Not Quite My Herb Garden Anymore!

When we planned our 30 year celebration earlier this year, I knew that the herb garden was not going to be tended for over three weeks.  I had to let the garden go and just hope we got enough rain and sun.

On the other hand, The Herbal Husband does a lot of the planting for me.    And he has decided to move plants in that I would not have ordinarily planted.  Other plants are volunteers.  Looking at the garden this morning, I was sort of depressed.  I just can't embrace it as my garden anymore.  I think it might need a Bobcat!  A new blog called The Herbal Husband's Herb Garden maybe?

Not Much To Say Today!

Pretty from the Inside!

Still hot and muggy!  Not much going on in the garden or maybe there is, I just didn't get out there to find out!  Hope you had a great day!  More tomorrow!

A 'Hot Papaya' for A Really Hot Day!

I don't know how my friends in the southern part of the U.S. stand this heat all summer!  I have become a wimp in the heat!  Well, OK I have never been much for the heat.  I still love winter and bundling up against the cold!  So with that thought in mind, here is something to heat you back up. I think you might call it an Echinacea on steroids, 'Hot Papaya' coneflower.  I do eat a lot more tropical fruit since I married The Herbal Husband.  I always try to find a flower or herb plant I think he will enjoy.  This flower is a double flower with a slight fragrance which I knew he would enjoy as well.  We placed it in the center of the row above the rock wall.  Not sure whether it is perennial for us.  Fingers crossed it is.  The chipmunks like to make tunnels and that is sometimes the end of a plant above the rocks.

So the dog days of summer are here and will be through the end of the week.  Thank goodness we did get a storm last night and we are to get more rain today.  Of course when The Herbal Husband gets the hose out and waters, the faucet turns on from above!  Hope you are staying cool wherever you may be.  Talk to you tomorrow.

My Favorite Coneflower!

Continuing the Herbal Hiatus!

In the Home Stretch!

I had hoped by the end of January that I would have The Herbal Husband's citizenship sampler done!  I am almost there!  The photo shows my progress to last night.  Once the border is done, I only have to outline the capitol and I will be done after 24 years and it can be framed.  This project was much bigger than it needed to be and through trial and error, we have made it simpler.  The chart was the size of a poster!  It was HUGE!  I have pleased The Herbal Husband and he really has asked every day "How is it progressing?"  It will be a big relief to have it done.  I really have discovered my love for my stitching again so much so that I have joined The Embroiderers' Guild of America as a member at large.

But just when you think, oh no, she's gone to the other side, I touch a scented geranium or my 'Clevelandii' sage that are perched on the windowsills and I can't give up my love of herbs entirely!  We have had a bunch of herbal casualties this season.  Whether from low light or too much water, we have lost a couple or three lavenders in pots and some of my favorite scented geraniums have gone to the great herbal beyond!  We get a bit carried away when we bring herbs in.  Don't we all?

The 'Clevelandii' Sage is Doing Great!

I think I said to a friend that as much as I enjoyed blogging every day in December.  On the flip side I have enjoyed not blogging at all in January.  I feel as though I need to continue the herbal hiatus into February and maybe March!  I have decided to reemerge not unlike the groundhog in April.  So you will see me again for sure blogging in this spot on April 1 and that's no joke.  Again, I may pop up from time to time, but maybe not!  Oh, BTW, the weather has been very spring like the last few days.  We survived the snowstorm of two weeks ago with about 5 inches or was that last week?  Today it will be almost 60 degrees in the herb garden!   So enjoy this nice sunny day if you are in the 'Burgh'!  The Herbal Husband and I are going to take a walk!  Talk to you again soon!

Been an Unusual Winter!

2015, An Herbal Year in Review!

January-Very Cold and Snowy!

February--'Mabel Grey' Enjoying the Windowsill!

March--Just As Snowy and Cold!

April--Signs of Spring and Coltsfoot Blooming!

May--Finally Plant Shopping, Herbally Speaking!

June--My Favorite Rose in the Garden--'Apothecary's Rose'!

