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

Holy Blooming Cuban Oregano!

What a Surprise When I Was Watering Today!

In all my years of growing this herb, I don't think I have ever had this herb bloom.  I love this herb, Cuban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus) which is not actually an oregano at all.  It has a bunch of common names:  Mexican Mint, Indian Borage, Caribbean Oregano, Country Borage, French Thyme, Indian Mint, Soup Mint, Spanish Thyme and Cuban Oregano.  It is so important to know your botanical name.  Common names are different in different areas of the world as you can see above.
   
It is very easy to grow in a container.  It was used in Victorian times as a bedding plant.  It is a tender perennial here in the 'Burgh.  It has a very pungent smell and flavor, a camphorous one.  There are lots of people in the Caribbean regions who use it in cooking.  I just tasted a flower and I would not use it in cooking.  It is too intense for me.  If you are interested in trying to cook with it, here is a recipe for Grilled Cuban Oregano Chicken from the Feral Kitchen and the 10 Best Cuban Oregano Recipes from Yummly.  Please let me know if you try any of these recipes.

We were much more seasonal today with sunshine and even cold temperatures seem better when there is sun.  The wildlife and I got along a bit better today, but I am counting the days until The Herbal Husband returns.  Hope you have had a great day.  It is December already!  I feel like I have glided through this year!  You may think so too!  OK we are getting closer until I unveil the contents of my annual Herbal Christmas box.  It is epic this year!  Talk to you soon.

A Cascade of Coconut!

The weather is getting cooler here finally.   Sunday when we were working in the garden, the smell of coconut was overwhelming.  So I was reminded how much I love coconut scented geranium (Pelargonium grossularioides).  In the Jim Becker & Faye Brawner book, Scented Geraniums, the description of 'Coconut' says "The leaves of this species are small, round, and deep green.  It forms a low-growing mound of foliage with long sprays of very small magenta flowers.  It has a pleasant scent, though not necessarily that of coconut, and self-seeds freely."

Coconut does self-sow in the herb garden and I have taken it for granted.  Not anymore!  Next the pollinators find the tiny magenta flowers very enticing.  And finally I would say the fragrance of this particular scented geranium is very tropically coconut!  Delicious.  I am going to make sure to dry some leaves and see how the fragrance holds up.

Hope you had some time in your herb garden today.  Looks like Thursday and Friday this week will be the final harvesting days for me.  Flurries in the forecast!  Talk to you later.

A Wiff of Coconut!  Delicious!

The Beauty and Regret of Fall in the Herb Garden!

By Far One of My Favorites in the Fall!

Who would have thought that the parsley post the other day would get me in the mood to blog.  You really haven't missed all that much in the herb garden.  And as I went over what I have blogged about this season, you saw quite a bit more than I remember!   I am going to share with you some photos over the next week of specific herbs that I really have grown to love over the years. 

Margaret Hall reminded me that this is one of them, pineapple sage (Salvia elegans).  She stated she has tons of it and would I share my pineapple sage jelly recipe.  I would be happy to do so.  Here is a link for three of my favorite herb jellies, including pineapple sage:  An Herbal Jelly Recipe Marathon! I always try to encourage readers over the growing season to use your herbs.  I am not the greatest cook, but I do try to share my successes using herbs when it happens.  I would tell you Margaret to use your pineapple sage fresh in fruit salads, iced teas and baked goods.  My experience trying to dry it has not worked.  The Herbal Husband being my chief herbal sniffer and tester can tell you that it loses its fragrance and taste of pineapple when dried.  You could try freezing some fresh leaves and see what happens to them.  I have just not wasted too much time doing that.  We have also brought our pineapple sage inside when it hasn't gotten too big, but that doesn't always work out well either.  I know that there are pineapple sage pound cake recipes out there.  Here is a link to my search on Google and you can pick the recipe you would like to try Pineapple Sage Pound Cake Recipes.  There are a lot of choices.  Short of using it fresh with fruit or tea or baked goods, I don't have any new ideas.  If my readers have an interesting way they use pineapple sage leaves, please let me know and I will pass it on in a later post.  That's the beauty of the fall herb garden.

Now to the regret!  When I first started my herb journey more than 25 years ago, I wanted to grow everything exotic and interesting in the herb world.  Sometimes too many plants of the same variety that when the fall came, I either had regret because I didn't use them at all or I had so much of one product that I couldn't use it all or share it all!  So my vision over the years has become very narrow and as much I would like to grow every new variety of herb, I will stick to my tried and true favorites and make what I can to share and not worry so much about having it all.

