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Rosemary 
(Rosmarinus officinalis)
Rosemary is one of the oldest herbs in western culture.  It was highly treasured as a culinary and healing herb in the Roman empire. There are two primary forms: upright, which produces a large bush that can eventually be shaped into a small tree, and creeping, which produces a spreading mound one  to two feet high.  Both varieties have pungent leaves and small spikes of blue flowers.  Rosemary is used for its essential oil and is an excellent herb for breads and poultry.  The tender perennial is easy to grow but may not survive in cold winter areas.

Past Features

Propagating Herbs

  Cat Thyme   Quite a few readers have mailed me inquiring about availability of pineapple sage seeds.  A few others have asked where they can buy cat thyme seed.     To my knowledge, neither Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) nor Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum), produce fertile seed in cultivation.  Whether that is because they are sterile hybrids, or because their flowers are sensitive to climate and produce seed only under ideal natural conditions, I do not know.  In any case, seeds are not commercially available and I have never seen these plants produce any seed no matter how vigorously they flower.  Surprisingly, there is very little information on the web about propagating these plants.
    Both of these plants are propagated asexually, by cuttings of divisions.  By cuttings, that simply means cutting of new growth stems and inducing them to produce roots to create new plants, which are essentially clones of the original.  Divisions involves separating a bushy plant that has multiple rooted  stems.  Both of these methods produce established plants very quickly and are used even with many other herbs that do produce fertile seeds.  Members of the mint family (Lamiaceae), which includes many of the most familiar herbs including sages, basil, mint, and thyme, are generally fairly easy to propagate asexually.
    In fact, for many varieties, the use of cuttings or divisions is the only way to produce plants that are true to type.  This is particularly true for the various varieties of mint (Mentha sp.) which are notorious cross-pollinators. Peppermint (Mentha x pipitera) is a case in point.  While I have seen many catalogs that offer “peppermint seeds,” what unsuspecting gardeners don’t realize is that there is really no such thing.  Peppermint is a hybrid, and seed harvested from it will rarely reproduce true to the parent plant.  You will get some type of mint, but it will probably be more similar to spearmint than  peppermint. For that reason, peppermint and most mints are propagated commercially through cuttings or divisions.

borage   Borage
(Borago officinalis)
 A decorative, vigorous herb, borage is crowned by blue, star shaped flowers which have distinctive black anthers in the center.  The entire plant, including flower buds, is covered with stiff hairs which give the plant a prickly feel.  The plant is an excellent bee herb.  The plant  history in traditional herbal cosmetics and medicine.  It was once thought to bring courage, but is now used by most gardeners only as an ornamental.  Borage has a strong cucumber like flavor and can be chopped and used like celery both raw and cooked dishes.  The plant is an annual which is easy to grow from seeds and readily naturalizes in a garden.


PARSLEY
(Petroselinum crispum)
    Parsley Parsley is much more than a garnish on the dinner plate. It is one of the most useful as well as oldest of our garden herbs. It was held in high esteem by the ancient Greeks and Romans for its ability to cleanse the breath and to add flavor to foods.  A spoonful of finely chopped parsley adds a delightful, tangy flavor to salads, stews, soups and meats. The deep, rich green, fern like appearance of parsley leaves add to the attractiveness of many food dishes.
    The plant is a member of the Umbelliferae family, which have a long tap root and produce clusters of umbels, flowers arranged on modified stems in a form resembling an umbrella.  There are two primary varieties of parsley available: the tradition “moss curled” type and the flat leaf “Italian” variety (pictured above).  While both have excellent culinary use, curled parsley is more decorative and many chefs consider flat leaf parsley to have better flavor.
     Parsley is a biennial.  In the spring of its second year, the plant flowers, produces seed, and dies, completing its life cycle. You should replace them every spring to be sure of a steady supply of leaves.
    Parsley seeds have a hard coat and often can take a month or more to germinate without special preparation.  I soak the seeds in lukewarm water overnight before planting, which can cut germination time to two weeks.  The seeds should be planted in finely prepared soil or good potting soil.  Parsley has a long tap root which is easily damaged, so plants can be started indoors if care is taken in transplanting not to disturb the roots.

Cat Thyme
(Teucrium marum)
Cat Thyme Despite its name, and appearance, cat thyme is not a thyme at all, but a close relative of germander. Its small, oval leaves give it a thyme like appearance, but the musty scent is quite unlike the delicate aroma of thyme Cat thyme is a mounding, tender perennial with grey-green leaves tipped by fragrant pink flowers in summer. Some, but not all cats prefer it to catnip and will corkscrew themselves into the plant in ecstasy. Cat Thyme, a native of Spain, will live through the winter in the open, on a dry soil and in a good situation, when the frosts are not severe, though it is frequently killed in hard winters, if unprotected by mats or other covering. Older plants can shrub 3 or 4 feet high if grown in a mild climate.. It has oval leaves, broader at the base, downy beneath, with uncut margins. The flowers are in one-sided spikes, the corollas are crimson in color. The leaves and younger branches when fresh, on being rubbed emit a volatile, aromatic smell, which excites sneezing, but in taste they are somewhat bitter, accompanied with a sensation of heat.