July--A White Sphinx Moth and Bee Balm!

August--My First Selfie in the Herb Garden!

September--Still Picking Raspberries and Making Jam!

October--My Favorite Knot Garden Disappearing at the Garden Museum, London, England!

November--The Herbal Husband and I Celebrate 28 Years Married!

December--Almost Looks Like March in the Herb Garden!

Well, we have come to another end in the herb garden.  Even though it is finally cold in December, the herb garden has just kept going and going this year!  And I thought it was going to be a dud!  So many great photos I could have used, but you will remember your favorites perhaps with a memory jog from me!  It was nice to look back and see what was accomplished and what is yet to happen.  Had a strange year weatherwise and lost a few herbs more than usual including a lemon verbena!  That should never have happened!

Hopefully in 2016 I will come up with a different plan of attack or maybe go back to the lemon/lime garden theme.  That was a particularly great season.  So your herb garden should be tucked in if you live in the northern half of the U.S.  I am not sure what to expect going forward in the weather department!  We need to have snow and cold or I'm afraid I will lose more plants in the coming year, but on the positive side more new herbs to try!  Had fun blogging these days of December.  Hope you enjoyed it!   Even though the 2016 Herb of the Year is Capsicum, I have a boat load of posts with savory as the topic to still write.  Just want to give a shout out to my adorable and very garden worthy husband, The Herbal Husband.  Without him the garden is not too spicy or wild and crazy!  Thank you Sweetie!  And thank you to my loyal readers for reading my blog.  I will see you next year!  Happy New Year everyone!

Celebrating the 2015 Herb of the Year-Savories-Part Eleven!

Another Favorite English Herb Book

I do have too many herb books which I haven't read!  This is one of the ones that I need to read through in the near future.  H.L.V. Fletcher's book Herbs is the next on my bookshelf.  He talks about there being two savories, summer, the annual and winter, a sub-shrub, but their uses (assuming he means culinary uses) are similar for both.  He calls savory a neglected herb and this is from a book of the 1970's.  Fletcher does admit that nurseries have both seeds and plants for sale.  He calls it out of fashion even if it has a more pleasant flavor than many of the more popular herbs.  It is traditionally used in most stuffing, in sausages and in many meat dishes.  He says that he has heard that it has been used a good deal on the continent.  That there is a recipe for stuffed marrow (a member of the squash family) that needs a bit of savory to liven it up.

He also says it is out of fashion to use it medicinally.  It was once used for indigestion and colic.  There were a dozen other illnesses it was used for, but the medicinal claims were quite modest.  Although it is said to be good when used on wasp and bee stings.  And that is all he has to say about the savories!

Well, the tide has turned in the weather department.  We are on the cusp of winter.  Not quite there yet, but by the end of the week, we will be having temperatures in the 30's and a taste of winter weather.  So the clock is ticking down until the end of the year.  Will I take a break?  Will I keep posting every day?  In any case, I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Celebrating the 2015 Herb of the Year-Savories--Part Eight!

Another of My Herb Books from England!

In Herbwise Naturally by Christina Stapley she talks about winter savory (Satureja montana) being good for tubs and window boxes and that it flowers into fall.  Savory is also a great companion with beans and is a prime example of partnerships of herbs in combination with vegetables.  She suggests planting savory among your broad beans to help keep them free from black fly and bean beetles.  Maybe that could be used with regular beans as well.  She talks about winter savory being from the Mediterranean and possibly from Italy.  It is surprisingly tolerant of frosts even considering where it was first grown.  It very cold and frosty conditions, it may lose its leaves, but then they will resprout as spring weather returns.  Straw can be laid over young plants as a precaution when the temperature drops suddenly.  Poor soil (I don't think she means clay soil) maybe unfertilized soil can also help savory to resist bad weather conditions.