I bet you are wondering why is she inside writing when she should be out in the garden harvesting?  The forecasters were incorrect and it has been raining since early morning!  So much for harvesting the garden.  I will get to it sometime this week.  Snow in the forecast next week for Halloween!  Maybe they will be incorrect again!  Hope so!   Well I hope you are enjoying your day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Lemon Verbena Living, How Did I Miss This?

A Very Early Bloom on My Favorite!

Well, it had to happen sooner or later.  There is a blog that is really and truly about my favorite, lemon verbena.  It is called Lemon Verbena Living from Mia Sherwood Landau in North Texas.  Mia lives, eats, breaths, grows and sells lemon verbena, live and dried.  She also found a book called A Plant of Lemon Verbena by Alicia Amy Leith from 1895 from England!  How did I not hear about this book or this blog?  I have been in my stitching cave, stitching!  That's why!

So I have linked her blog here in this post and in my favorite blogs in the U.S.  Hopefully, I will get some time to sit down and read the entire blog.  Looks like I have a bunch of reading to do Mia from 2014, but I think I will enjoy doing it and I will probably learn a ton about our favorite, lemon verbena.  Glad you found me Mia!  I am very delighted you did!

Since I talked about an Herb Companion post or two last post, I will give you links to my favorite posts about lemon verbena here:   In 2009 I did a post called The Lemon Verbena Lady's Favorite Herb.  In 2010 I did a post called A Summertime Favorite:  Lemon Verbena Jelly.  In 2011 I did a post called The Lemon Verbena Tales:  New Pests and Harvesting Tips.  In 2012 I did a post called The Herbal Harvest:  3 Lemon Verbena Recipes.  So that should give you few thoughts about my favorite in one place.

Here in the 'Burgh, IT IS STILL RAINING!  I have made a box of raspberry jam already.  We are supposed to have our last day of rain tomorrow and then we are to dry out.  I got the great news that my coverlet is finished and so Monday I will pick it up and hopefully show it to you then.  Hope you had a great day in your herb garden.  Ours is a jungle at the moment!  Talk to you soon.

Sporadic Blooming, Christmas in July and Raspberry Jam!

Butterfly Bush Starting to Bloom!

My Favorite is Blooming This Season.  Second Year Plant in the Ground!

Swordleaf Elecampane, a Shorter Version of Elecampane!

Echinacea, a Staple in the Herb Garden

Monarda Blooming in Time for the Fourth!

I Thought This Monarda Was a Lighter Color Last Year!

Really 'Hot Papaya' Echinacea!

'Hall's Pink' at the Mailbox

The Really Big and Tall Elecampane!

After 27 Years in the Stash Box, Three Herbal Bouquets Finished!

An Apple Tree Ornament!

A Christmas Lantern Ornament!

The Start of Jam Season!

Really can't believe that it is July already!  We are still getting rain.  So the weeds are monstrous but there is sporadic blooming going on.  As I sit here typing, the skies are darkening again and we are about to have another rain storm.  Our blooming is spread out through our gardens, but not nearly enough to make a statement.  Will have to work on that for next year.

We do have some butterflies and bees, but they are not as present as in other years.  I think that has to do with all of the rain we are getting.  Hopefully starting tomorrow, we will have a few dry days so that the butterflies and bees will be visiting. 

One of my friends asked on Facebook if Monarda reblooms.  Yes, if you pick the petals off and keep the head intact, the flowers will rebloom.  You can use the petals in salads or dry them to put in your tea blends.  The leaves of the monarda do get mildew in this area and once the blooming has finished you can cut the leaves back and it will generate a new crop of mildew free leaves.  My two different varieties of elecampane are blooming.  The small one is in the herb garden and the large one is back in the flower bed I began last season.  I like the large enough to get more for next year.  I think I will continue to go big in the back beds and let plants take over.  Elecampane doesn't take over, but it does have a large presence.

I have been concentrating on my stitching because of the heat, humidity and rain.  As you can see, I have completed the three herbal bouquets from cross stitch magazines that are from 1990!  They each took about two weeks to finish.  Very excited!  I am also working on some small projects including the Christmas ornaments shown above.  Very happy and fulfilled to be stitching again.

