Our Garden Gate

Posts Tagged ‘growing herbs’

If you like a lot of different kinds of plants…

Asian Lilies, Delphiniums and Hollyhocks

If you like a lot of flowers blooming…

If you don’t want to worry about strict, formal lines and forms…

If you want your garden to feel natural, like it all happened on its own…

If you like using vintage pieces in your garden…

If you like the idea of plants seeding themselves or multiplying on their own…

If you want a garden that make you want to just hang out and relax in…

Maybe a Cottage Garden is just for you.

A cottage garden is loosely planned, and heavily planted. I think that most gardeners are a lot like me when it comes to plants. It seems that I’m a plant-aholic. I can’t seem to ever have too many. Even when I’m sure that I’ve maxed out the space available, I can always squeeze in one more specimen I’ve found.

2011 - perennial bed beside deck

Plants that bloom, smell good and re-seed or spread will eventually find a way into my garden. The great thing about having such a variety of plants is that most of them bloom, but not at the same time. So I have something blooming somewhere all during the growing season. If you have all the same plants then the blooms are all done with at the same time.

I did lay out a plan of the yard but only loosely designated a certain area for “flower bed” or “berry patch”. I paid attention to the height of the plants, so they would all fit together nicely, and to the sun and water requirements. It’s also a good idea to pay attention to the bloom time but I didn’t really do that, and most of the time I was lucky. The blooms for any season, spring through fall, are spread around the whole yard pretty evenly.

If you follow the planting guides on most seed packets or plant instructions, your garden will look good eventually. While the plants are growing and reaching their full potential, there can be a lot of empty space to fill. It can either be filled with annuals for a year or two…or three, or with mulch. I like to plant things much closer than the instructions say because I like a very full garden. If the plants get a little crowded, it’s okay. If they ever get too crowded, I divide and move some or share with friends.

Loosestrife and roses by garden gate

I like blooms. I love having flowers in the house, so I plant plenty so that I can cut plenty to use and to share. Try some of the cottage garden favorites like hollyhocks, foxglove, phlox, daisies, roses (of course), peonies or lilies.

It doesn’t take a lot of room to have a cottage garden either. A tiny plot by the back door will do. How about a 3′ border down the side of your lawn? I’d rather have the 3′ lawn and the rest in flowers, but that’s just me.

Mix in some vegetable plants along the way. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, squash and many other beautiful vegetable plants will fit right into a cottage garden.

Formal gardens are pretty but they don’t draw me in and make me feel as happy as I feel when I’m in my (slightly messy) cottage garden.

Agastache, Sedum, Phlox, Roses and Rhubarb

Phlox, Echinacea or purple coneflower by birdbath

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Back yard in 2009, before garden planted, arbor and deck built

I’m trying to decide whether to began at the end or the beginning. Maybe I’ll just jump back and forth.

I mentioned in “About Us” that in 2009 we’d bought a very old home in the Rocky Mountains (zone 5b-6a) and had taken up most of our lawn. I didn’t mention that we also took down four huge trees and many large, old shrubs. You can imagine what a mess our yard looked. But…we had a plan.

Here is a picture of our yard when we began laying it out. The big crater is where a large stump was ground out and where the Queen Elizabeth roses now stand beside the deck. You can see 2 of the 5 little peach trees planted early that spring. The small one on the end is stunted because deer ate the top out of it when it first put on leaves.

Peach trees, Queen Elizabeth roses, hyacinth bean tower

I think the neighbors were a little worried about the nut jobs that had moved in next door. It did look pretty bad but we did put up a privacy fence to protect their eyes. Of course the picket fence in the front yard didn’t hide very much and the front yard looked this bad too.

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by Eliza Osborn

Growing favorite herbs in the herb garden for cooking

I started growing herbs when my Aunt Pearl, who lives in Georgia and is also a gardener, gave me a large pot planted with herbs. I’ve been growing them ever since. I like to mix them in among other perennials, although I have had beds with just herbs in them. Herbs are so easy to grow and since you need to keep pinching them back to make the plant fuller and to prevent blooming, you have plenty to use in cooking and you’ll have plenty to share, since it really is good for the plant to get pinched back. In most cases it would be hard to use that much of any herb. When I prune them back I put the clippings I’m not going to use in a basket on my kitchen counter. The smell is wonderful.

Put the ones you are planning on using in a glass with water in the fridge and they will stay fresh until  you need them. When using fresh herbs in recipes you’ll need to use a larger amount (about 2-3 times as much) because measurements are usually for dried herbs, which have much less volume. Fresh herbs make such a difference in foods. For example, potato salad is a whole different dish when prepared with fresh oregano, thyme, parsley and chives. The flavors are so fresh and wonderful.

Some can be grown from seeds and some can’t. Some can be dried and used, some frozen. If you’re interested in planting herbs, now is a good time for planting the hardy ones. Depending on where you live, Rosemary is iffy, and basil surely can’t take the cold but most others are pretty hardy. I’ll talk more about herbs later, but for now you really should consider herbs for your garden. You’ll fall in love.