In parts of America (she doesn't mention which parts), where the herb has been grown since the days of the early settlers, it will be necessary to give savory the protection of cold frames or a layer or two of straw before winter.  Savory should be clipped back in early summer and again in fall to give a neat hedging.  Otherwise it will reach a height of about 14 inches.  Winter savory flowers white flowers reminiscent of rosemary.  She takes cuttings of flowering stems for posies.  Stem cuttings take readily needing shade at first and once established roots, they will be better in the sun.

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is a taller herb with paler green delicate leaves and pretty pink-lilac flowers that form in late summer.  It sometimes has a very short season, but it does self-sow when it is happy.  Creeping savory (Satureja repandra) (different botanical name from Jekka's)  is a very low growing and would be good for scented banks, rock gardens or around paving.  Needs to be sited with care because it doesn't do well with frost.  It will attract bees and have flowers just as the other savories do.  Has the same white flowers as the larger savories do and it grows to be about 3 inches high similarly to pennyroyal.

Use winter savory in stuffing, bean casseroles and stews.  Either savory may be used in fish dishes, particularly with trout.  Summer savory seasons sausage and bean or fish salads.  Savory can be added to pickles and preserves.  Fresh or dried in oil or vinegar.  Summer savory with its milder flavor may be preferable for egg dishes.  Winter savory which is slower growing and stronger in taste can be picked as a fresh herb for much of the year.  Provided that you have leaves on your plants.  The Romans made a sauce of savory much like mint sauce.  Useful in salt free diets in herb blends.  Nettle and savory in combination, more nettle than savory can season a bean casserole.

This is a good herb book for beginners and experts alike of herbs.  Hope you have learned something new that you didn't know before.  She also has a companion book to this one called Herbcraft Naturally which talks about crafts with herbs and has 20 crafts with herbs and her last chapter talks about Herbs at Christmas!  May have to do a post on that chapter!

Need to Do an Additional Review of This Book!

Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be!  Getting warmer here in the 'Burgh!  Winter is not in sight!  Running out of posts!  Oh no!  This posting every day has put a different perspective on things.  Didn't think I wanted to blog any more and now I have found a new gear.  You aren't done hearing from me yet!  Think I need to go for a walk!  I will talk to you tomorrow!

Six Years And Counting!

It doesn't seem possible that six years ago today I started my blog.  It all started with reading the sisters (Nancy and Susanna) Reppert's blog, Rosemary's Sampler.  Well, it hasn't been as productive a year as some, but I am still blogging!  I have been lucky enough to guest blog for Herb Companion now Mother Earth Living and occasionally review books for Timber Press.   I want to thank all of you who read what I write. You are why I keep writing! 

I also want to say a very special thank you to The Herbal Husband for all of his help and his garden gifts.  I'm just happy to have really enjoyed my garden this year, diseases, pests and all!  So hopefully I can continue to translate my joy for my herb garden into this blog that I call Lemon Verbena Lady's Herb Garden.  Hope you are having a great day!  Talk to you later!

An Old Sign Finding A New Place in the Garden!

Frozen in Time!

Sorry I haven't been much of a blogger lately.  Could give you the excuses, cold, snowy and icy.  This was the garden the other day before we got more snow!  Yes, Peggy R, I am getting sick of snow!  Want to make more tea bags because I'm going through them like crazy.  So hopefully I will carve out a little time to give you more tea recipes.  We don't get blue sky often in the winter.  So here is the herb garden in the bright sunshine!  Hope you are stay warm and cozy wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

My Monday Morning Herbal Confessions!

The Lavender Was Drooping.  So I Watered It Too Much!

My Favorite Was Drooping This Morning and It Is Back to Normal!

OK, I just have to laugh about this.  My blogging buddy, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh who writes Backyard Patch Herbal Blog was complementing me on how good the herbs in containers looked in my living room.  Marcy, it is all The Herbal Husband's care that gets them to look this way!  Honestly!  I feel like an herbal fraud talking about them when I usually don't take care of them on a daily basis.  I troubleshoot problems and sometimes too late to fix them.