And the raspberries have started to produce and I have already made two batches of jam.  Really raspberries are like clockwork.  I made my first batch of jam around the same time last season.  Christmas presents will include jam this year.   So hope you have had a great season so far in your herb garden.  Let me know what you are up to!  Also as always, I am up for any herbal questions you may have.  Hope you are having a fabulous day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

A Rainy June, Herbally Speaking!

My Purchases from Beech Creek Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve!

Basil in a Container Until the Temperatures Heat Up!

Beneficial Insect Found the Calendula Flower Right Away!

And So Too the Rue Flowers!

The Lemon Balm Scented Geranium is Flowering!

I Know I Have Written About This Rose!  Can't Remember the Name!

The Yarrow is Blooming As Well!

My herbal companion, Bonnie and I had a splendid day at Beech Creek Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve in Alliance, Ohio.  We were pleasantly surprised by the school buses with children learning about nature and gardening.  They don't have nearly the selection of herbs that they did at their previous location, Lily of the Valley Herb Farm.  The quality of their plants is very good.

Well, well, well, June is busting out all over here in the 'Burgh!  We have had so much rain over the past few weeks.  Almost every day The Herbal Husband reports that we have received an inch of rain!  My weeds are letting me know how good it is for them.  I have voluminous amounts of weeds in the bad bag and still it keeps raining.

As you can see from the sampling of herbs and flowers in the photos, the rain has helped in great measure to liven up the landscape.  The mild winter helped as well.  I had verbena bonariensis come back from the plant itself.  I think they generally self sow here.  I have also lost some plants that I thought would come through.  The French tarragon had two very tiny stalks.  They didn't last.  Although my Texas tarragon that was in a container in the basement all winter is flourishing!   I thought a chocolate flower that never is hardy here, was going to make it through.  Sadly it died.  I also wanted to mention that we put the sweet basils I purchased into a container because we have not been consistently in the 80's in the daytime and the 60's at night.  Basils do not enjoy cold soils!  May was a beautiful month for gardens here and June is on pace to be equally as nice.

Hope you are having a great day in your herb garden and you will stop by from time to time to check out what is going on in my herb garden.  I have started the process of cutting my chive blossoms.  Make some chive blossom vinegar if you have some that haven't gone past!  Just go out and enjoy the beauty of your herb garden every chance you get.  You will get pleasure from growing fresh herbs!  Talk to you soon!

Been Busy in the Herb Garden and Celebrating the 2016 Herb of the Year with a Jelly Recipe!

Rosemary Sherry Jelly Was One of 19 Batches of Herbal Jelly Made!

Last Pouches of Certo Used for Hot Pepper Jelly!

Keep Finding the Ladies!  This Time on Mint!

Mexican Sage--A Late Tall Bloomer in the Garden!

One Last Monarch on the Butterfly Bush!

One Last Gasp for Our Grape Arbor!

My Favorite Flowered!

This certainly has been a different year for me in the herb garden.  I have probably had years like this before.  As I get older my May trips to England affect the herb garden and the stresses have been weather related as well.  All of the photos above are from October.  I had a brain freeze about my jelly choices and fortunately I have a couple of the Western Reserve Unit of the Herb Society of America's cookbooks which saved me for flavors.  Thanks to all of those wonderful herb ladies for their inspiration  The hot pepper jelly recipe is from The Herbal Pantry by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead.  As you can see in the photo, the peppers are suspended in the jelly which makes for a great presentation.  Here is their recipe with my notations in parentheses.

Hot Pepper Jelly
Makes 6-1/2 8 oz. jars (The half I will use for us.)
Recipe says it makes 8 8 oz. jars.  For me, it did not.

"An appealing combination of sweet and hot, this jelly is extremely good with chicken or lamb, or with cream cheese as an hors d'oeuvre.  Also you can use this as a glaze for ribs during the last 15 minutes of grilling or baking in the oven."

1 cup minced green bell pepper
1/2 cup minced hot red pepper, or to taste
1-1/2 cups cider vinegar
6-1/2 cups sugar
6 ounces (2 pouches) liquid pectin

Combine the peppers, vinegar, and sugar in a non-aluminum saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and boil gently for 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove from heat.  (Quickly stir in the pectin and return to heat and boil exactly one minute).  Remove from heat and (Stir for a couple of minutes at least.  I stirred for 5 minutes.  Probably too much time because the Certo really started to go gloppy.  I think when you see the pepper pieces suspended you will know it is enough.)  Put carefully (because it is already just about set up) into sterilized jars that have been boiled previously for 10 minutes and use two piece rings and lids to cover.  Place the lids in hot water until ready to use.  You don't have to boil the rings.  Place all jars into a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.  As long as you hear that ping after the jars come out and the lids have sealed down, they are canned.  If the lid has not sealed, place them in the refrigerator and use them promptly.

