Maybe You Can Help Me with Pinterest?

My buddy, Leslie of Comfrey Cottages has pinned me (get it) with a Pinterest account.  I actually do get it.  So come follow me and see where this adventure takes us.

More Herb Seed Catalogs in the Mailbox!

I decided to update my post for The Herb Companion called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  Here are the latest arrivals in my mailbox.

Select Seeds is one I have ordered from for a number of years from Connecticut.  They specialize seeds and plants of cottage annuals, flowering vines and fragrant flowers and scented leaves and perennials.  Also they have herbs and edibles and heirloom tomato selections  in both seeds and plants.

Horizon Herbs was one I found online from Google from Oregon.  They have a wide range of organic seeds and plants for spring and summer planting, cover crops, vegetables, culinary herbs and spices, Strictly Medicinal herbs, rare, historical, dye, cacti, odd and wonderful herbs, trees and shrubs.  You get the idea.  They have seeds of Medicine and Seeds of Sustenance.  Haven't order from Horizon yet!  See if it may have what you are looking for.

The last one in the mailbox is from one of my favorite international herb sellers, Richters in Goodwood, Ontario.  Their catalog is a great reference source for me.  They have the latest and greatest herb seeds and plants for sale.  They sell plants both by mail order for the United States and with the right paperwork, you can go to Canada and bring your herb plants home with you.  Going to do that someday soon!  All three of these catalogs have lots of different varieties that you may be looking.  Check them all out.

Well, we are cool not cold again.  Very odd winter so far.  Not complaining, but the plants are really confused!  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

It is so cold out!  As you can see, we didn't get the snow forecasted.  I guess you can say that's the good news, but the bad news is, IT'S FREEZING!  I didn't dare step outside.  That's why the photos are a bit blurry.  The wind chill is in the single digits here!  What a difference!  Hope you are staying warm and toasty wherever you may be or cool and comfortable if you are in the southern hemisphere.  It's laundry day so there was much moving in the basement of the herbal jungle!  I did a post about it back in November.  Here's a link.  Got to run.  Talk to you later.

We're Slightly Confused Here and It Doesn't Take Much!

As you can see by the banner photo, we still do not have snow on the ground.  Here is my patch of pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens variegata) and it actually has some green showing.  Very unusual for January 12th!

These two are feverfews (Tanacetum parthenium) that are nice and green.  These have a double white flower.  I really like the single daisy flower better.  They seem to self sow just as well whatever you may have.

We have a few gray and green herbs here, mostly sages, Nazareth sage and Compact sage (Salvia officinalis 'Nazareth' and Salvia officinalis 'Nana'), thymes like Provencal thyme (Thymus vulgaris 'Provencal' and germanders (Teucrium chamadrys).

One of my favorites in salads, salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is always green through the winter when it isn't buried in snow.

A 'Bergarten' sage (Salvia officinalis cv. 'Berggarten') and a bloody dock or bloodly sorrel (Rumex sanguineus) are looking good as well.   Just between you and me, the bloody docks have also begun to multiple and crowd out other plants.

Then there is my problem area.  Always have liked my ornamental grasses until they have started to invade the herb garden!  Will have to dig up all of the good plants and get out the invading species and replant my herbs.  It will be an ongoing process.  It may be that we will have to cut down our ornamental grasses in the fall so that they will not seed so prolifically, but we also like to feed the birds and give them cover.  It also covers the cats as well.  Well, another subject for another day.

This final photo is a golden sage (Salvia officinalis 'Aurea') which also was a winner this summer.
Well, the snow is finally coming tomorrow.  First, they said it wasn't going to amount to much and now they are saying up to 5 inches!  So I made the grocery run today and hopefully we won't lose power and we will be all warm and cozy in the 'Burgh.  Hope you are staying warm or cool wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Part 3

This herb seed catalog from The Thyme Garden is mentioned in my latest Herb Companion blog post called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  This is a $2 catalog, but it is a wonderful catalog just full of wonderful herb seeds and interesting information.  They started out as a restaurant and then bought a farm to carry on their herb seed and plant business.  They do have herbal lunches during the summer months plus they host weddings.  What a beautiful place to have a wedding. It is definitely on my herbal list of places to visit on the west coast.  I will be honest though.  I have never ordered anything until this year!  So here are my selections.