I think I have said this before, The Herbal Husband and I have two distinct watering styles.  So only one of us can take care of the plants indoors or outdoors.  One thing I have learned in the last several days since he left, you have to look at each plant every day because their needs are different!  After Marcy made her comment to me over the weekend, I went into the living room and noticed that the lavender was drooping.  No problem!  I'll just get the watering can and water it.  Stuck my finger in first and it was dry.  Watered just a bit or so I thought.  Put the watering can back in the kitchen and came back to check and I had a pool of water on the carpeting around the pot!  YIKES!  Got that mess cleaned up and now have my emergency paper towels ready!  These plants are all used to get a little drink every other day or so!  The Herbal Husband tends to overwater and I tend to underwater.

My favorite was drooping this morning and I gave it a drink!  Didn't flood things this time.  The water was all absorbed by the plant.  This lemon verbena is holding all of its leaves and I think I may just give it an herbal cut to reduce its stress.

So I thank you for your herbal praise, but really The Herbal Husband deserves the credit.  I'm just hoping my herbal caregiving will keep things alive while he is gone!  Hope you are having a great day.  Thoughts and prayers are with the people of The Philippines.  Honor to all of our Veterans!  Talk to you later.

Not Been Getting Much Done, Herbally Speaking!

My copy of the latest Susan Branch book, A Fine Romance arrived last week and do you think I can get much done besides reading it?  No, not much.  I have lemon verbena jelly waiting to be made, scented geraniums to cut and dry.  You get the idea.  I haven't finished the book yet, but every time I have an extra second, I pick it up and read a bit more.  Sharon Lovejoy, you are very correct that it is right down my pathway!  Gosh from the end flaps in the beginning, she hooks you into a joyful tale of falling in love (years ago) and getting to explore England with the love of her life for two months last year in a 25th anniversary celebration!  Fabulous!  This will be a forever book for me.  One that I will pickup and reread and find something new each time.  I don't think you will be sorry if you want to learn about England or love England as much as The Herbal Husband and I do.

It is giving The Herbal Husband and I thoughts of what to do for our 30th a few years away!  Our 26th is tomorrow.  We are going to our favorite restaurant, Verona Village Inn tonight.  Getting The Herbal Husband ready for his trip to Peru.  Learning how to feed the birds and water the plants!  We have two different styles so I always have to refresh my memory!  One of the last warm days and we are working to tie up our arborvitaes for the winter.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

Wrecked a Batch of Nasturtium Jelly!

I Understand How It Feels to Wreck a Batch of Jelly!

Had to Do a Redo!

Some of you think I'm a whiz at making jelly and for the most part, I am pretty good.  On Saturday though, I had a mental lapse.  Just when I added the Certo and was going to boil it for that minute exactly, I turned the heat off and the Certo didn't forgive my mistake.  As I was trying to come with something that would save the jelly, it just kept getting worse and worse.  So I feel your pain when you say that you don't enjoy making jelly.  I had three jars of a grainy mess.  I actually skimmed off a whole jar hoping that it would make it work!  Ha!  Well, on Sunday after having a brief discussion with The Herbal Husband.  He always thinks it will fix itself.  He allowed a redo.  He could see the difference between the good and the grainy jelly.  He said you need to make it again and concentrate this time!  So back to the stove and it turned out well the second time around.  So when you are having a bad day making jelly, just remember that someone who has made hundreds of jars knows how you feel.  Keep trying, you'll get the hang of it.  I promise! 

We are having a beautiful string of days.  Blue skies and warm temperatures.  We worked out in the front garden that had just gone wild!  Need to work on the front gate.  Hope you have had a great day.  Talk to you later. 

My Aha Moment of the Season, Herbally Speaking!

Can't Believe This German Chamomile Overwintered!

Will Have Lots of Chamomile Tea Bags to Enjoy!

Sitting on the Driveway Deciding Which Flowers to Cut First!