"Note:  If the only hot peppers available are green, use a red rather than a green bell pepper."

In herb garden news, I did lose some herbs from the heat and dry weather.  We did have some winners from the annuals planted especially the Mexican sage which is blooming its head off at the moment.  Love those tall late blooming herbs!  And the beneficials are still around and you can participate just like me at Lost Ladybug Project, a project of Cornell University to find those lost ladybugs.  We also actually had a monarch last week as well.  Sadly not too many of them these days.  The grape arbor is finally going to be replaced.  Need the help of our neighbor, but hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks!  Maybe a Halloween treat!  And then finally our crowning achievement is that the lemon verbena both in the container and in the ground thrived so much so that they both bloomed.  Very excited!

Well, those are some of the high points of the herb garden this season.  Did cut my chives and chop them for my container in the freezer.  Did make a touch more purple basil vinegar.  Do have a small bush of mint marigold or Texas tarragon to harvest before the cold sets in.  Oh and some of the parsley will be cut and frozen for Parsley Dill soup.  And finally will clip back the lemon verbena in the ground and I am going to experiment with covering it with a fiberglass cover make for roses.  Maybe it will help bring it back.  It really like the space we put it in.

The herbal containers will be coming in the next two weeks.  Have also started several projects of cross-stitch, so I will post about the garden when I can.  The months are flying by with such speed and I don't seem to want to write as much as I used to.  A beautiful day in the herb garden and I'm inside posting here.  Hope you are doing well wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.  

An Inch of Rain and New Additions to the Containers, Herbally Speaking!

We started out this morning with an inch of rain and that is a very good thing.  And as the total in the rain gauge was read, a Japanese beetle had met its fate in the gauge.  Another good thing.  We also got the ickies and stickies back.  Ugh!  So much to do and I am not an early riser!  Oh, the weeds will just get bigger, but maybe easier to pull with the rain.  A silver lining, herbally speaking.

And we gained a couple of more containers.  We are still trying to get a few herbs in the ground and have run out of room!  Out come more containers!  So The Herbal Husband planted the 'Grosso' lavender in one container (I think too small!) and 'Grosso' is not always hardy for me in the herb garden.  Also a ginger scented geranium, which is one of my new favorite plants.  Scented geraniums are perfect plants for containers.  So it was a bit hectic today.  Errands day sometimes is.  Hopefully you have had a great day and you have stayed cool!  More tomorrow.  Will talk to you then.

'Grosso' Lavender and a Ginger Scented Geranium

Doing a Bit of Herb Plunking Again!

Back left is lemon bee balm, 'Angel's perfume' scented geranium, clary sage, next is 'French Fringed' lavender, 'Coconut Punch' dianthus, 'Hummelo' betony and 'Blue Mound' rue

As you may know by now, I am an herbal plunker and an herb collector.  I do admit it.  I love the latest and greatest of herbs and so maybe in the end that's the answer.  I just love most herbs and feel the need to purchase them all!  I have tried for many years to come up with a good plan once they are purchased, herbally speaking.  But I buy so many herbs that we just fit them in where we can.  Sometimes we have great successes and other times not so much.  We will see how these perform together.  I just wanted to be able to see them and enjoy them!  So hopefully before the end of the season I will talk about what I purchased and see how each performed in the garden even planting this late.  I usually have everything I want planted by the end of May.  So this is a bit later than usual.  England is to blame!

The ickies and stickies persist in the 'Burgh!  I have been busy picking raspberries and make jam.  I have 16 jars already with another batch set up today to make tomorrow.  I think we are headed to another 100 jar season at this rate.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you tomorrow.

If Plan A Won't Work, We'll Try Plan B!

Well, day two of planting and of course we had to have a disagreement on what went where, herbally speaking.  I was hopeful that I would get my way, but in my heart of hearts I knew that The Herbal Husband's plan was better and a bit easier to execute.

I did come up with a plan for the other back bed that I am working on.  We are going to move some of the chives to the back and make a hedge out of it!  That will open up space in my main herb garden that is suddenly out of space.  That's what happens when everything is flourishing.  So we added some space above the rock wall and we both think it has turned out well.

