Eggy Herby Goodness!

I opened a bite from my egg omelet this morning to show you!  Lots of herbs inside!  I keep telling you it's my favorite time of year for food!  Had some basil, parsley, marjoram, dill, mint and tarragon inside.  Oh, and a fresh tomato or two on the side!  Got to run the garden is calling.  Hope you have a great day wherever you may be.  Got to think of my award winners.  Jules bestowed an award on me and I have to pick out who I pass the award to.  Terrible sentence.  Oh, well, I will do better next time!  Talk to you later.   Don't forget to comment if you want to win and give me some contact information if you don't have a blog of your own!

Celebrating Two Years of Blogging-Herbal Book Giveaway!

I am so lucky to be able to blog almost every day!  I have "met" so many great people!  I can't believe two years have gone by!  Yes, still trying to give books away and a notepad from a previous giveaway!  Just place a comment today and any day from now until next Saturday, August 14th at 10 AM eastern daylight time.  Be sure to give me some contact information if you don't have a blog already.  I was updating my book list and discovered that I have duplicate copies of the books in the photo.  Here are the titles from left to right, top row:

Aunt Helen's Garden by Ernestine Perry
Calendar of a Kitchen Herb Garden by Katherine W. Wilbert
Herbal Notepad--Things I really should do before I can work in my herb garden ...
Gardening with Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance by Helen Morgenthau Fox
Growing and Using Rosemary by Bertha Reppert
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Record-Handbook on Herbs and Their Ornamental Uses, March 1977

There is a chance for six different winners!  Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you win!  Good luck!

While I Waited

for The Herbal Husband at the doctor's office, I read Llewellyn's 2010 Herbal Almanac.  There was an article about growing herbs for the bees.  From dandelions, horehound, borage, rosemary, sage, lavender, thyme, hyssop, fennel, oregano and marjoram, these are some of the bees' favorites.  I found out something that I didn't realize.  A favorite herb of mine Helichrysum italicum or curry plant is an herb that repels bees.  The author, Suzanne Ress also talked about feverfew blossoms being a problem as well.  She also discussed about the artemisias that don't necessarily bloom, like tarragon, wormwood, southernwood and mugwort leaves being a repellent.  So not all herbs are bee magnets.  Hopefully, this is information that you can use when you are planting your herb garden next year.  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.   

Wild Herbal Trough!

The faeries are getting buried under the weight of the silver thyme!  This is a silver thyme on the left,. a dwarf curry plant on the back left and then a compact sage on the back right.  I don't have a whole lot of luck growing silver thyme in the ground, but in this trough, it's gone crazy!  I guess the secret is extremely great drainage!  Today is lemon basil jelly day.  The apple pie is still in the back of my mind!  Lots going on!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  I'm going to be participating in The Herbal Bouquet's blog from time to time.  I have a little introductory post there today!   

Always an Herbal Surprise!

The Third Year Lemon Verbena Has Returned in This Spot!

The Herbal Husband is really my eyes and ears in the garden.  He has selective hearing though!  He mentioned that this lemon verbena is back for its third season from the root!  It does not happen in the western Pennsylvania most of the time!  We always take one in for the winter.  You have seen my other two and they will probably be too large by the end of the season to bring them in.  Well, if I cut them back and use the leaves for bread, tea or potpourri!  Busy, busy!  Lots to do!  I didn't get the pie made yesterday.  I did make two batches of cinnamon basil jelly and I cut just enough from the plants for two recipes!  Here is a picture of the leaves and flowers:

Enough leaves for two batches of scented basil jelly!

Here is the recipe for the scented basil jelly if you haven't seen it before.  It is a Renee Shepherd favorite of mine.  Hope you have a cool day wherever you are.  We have the intense ickies and stickies here!  Off to have an adventure with The Herbal Husband!  Talk to you later!

A Multitude of Swallowtails!

We have had a multitude of swallowtail butterflies this summer.  This was one on the butterfly bush.  Today we spotted our first monarch.  Hopefully, I'll get a photo of one of them in the coming days!  It is humid but not sunny at the moment.  I thought I would make some basil jelly, but The Herbal Husband mentioned that the apples are falling from the tree so I think it might be apple pie time!  Well, whatever I may be making, I hope you have had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Favorite Visitors This Time of Year!

You need to click on these photos to get the up close and personal view of the goldfinches.  They are really busy on the volunteer sunflowers.  When we pull the car down the driveway, some of them don't move a feather!  It is pretty interesting!

There were a couple of male goldfinches on this day.  They are so much fun to watch!

Hope you had a great day wherever you may be!  Have to make more jelly tomorrow!

Mr Sticks and Strings Strikes Again!

Now I just think he is showing off!  The Herbal Husband aka Mr. Sticks and Strings planted his beans finally last week or the week before!  Some years it just takes forever!  He is very methodical!  Here is another view!

We hopefully will have a lot of beans!  Got to go!  The neighbors went on vacation and we have an apple tree that is invading their space that we have to cut back.  Their dogs will be going crazy!  Should be noisy if nothing else!  Hope you have a great day!  Talk to you later!

One of My Favorites This Time of Year!

We hardly ever have our own lettuce and tomatoes at the same time.  The lettuce is usually on the way out and the tomatoes are just starting to ripen.  The Herbal Husband's salad this time of year are wonderful.  We still have lettuce because we have a lot more shade.  The heat didn't make it bolt.  The beets, radishes, flowers and tomatoes (They are hiding under the greens.) are all ours.  He puts chives, salad burnet and basil in as well.  It is delicious!

I always talk about my favorite herbal authors who are no longer with us like Adelma Simmons and Bertha Reppert.  I would like to talk about one of my favorite contemporary herbal authors, Jim Long.  This is one of his many booklets he has published, The Best Dressed Salad and yes, that is a half naked man on the cover!  But getting back to the subject of my post, salads.  That is what is my favorite this time of year, SALAD!  Jim has written the definitive book of salad dressings!  Some dressings you have used a lot and others that you might not have thought of.  I know you can still purchase this book at his website, Long Creek Herbs.  Jim Long's column in The Herb Companion magazine is the first thing I read when I receive each issue.  He is a true herbal treasure and has been so generous with his help tweeking his own recipes for my presentations.  Thank you, Jim for your inspiration, your herbal writings and your friendship!  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later!