Sometimes it takes awhile to have that aha moment in the herb garden.  This one was going to smack me in the face.  This German chamomile overwintered in the herb garden from last season.  We put a bucket over it at times during the winter and it made it through with flying colors.  Every season one herb seems to be an overachiever and this season it is the chamomile.  Lucky for me chamomile is one of the teas that is recommended for people with GERD.  I know there are rakes to cut the flowers from the chamomile, but I like to take my time and work my way through the plant in sessions.  I have about three boxes of flowers at the moment.  Not filled to the top, but nicely cut and then they will go into self-seal tea bags to be brewed during the fall and winter.  Since I have come back from England I have been having a cup of tea even on the hot days.  So I hope you have had your aha moment in your herb garden or whatever garden you may have.

It was a beautiful day in the 'Burgh.  We got the grass cut and I'll have a day of trimming tomorrow.  We also tied the ornamental grasses up so we could walk around.  Sorry this is so late in the day.  Hope you have had a great day.  Talk to you later.

New Page for Guest Posts for Herb Companion and Mother Earth Living Magazines

Well, I have put together a page of the Guest Posts I have written for The Herb Companion magazine and now Mother Earth Living.  I hope you will find this page useful.  It was a trip down memory lane to see everything I have written.  Pretty special, herbally speaking.  I have been reading a lot of herbal books and articles.  I'm not bogged down, but just find myself enjoying my reading and I'm not too concerned that I'm not blogging every day.  So I hope you will understand.  I'll blog when I get some things together herbally speaking!  I really don't need topics.  I just need to put some thoughts together.  Talk to you later.

Just Had to Have It, Herbally Speaking and Blue Skies!

Purchased at the Local Grocery Store by The Herbal Husband

A Rare Occurrence for a 'Burgh Winter!

Well, The Herbal Husband was dragged to the grocery store yesterday and among the things he purchased was this plant of basil.  A basil plant indoors usually brings the usual suspects bug wise especially white flies.  It was just too enticing for him.  I had made some arugula pesto over the summer and I placed it in the coldest part of the refrigerator and it was still delicious if I do say so myself.  The Herbal Husband chopped the fresh basil on top of his pasta and he was happy. 

The other wonderful part of today is that I got outside to walk around our neighborhood and enjoy this beautiful blue sky.  It is warmish (40+), but it is tempered by a beastly wind!  The bottom is going to drop out tomorrow.  An Arctic cold front is coming.  Much colder this year than last.  England has more snow than we do!  So I hope you are having a wonderful day.  Talk to you later.

A Bit More Green and Gold in the Herb Garden!

Some years I have no luck with the golden sage plant (Salvia officinalis 'Icterina') and other years like last year it looks very good.  I can't tell you the number of golden sages that have bit the dust or rotted from a cold and wet winter.  We still have a chance of that happening, but at the moment it's looking pretty good.  I have so much to do herbally speaking and as always can't decide which to do first.  I'll let you know what's going on in the next post.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.  P.S.  I have just published my 1,200 post!

