had to scope out the herbs.  Found a lot of my favorites, including blooming lemon verbenas!  They also had a flea market with handcrafted items and used items as well.  I found a book on herbs.  Again, can't read it, but the botanical names will help me with what's what!  We had a fun morning and we headed to near Amsterdam in the afternoon for the next adventure.

It is still hotter than you know what!  Hopefully some rain tonight!  Talk to you later.

Filling in the Holes-Herbally Speaking!

Several germanders here, a couple of lavenders there, a French thyme, sweet marjoram, lemon verbena and basils as well.  I had some holes in the herb garden that had to be filled in and we went out and purchased some herbs to fill them.  We had a few casualties of the herbal kind and having herbal retail experiences lifts the spirits.  It is really hot here still.  Worked out in the garden this morning, but taking a small break this afternoon.  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later. 

Had To Have Some New Herbal Babies!

Well, we couldn't stay away from the garden center.  We went in search of veggies and herbs in JULY!  There wasn't much left, but we did find some brave survivors.  A few more herbs than veggies.  Got some nice basil that we already had to have a tomato, basil, feta, olive and avocado salad for lunch.  The Herbal Husband also found a couple of different pepper plants.

I also had some die back in my herb garden.  Although typical, The Herbal Husband and I are having a disagreement about the life expectancy of my rosemary santolina.  Of course, it bloomed while we were away and now it is three-quarters brown and dead.  I'll show you some photos in the next days.  I may ask your opinion about the matter.  There are some other plants that did not make it as well.  Weeds always do well when you are away!  We got three inches of rain last night and I just heard some more thunder so we may get some more today!  It is great to pull weeds out after a rain.  I have a lot to pull!  Well, I will show you where the new herbal babies are going in coming posts.  Busy, busy, herbally speaking!  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

A Edible Flowers Potpourri, A Recipe and an OMG Moment Too!

Borage (Borago officinalis) has a wonderful blue flower and is great to make ice cubes for summer drinks.  Has a slight cucumber flavor.  If you need a plant that takes up space in your garden, borage may be the ticket.  Here is a slightly closer photo of the flowers.  You always want to eat organic, non-sprayed flowers, remove those reproductive parts in the center.  It would be the black tips of the borage or eat the petals only.

They are just so pretty in the garden, but they do reseed and can be an issue if you aren't looking for a plant to take up space, this may NOT be the one for you.

Calendulas are the poor man's saffron (Calendula officinalis).  They were used in the early times as color in lots of different dishes.  It does not give the taste of saffron.  You should just be eating the petals of this flower.  We use them in our salads and cookies (a recipe is in the link below).  Way back in 2008 when I started this journey I did a pretty complete post on calendula.  Here it is again, Herb of the Year-Calendula.

Daylilies are one of my favorite edible flowers.  Oh, no, wait, I like nasturtiums more.  Oh, no, well, you get the idea.  That's why I'm giving you a potpourri of flowers.  Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) are one of those edible flowers that the whole species are edible.  They make fantastic cups.  You need to take those reproductive parts out of the center and then you can fill them with your favorite salad.  They are also good in a champagne flute filled with ice cream or sorbet and chocolate or fruit sauce.  The lighter colored ones are better.  The red ones tend to bleed their color.  This one in the photo above is called Frans Hals after the artist of the same name from I think the 1950's.  I have the orange one that is along roadsides called (Hemerocallis fulva).  Don't be eating this one from the roadside, because they do spray with pesticides along the roads.  Also it is a very good erosion control for some people, but it has made the invasive species list in some parts of the United States.

My bee balm (Monarda didyma) was blooming the other day when Jekka was in the garden!  I just love this flower.  The hummingbirds love it and it blooms for awhile.  I bet a month or so.  It has blocked off one of the entrances to the back garden and we have let it.  I'm hopefully going to be able to make some bee balm couscous salad before they complete fade away.  It is from Jekka's latest Herb Cookbook.  Again, just use the petals in salads, both greens and fruit.  If you use them in a different way in cooking, please let me know.

The lemon balm is FULL BLOOM!  What you should never let your lemon balm do!  I'm going to be removing lemon balm everywhere next season.  My perennial problem.  Worse than garlic chives.  But my garlic chives are catching up to the lemon balm.  Well, up in the upper corner of my blog, I have posted a new connection for my latest post for The Herb Companion.  Hope you enjoy it.  Muggy and rainy out.  Hope you have a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.