Konikir Cosmos
(Cosmos sulpheurus)

Konikir Cosmos This species of the common garden annual produces prolific 1-1 1/2" blooms throughout the summer.  The flowers are usually bright golden orange, but yellow and red striped varieties exists as well.  The flowers are edible, and are used in Indonesian cuisine.  It is easy to grow, readily becoming naturalized in most climates.  The plants grow 3-4 feet tall and benefit from pruning to avoid them become weedy looking.

Fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare)

fennel In the grocery trade, fennel is often confused with anise.  It is common to see fennel seeds or even fennel bulbs and stems being sold as anise.  The anise plant (Pimpinella anisum) is smaller and has coarser leaves than fennel, although in the flowering stage anise produces new finely divided foliage. The seeds too are often mislabeled by vendors. While both seeds have a similar licorice like flavor, anise seeds are easily distinguishable by a flatter, wider shape than fennel.  Fennel is a vigorous herb which can reach 5-6 feet tall.  A perennial, fennel is usually grown as an annual.  The plant produces umbels of white flowers in summer.  It produces prodigious amounts of seed, which readily scatter.  As a result, fennel has naturalized throughout the United States, even becoming a pest in some environmentally sensitive areas such as the Santa Monica Mountains in Southern California.  The entire plant is edible, with the seeds commonly used for baking and the thick, main bulbous stem incorporated in soups.



Betony
(Stachys officinalis)

betony This rather petite herb was once regarded as having magical curative properties.  The Romans attributed some 47 curative properties to it, including use as a salve for battle wounds.  Today, Betony's primary use is as an ornamental and as an excellent herbal substitute for black tea.
    Betony is closely related to the hairy leafed ornamental Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantium). However, Betony is much more compact and non-invasive.  This hardy perennial plant produces a fairly symmetrical clump of dark green, elongated heart shaped leaves which often grows no more than 6 inches high.  In summer, Betony produces its crowning glory, a spike with multiple whorls of of red violet tubular flowers







Lavender Cotton
(Santolina chamaecyparissus)

lavender cotton This pungent perennial is a favorite for edging herb gardens or rose beds.  The silvery gray foliage has a curly texture, and the plant eventually grows into a mound 1-2 feet tall and 3 feet wide.  The flowers are small yellow buttons on 6 inch stalks in summer.  The plant is primarily decorative, but can be used in sachets and potpourri. Lavender cotton grows well in hot, dry summers, and is subject to fungal disease in wet soil.




St. John's-Wort
(Hypericum perforatum)

st. john's wort   This plant was named for St. John the Baptist, and in Medieval times was thought to have the power to drive out the devil.  Tradition has it that the plant always blooms on St. John the Baptist's birthday, June 24.  St. John's-wort is an early summer blooming plant, although bloom times will vary according to weather.
  St. John's-wort has become well known in recent years not for driving out devils but for its active ingredient, hypericin, which some clinical studies have indicated helps alleviate depression.  As a result, herbal supplements made from St. John's-wort have ben hugely successful, although these unregulated herbal medications can vary enormously in strength and quality.  The scientific jury is still out on whether St. John's-wort is at all effective, as some studies have found no appreciable effect.  If you suffer from depression, you definitely should talk to your doctor before trying this or any herbal supplement.  The hypericin in St.-John's-wort can have side effects, particularly causing hyper photosensitivity, which can be problematic for light skinned persons and those with a need to avoid excess UV radiation.
  Regardless of it's psychotropic values, St.-John's-wort is an attractive creeping addition to the garden, with cute sprays of bright yellow flowers.  A hardy perennial, the plant can reach two feet ion height but often spreads out more than it grows up.  It can grow in average soil in full or part sun.

Lemon Verbena
(Aloysia triphylla)

kemon verbena This tender perennial shrub may get a bit ungainly when it reaches 5-6 ft., but its leaves provide one of the best lemon flavored herbal teas. Lemon verbena is a deciduous woody shrub with a distinctive lemon fragrance. The tiny, tubular lavender flowers appear in clusters in spring. A native of South America, it was first brought to Europe in the 17th Century.  In herbal medicine it is used for stomachache and to stimulate digestion.
 

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Last Updated December 15, 2007
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