Closeups of These Herbs and Flowers to Follow!

From left to right the herbs and flowers are as follows:  mint scented marigold or Texas tarragon, 'Summer Sunshine' germander, winter savory, 'Hot Papaya' coneflower, 'Apricot Beauty' foxglove, golden feverfew, variegated 'Berggarten' sage, chocolate flower, golden feverfew, 'Orange and Lemon' gaillardia, showy variegated calamint, lilac 'Miss Kim', 'Berggarten' sage and curry plant.

The 'Berggarten' sage and the curry plant

I am going to pull back the pineapple mint so that these plants have a chance.  We had another great day here.  Not too sunny and not too hot, just right!  I also picked another batch of raspberries for jam tomorrow.  I will have a whole box of jam already!  Hope you had a great day.  I will talk to you tomorrow.

Oh Dear! I Mean Deer! And A New Beginning But Have To Share!

I purchased quite a few herbs on this last road trip.  The Herbal Husband has relinquished his veggie garden to me.  So I have had to share space with a few of his leftovers, garlic and a lot of goldenrod!  Oh and a lot of weedy grasses!

A Volunteer Sunflower and Goldenrod Share the Space!

So I put in Mexican sages, a milkweed called 'Hello Yellow', 'Lemon Gem' marigolds, 'Moonshine' yarrow, a perennial bachelor button called 'Amethyst Dream', verbena bonariensis which I hope will self-sow and gray santolina.  Hopefully everything will coexist.

Hopefully only a one time visit!

Oh and we have a new resident under the pine trees.  A young fawn!  Hope it will not find the new garden too enticing!  The Herbal Husband cut some scapes from the garlic and spread it around the perimeter of the garden.  It was a beautiful day in the 'Burgh.  Not too hot and had a little breeze.  Perfect for planting.  Hope you are having a great weekend.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Shades of Gray, Herbally Speaking!

I love herbs so much because of all the wonderful textures and colors, especially the grays.  Seems like not too long ago that we transplanted one of the herbal containers I used in my May talk.  It looks like it has adapted.  The 'Berggarten' sage and the 'Hi Ho Silver' thyme should both make it through the winter.  Depending on how severe our winter is the dwarf curry may make it also.

This is the last warm day we will have for awhile.  Flurries over the weekend.  Need to go and work getting the garden put to bed.  I will talk to you later.

Still Blooming and Green in the Herb Garden!

This is my second attempt at this post.  Just trying to see if it works with multiple photos.  I maybe a bit greedy.  We will see.   'Walker's Low' catmint is the first photo, the dianthus 'Frosty Fire' is blooming in the second photo and the coconut scented geranium is happily spreading joy in the fall herb garden in the third photo.  It will probably reseed itself for next year.

The weather was gloomy this morning and the sun has come out this afternoon.   Makes it more cheery.  Hopefully you are having a wonderful day wherever you are.  Talk to you later.

'Walker's Low' Catmint

'Frosty Fire' Dianthus

Coconut Scented Geranium at Home!

Another Herbal Moving Day!

Had to Put The Containers In the Garage Temporarily!

It happens every year.  Shouldn't be a surprise at all.  Worked most of yesterday to get the containers moved into the garage, basement or the living room.  I secretly am always happy for this day.  Even though I didn't feel as connected to my herb garden this year, I did have a lot to harvest.  So I guess it was a success because The Herbal Husband was paying attention, herbally speaking!

The basement is getting full between containers and harvested herbs hanging from the rafters.  Lots of lemon verbena, stevia and lemon scented geranium.  Today I cut the first of the pineapple sages.  We will cover the one in my herb garden with Reemay overnight and hopefully it will survive.  I processed the first pineapple sage into six containers of leaves.  They will stay fresh for at least a couple of days until I can make the jelly.  That equals a couple of boxes of jelly!

I was thinking of cutting my tarragon to the ground, but decided to leave some plant standing because it has seemed to have found the right place to grow well.  In the past I have cut it all and it hasn't come back.  You would think I would learn from my mistakes.

So hopefully you are in better control of what's going on in your herb garden.  It is a bright cool day in the 'Burgh and getting colder.  Will definitely have frost tonight.  Indian summer will be coming.  One of my favorite times of the year.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Have been struggling with the time change and all of the chore of the herb garden.  Not enough time to blog.  Hopefully with the weather changing, I will remedy that.  Talk to you later.