Top row from left to right:  Quillquina (Porophyllum ruderale) is a cilantro like plant from Bolivia, Shunginku (Chrysanthemum coronarium) an edible chrysanthemum, Black hollyhock (Alcea rosea nigra) one of The Herbal Husband's favorities and also an edible flower, a complimentary packet of Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus), unclear whether this is an edible flower or not.  Some say yes and others say no.  It is not poisonous so you can decide.  Maybe using petals as a garnish to start as they do at The Thyme Garden.  On the bottom row from left to right:  Lemon Savory (Satureja biflora), an unusual savory native to South Africa.  It is an annual for us, but if you put it in a container.  It self-sows into that container and you can keep it going inside during the winter.  I found the plant at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Ohio, but lately they have not carried it, Black Lovage (Smyrnium olusatrum), the description says it is a native of the Mediterranean area and W. Europe.  It looks like a huge parsley plant.  All parts of the plant are used in cooking and have a mild celery flavor, Lime Basil (Ocimum americanum) is a different flavor to make jelly and I had a bumper crop of lemon basil jelly last year.  Let's try lime this year and finally, White Borage (Borago officinalis cv) because it reminds me of Sissinghurst Castle and their white garden.

I love the Thyme Garden's small seed packets, but I love what's on the back on the package the most.  I think it sums it up beautifully!

Welcome to Our Herb Family!  Raise 'Em Right!  Can't wait to get started.  We are still having unseasonably warm weather.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you might be.  Need to go make lunch.  Talk to you later.

A New Herb Group Near Derby, England

This was the river outside our bed & breakfast in Shardlow, Derbyshire, England in 2009.  That was a wonderful trip.  Now my blogging friend, Debs Cook is trying to form an herb group in her area of Sinfin, Derby, England.  She already has a programme schedule for the year.  It's a nominal fee of 3.50 pounds for refreshments and guest speaker charges.  Here is the link for her post New Herb Group in Derby for 2012.  She'll be posting about the group's activities so we can all learn something new about herbs even if you aren't down the lane from her house.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Part 2

Can't complain about the mail when they are bringing such great packets!  Today's mail brought my seed order from Renee's Garden Seeds and one that I talk about in my latest post for The Herb Companion called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  I have ordering from Renee Shepherd for many years when she had a catalog called Shepherd's Garden Seeds and now she is online and through select retailers around the country.  I do not buy a lot of herb plants in seeds.  I do not have the space to grow many plants nor the time to tend them indoors.  So we have begun sticking to annual flowers that can be direct sown in the garden.

This packet included from left to right (top row):  'Whirlybird Mix' nasturtiums (no spur on the back of the flower), 'Alaska Mix' nasturtiums (variegated leaves), 'Buttercream' nasturtium (mounding variety), 'Vanilla Berry' nasturtium (mounding variety) and 'Cup of Sun' nasturtium (mounding variety), 'Chocolate Cherry' sunflower (ornamental) and 'Sunzilla' sunflowers (giant).  I'm hoping to use the 'Sunzilla' as a border in the back of my garden.  I did that several years ago and it looked so cool.  Haven't been able to duplicate it since!  Ugh!  Then Renee's Garden has joined the Hunt for Bees and gave us a packet of 'Lemon Queen' sunflowers.  I have had something like these in past gardens.  So if it will bring the bees, I'm in!

As you can see by the banner photo, the snow has retreated and we were in the 50's today!  Not complaining but the bulbs may start to grow.  I'm trying not to pay attention!  If I ignore them, they will just stay underground!  Hope you have had a great day.  Talk to you later.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Always enjoy the holidays and not why you may expect!  It's the time for all of the wonderful seed catalogs to come through our mailbox.  Something different than junk for a change.  My latest post for The Herb Companion catalogs (get it!) my list of favorite and new favorite catalogs for purchasing herb seeds called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  Guess what?  I already got my first order in the mail today from the above catalog, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  You can read about it at The Herb Companion, but here are the seeds I ordered:

From left to right on the top row are:  Janet Scott (very profuse blooming) pink sweet pea, Beaujolais (a rich, burgundy wine color) sweet pea and Blue Reflections (a mix of blue and white) sweet peas and a FREE tomato called Riesentraube.  On the bottom row from left to right is Elephant dill (late-flowering) that is productive, Sweet four o'clocks (delightful exotic fragrance), Jewel Peach Melba nasturtium (dwarf plants) and Dwarf Cherry Rose nasturtium (I have a theme going on with the nasturtiums!)  Have ordered more seeds.  So will share those with you as they come in.  Isn't it great?  Now I have to check out the seeds in our seed stash.  Mostly veggies.  I know you have one too!  So the snow will go bye bye for a while since our temperatures are going into the 40's.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Well, Someone Finally Threw The Switch!

Well, Happy New Year 2012!  We finally have winter weather to report.  I went out to do some errands and barely got back home.  We had that wonderful lake effect snow, but it reminded me of New England!  I do love the winter sunsets when the sun is out.  Beautiful crisp colors.

Our house looks so different but in a good way with the white door.  The rhodies are the best thermometer this time of year.  Well, hope you are staying toasty in the northeast and even in the south. 

Looking at 2011 I didn't do a very good job blogging about herbs!  Very haphazard, herbally speaking.  Will try to do better this year.  Working on some tea combinations.  Will talk about them in the coming days.