Gardening 101 with Mike & Patti Boyert
(As seen in The Medina Gazette)
Herbs for the Garden and More
Herbs are very versatile and can grow about any where. Grow herbs in pots outside your kitchen for fresh herbs all summer. Bring pots indoors if you have a sunny room or window. Herbs can be decorative as well. Tri color sage with its pink, white and green leaves adds a spike of color to a flower pot. Curly parsley has delicate curly bright green foliage to add texture to your flower beds and can be harvested all summer long. There are many species of thyme that have many uses from culinary English thyme to groundcovers Wooly thyme and Pink Chintz.
Lemon thyme can be used in cooking as well as a mosquito repellent. A few pots of lemon thyme on your patio will deter those pesky bugs. Other popular herbs are Cilantro/Coriander. Depending on the reason for growing it, cilantro you harvest the pungent leaves which are great for salsas. If you need the spice seeds for sauces and pickles its called coriander. If allowed to go to seed in your garden, this herb will self sow and come up the next year. Some herbs such as basil, dill, fennel, parsley and marjoram are annuals, but many varieties are perennials, mints, lemon balm, chives, rosemary and thyme. Mint can be invasive and take over. Mints are best planted in a large container and then sinking it into the garden leaving 2 inches above ground. Some hardy herbs such as parsley and chives can be mulched over with straw in late fall if kept warm can be harvested in winter. Herbs can be a great addition to any garden or flower bed.