Three Lavenders Contained!

Green Fringed French Lavender

'Goodwin Creek' Lavender

Spanish Lavender

Since my lavenders in the ground didn't do well, I resorted to putting them in containers.  These three did just fine and in fact for the most part flourished!  As you may be able to see, the green fringed French lavender (Lavendula dentata) is in my favorite container of lavender for devotion.  That container sadly got a big crack when it fell because The Herbal Husband used it (without my permission) to plant a tomato plant that was way too big.  He has since mended it and all has been forgiven.  Happy to have my container back with the herb it is meant to have in it!

The middle lavender 'Goodwin Creek' (Lavandula x ginginsii) was purchased in the spring at Trader Joe's and it has had an up and down year.  I think just recently The Herbal Husband has been giving it too much water and it started to die back in the center.  He cut the dead bits out and it is coming back from the bottom.  It is a little too big for a windowsill so we will have to come up with an alternative solution in the coming days!  At least have it positioned near the western windowsill.

The third lavender is a Spanish or maybe a French one or maybe even an Italian one (Lavendula stoechas) but no cultivar name that I bought at Lavender Fields Herb Farm in Virginia.  They just put up their schedule for the fall season.  Getting back to the name, in the United States we called it Spanish, in the UK they call it French and in Australia they call it Italian lavender.  Whatever you call it, it is a very cute grayish green bush.  It hasn't flowered yet and I hope it will make it on a windowsill through the winter.

So it has stopped raining heavily.  Our figs have started to ripen finally.  We got the first of the green figs a couple of days ago.  We are going to have to start moving plants inside sooner than later.  Need to start digging plants up and placing them in containers.  I got a question about lemon verbena from a reader about what happens when it comes inside after doing so well outside.  You are doing everything right Penny!  So refer to the Lemon Verbena Fact Sheet on my home page.  Feels like I have neglected my herb garden this season.  Hopefully, I can get some enjoyment with the cooler temperatures coming.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you maybe!  Talk to you later.    

HMIG, Herbally Speaking!

Just a Little List of Herbs That Died in the Herb Garden!

I have been just lamenting the fact that a bunch of herbs have died in my herb garden this season.  The acronym in the title stands for "Herbs Missing In Garden".

I had two curry plants die, two lavenders, one called 'Mini Blue' and the other one that I should not kill a 'Munstead', my favorite, lemon verbena.  We think it died from too much water and then no water at all.  Finally, there was an yerba buena that I was going to celebrate in talking about the 2015 Herb of the Year, Savory.  Well, a talk for another time!

Didn't have many nasturtiums.  The basils got too much water early on and didn't survive.  Although I have one lemon basil that is making a comeback.  The 'Spicy Globe' basil in one of the combination containers did very well.  The "sweet" basil that I bought last year as a hydroponically grown plant has finally said enough and quit producing.  It said one year is enough!  Don't think you are getting more than that.  If anyone can get more out of a plant of any kind though, it is The Herbal Husband.  I always say to him just compost it and he secretly puts it in a corner and it starts to shoot new leaves!  We will see this time.

The Basil Finally Said Enough!

I will highlight what was great in the herb garden soon.  I would love to blog from something other than my laptop.  Will keep working on that as well.  It is getting warmer after I thought we were headed into fall.  Need to make the tarragon wine jelly and share the recipe with you.  Got sided tracked today with computer issues.  Hope you have had a great day!  Talk to you later.

Herbal Harvest Time!

Busy out in the herb garden working to harvest herbs.  Summer is fleeting and we are already looking like fall around here.  So the lemon verbenas got their trim and the stevia did as well.  What marjoram grew has been trimmed and placed between two paper towels and then the paper towels smell like the herb once the herb is dried.  I cut the tarragon back the other day and will make tarragon wine jelly with it.  Recipe to follow.

Lemon Verbena Drying for Tea!

Would Like to Have the Herbal Husband Using Stevia!

The weather is very dry but the second crop of raspberries has started already.  Made another batch of jam on Monday.  No grape jelly this year.  Most of the grapes have been eaten by the birds or rotted.  Hope you have started harvesting in your herb gardens in earnest if you are in the northern half of the U.S.  I hear the water flowing.  The Herbal Husband is watering.  Been trying the blog on my phone because my photos are on that device and Blogger is not cooperating!  Will keep trying and will keep harvesting!  Still need to talk about savory!  Hope you are having a great day!  Talk to you later.