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by Eliza Osborn

Mint and Garden Cress

Garden Cress (or Pepper grass) taste like Watercress, with a peppery bite to it. It’s a very easy to grow annual herb. It can be grown in the garden or in containers on the deck or patio or even in the kitchen window.

To grow cress in the garden, plant the seeds as early as possible in the spring, planting again every 2 weeks for a longer harvest. Cress matures very fast and grows best in cool weather. If you live in a mild climate, cress can be planted all through the fall and winter.

Cress does well in containers. It sprouts in a few days and can be harvested in a couple of weeks. Whether in the garden or in a container, cress likes moist, well drained soil.

Cress is so easy to grow it can even be grown by sprinkling seeds on wet cheesecloth or paper towels. Just keep them damp and you can began harvesting in about 2 weeks.

The peppery flavor of cress spices up any dish. Try using it in tossed salads, egg, potato or chicken salad. Try it in scrambled eggs or in sandwiches instead of lettuce.

Get creative. Garden cress is a beautiful plant and versatile in the kitchen.

Rhubarb, chives and bell peppers growing in flower bed. Corn in raised beds with squash and pole beans. Peach trees beyond.

Would you really like to grow vegetables but you just don’t have the space?

Guess what? You can grow a lot of vegetables in a very small amount of space. They don’t even all have to be in the same area. You can tuck vegetable plants in among your flowers or shrubs. Just make sure it is a place that will get lots of sunshine. Most vegetables can be grown in a space as small as a square foot. Some, like lettuce, can be grown in a narrow strip 6″ wide. Vegetables that take more than just a few plants, such as beans and peas, can be grown in a little larger areas. Even then, you’d be amazed at how many peas and beans a 2′ x 6′ bed can produce. Vegetables such as squash can be planted in a 1′ x 1′ square, if they can be allowed to spread out a bit.

Vegetables suggestions for small spaces:

Cucumber – bush or pole type, which can be grown vertically if given support

Beans – bush or pole type, which can be grown vertically if given support

English peas – can be grown in rows and kept very vertical with support

Lettuce – can be grown in narrow strips or small square areas (Romain grows sort of vertical while Bibb grows low)

Kale – grows well among other plants or in a row

Swiss Chard – can be grown tucked into flower beds, in small square areas or in rows.

Spinach – very beautiful foliage that can be grown with herbs or flowers

Cilantro – does well grown in flower beds

Beets – beautiful leaves with red veining and you can eat tops and roots

Basil – beautiful plant that fits in well with flowers or shrubs

Parsley – beautiful foliage that works great in flower beds or with shrubs

Summer squash – beautiful plant, large leaves can take up lots of room

Peppers – bell peppers or hot peppers, very ornamental plants that look great in flower beds

Eggplant – beautiful plant that will look great mixed in with the herbs or flowers

Radishes – low growing and very easy to grow, (let the kids help)

Tomatoes – can be grown vertically with support and can fit into a relatively small space

Green onions – always useful to have on hand and they don’t take up much room

Also see Page: Container Gardening > Grow Vegetables in Pots : http://wp.me/P1OXDF-1bc

How do you find the room in your yard for a few more plants? Walk around your yard, paying attention to empty areas that might be 1′ x 1′ or how about a 3″ – 6″  strip that you could put in a row of lettuce, radishes or green onions, which are very ornamental with beautiful foliage. If you’re planting lettuce, don’t plant it all at once. Stagger planting every couple of weeks to prolong your harvest time. Also, one way to harvest lettuce, don’t pull up the whole plant, just cut outer leaves off each plant

Tomatoes and Petunias share a bed

and the plant will continue to grow and produce.

What about along a sidewalk or pathway? If you can squeeze a plant in here and there, you will be amazed at how much food can be produced. Is it possible to extend an existing flower bed out 6 – 12″ to plant some low growing plants like lettuce or beets?

Do you have lawn growing right up to a fence? How about clearing a 2′ – 3′ strip along the fence and planting vegetables. The fence would provide a convenient support for the taller vegetables, such as tomatoes or beans and cucumbers, at the back of the garden and then you could plant many different kinds of vegetables in front of those.

No yard? No problem. You can grow quite  a lot of vegetables in containers, whether on a patio or deck, along the sunny side of your house or just out your back door.

Don’t plant and forget. Make sure the plants don’t have to compete with weeds for nutrients or moisture. Be sure to keep your vegetables picked so that they will continue to produce. If you’re going to be away when they are producing, ask a neighbor to pick for you to keep them in production.

As you assess your yard and garden,  decide on what you want to grow and where in your yard would be the best place to grow it. Now is the time to make all those gardening plans so when the warm weather comes, you will be all ready to get stated.

Get creative and have fun!