Lemon Verbena Lady's Herbal Year in Review-2012

January-A Bit of Snow Covering the Herb Garden

February-Always Nice to See the Herb Garden in Winter

March-The Apothecary's Rose Has Come to Life

April-The Herb Garden Made the Herb Society of America's Calendar

May-Lemon Verbena Coming Back in the Herb Garden

June-My First Attempt at a Video in the Herb Garden

July-The Last Time I Had a Repost in The Herb Companion

August-Was the Year for Sunflowers in the Garden

September-Last Issue of The Herb Companion Sold

October-'Cup of Sun' Nasturtiums Were Wonderful

November-Lemon Verbena Thriving on a Western Facing Windowsill

December-The Herb Garden As We Began 2012 Covered with Snow

 I'm not sure how we got to this point already!  New Year's Eve and the end of 2012.  I think overall it was a good year in the herb garden and in the garden overall.  The Herbal Husband and I got it back into shape after being away a lot of last year.  We had very hot early and then we cooled down for the end.  Seems like we started with and ended with a blanket of snow.  February and March were mild by winter standards in southwestern Pennsylvania.  The herb garden was a calendar selection in the Herb Society's calendar for 2012 in April.  May brought the triumphant return of the lemon verbena from the ground in the herb garden.  One of my greatest achievements in 2012!  In June I attempted a video tour of the herb garden.  July brought the last repost of my guest blog, The Herb Channeler for The Herb Companion magazine.  August was sunflower month in the garden.  They were gorgeous!  September brought the end of The Herb Companion magazine after almost 24 years of publication.  October was the month of nasturtiums.  November should be a highlight of Thanksgiving, but no we bring you my lemon verbena in a container on a windowsill in full leaf!  It is usually two sticks when it comes inside. December has been cold these last few days and finally snowy!  I had a few trips to NYC and southeastern PA with my friend, Bonnie.

I have started guest blogging for Mother Earth Living magazine, but I have also decided to take a short break from that to do some research and refresh my herbal mind.  I'll be back blogging for them in March, 2013.  As for resolutions, I'm not big on that.  I have been going through the 1,100 plus posts and trying to make them more finder friendly.  I'm not sure I'm succeeding.  I have pulled out a few of the classic and contemporary herbal authors and their books and may do some posts on their herbal lives and thoughts.  I also need to get down to my workspace and do some herbal tea blends cause it is just too cold out there at the moment and too white with snow.  So if you have any thoughts about what you want to hear and see in 2013 from Lemon Verbena Lady, please let me know.  Oh, I may try to do a few more videos in 2013.  I would like to say Happy New Year to all of my blogging friends and faithful readers!  May we all have a peaceful and safe celebration for the new year!  See you in 2013!

Dear Tovah Martin,

I read with interest your Growing Panes article in the November/December 2012 Hobby Farm Home magazine giving gardeners ideas for which herbs to grow inside for the winter.  I have to disagree though on two of your selections for the Don't List, particularly lemon verbena and lavender.  I understand that lemon verbena typically drops its leaves and plays dead.  Some people don't want to take care of sticks during the winter months.  I get that.  This is my lemon verbena at this moment on a western facing windowsill.

I have routinely gotten a lemon verbena through the winter, both with and without leaves.  I will harvest these leaves for tea and bread.  If I use all of the leaves before the end of the year or the end of January, it will start producing leaves again in earnest in February and by May will be a very full bushy lemon verbena ready to go outside.  Lemon verbena does have problems indoors, spider mites and white flies, but both of those problems go away when it goes outdoors.  I understand how most people including me, have limited window space, but some gardeners love the challenge of getting tender perennials through a harsh winter.

Again even though you have lavender on the Don't List, I have had success getting tender lavenders through the winter both in my garage which faces south and on the west facing windowsill.  I read in your book The Unexpected Houseplant that you too have had success with 'Goodwin Creek' Lavender.  This is my 'Goodwin Creek' this year.  It may be a bit sparse at the bottom, but it will come through the winter in good shape.

Lavenders are less prone to pests and diseases indoors than other herbs.  The only other problem for both of these plants is over or under watering as is with every houseplant.  So Dear Tovah Martin please don't put lemon verbena and lavender on your Don't List for indoor herbs.  They can make it through the winter indoors with proper attention and care.

Sincerely,

Lemon Verbena Lady

Did I Mention?

We are growing small melons.  I suppose if we had a longer season, they would grow bigger. Duh!  We even have a vine of them growing in the rose bush in my herb garden.  I'll post a photo of them later.  They are working on the new furnace.  Always something.

We are getting down to the nitty gritty now.  There is a lot of positioning going on.  We were making a mental list of the plants that are coming in the other day.  I was hoping to experiment with an 'Arp' rosemary and leave it outside for the winter, but quicker than you can say Herbal Husband, he dug it up and brought it in.  I know what he is up to.  He is trying to bring in all of the tender herbs so I don't have any to buy next year.  I have lived with him a long time and he doesn't fool me.  He also said to me yesterday that he is going to grow less vegetables and I can grow more herbs or what I want to grow!  I'm not going to scream yippee, because as sure as I do, he will take it back!  You who have husbands know the drill.  Hope you are having a great day or evening wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.