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Agastache - Anyse-hyssop

I grow at least 31 different herbs, but I don’t have an “herb garden”. Herbs are usually very hardy plants, that also happen to be edible, medicinal or aromatic…maybe even all three. Most of them are beautiful, foliage and flowers. They blend well with other, more ornamental, plants. So I enjoy mixing them in throughout all of my flower beds. I do keep the culinary herbs a little closer though, like right off the deck, close to the kitchen. I’ve had an “herb garden” before, and it can be very handy  to just run out and grab a handful of whatever you need. Now, though, I’ve scattered other perennials among them and they are still very handy.

Some herbs can get quite large and take up a lot of space, like the hyssop or the lemon balm, while others are small and compact, like the oregano and  thyme, and just kind of creep along among other plants.

Lavendar

Sometimes it might seem like herbs are a little mysterious or maybe difficult to grow. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether you plant seeds (which I do a lot) or plant seedlings, you will probably have great success. Some herbs are so easy to grow that you might wish you weren’t so successful. Any of the mints will spread like wildfire and need to either be grown only in containers or in restricted areas. I love mint, especially chocolate mint, but I’ve learned the hard way that it can easily become a weed that smells very good when you’re pulling great handfuls of it out of your flower beds.

If you have well drained soil, plenty of sun and a little moisture, you can grow just about any herb you’d like. Most of them don’t even need especially fertile soil. Mulching helps keep the weeds down and will eventually break down to enrich the soil. If you can control the weeds early on, then soon the mature, spreading plants will choke them out naturally. Most herbs are perennial, meaning they’ll come back year after year.

Dill

Many of the culinary herbs do well with pinching back, or pruning, so using them is a plus. Never remove more than 1/3 of the plant at a time though. As you pinch them back, they will become fuller and more attractive.

Cooking with herbs is a lot of fun. Be experimental and try different combinations. Have  you ever had potato salad made with fresh thyme, oregano and chives? Delicious.

I  grow a lot of aromatic herbs too (See post: The Aromatic Garden http://wp.me/p1OXDF-8d) just because I love them.  See also Ezine Article: http://ezinearticles.com/?8-Great-Plants-For-an-Aromatic-Garden&id=6582569

Some of my favorite culinary herbs are:

• Tarragon – slight licorice flavor – used for cooking, vinegars and teas
• Salad Burnet – cucumber flavor – used in salads
• Chives – mild onion flavor – used in cooking and as garnish
• Oregano – used in cooking
• Sage – used in cooking
• Basil – used in cooking and condiments
• Thyme – used in cooking
• Marjoram – used in cooking
• Parsley – used in cooking and as garnish
• Lemon Thyme – used in cooking

Some of my favorite aromatic herbs are:

• Scented Pelargoniums – Lemon/Rose, Rose, Coconut, Green Apple, Lemon/Lime
• Agastache Anise Hyssop – hard to describe, heavenly scent
• Lavender – everybody knows what Lavender smells like…right?
• Mint – also used for culinary by some – Chocolate Mint, Spearmint, Peppermint, Pineapple Mint, etc.
• Plectranthus – hard to describe smell that I love (kind of like antique wood)
• Artemesia – nice, clean smell
• Helichrysum – fresh, straw-like smell

This winter, when  you’re planning your garden for next spring, think about incorporating some herbs in with the perennials or even with the vegetables. A whole new world will be opened to  you.

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Spearmint

Purple Sage

Feverfew and roses

Thyme

When we begin landscaping our yard with gardens instead of lawns, I didn’t think to take before pictures. It wasn’t until we had rolled up the sod and removed 3 of our 8 large trees that I even thought about it. So our before pictures aren’t really from the beginning, because in the beginning there were beautiful lawns, mature Viburnum and Forsythia shrubs and huge trees with spreading canopies in our yard.

Outline of deck 2009

So in the spirit of learning from my mistakes, remember to take photos of your projects in the planning stage, the before stage and all through the work stages. It is so interesting to look back and remember the way it was.

These are some photos of our yard as we planned our deck and designed the gardens around it. By marking where the deck would go, we could go ahead and plant the rose bushes, perennials and herbs around it.

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Deck finally built in Sept.2010

Old water feature where deck will eventually be.

Deck built over old water feature in the back yard.

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by Eliza Osborn

Mystery Plant in Our Garden

is a plant that was growing in our back yard, around a little water feature that had seen better days. Besides, it was located in the center f where our deck was going to be built and so I had to move it. When we designed our garden, we didn’t know what to do with it so I moved it to the area around the garden spigot, since I assumed it liked the moisture. It has gotten a lot bigger since I moved it and this year it bloomed, but the blooms were insignificant and not too attractive. The foliage is the pretty part of this plant. It has grown to about 18″-24″ tall and the texture of the leaves are sort of like a succulent.

I’ve asked quite a few people if they recognized it and so far no one has. I don’t think anyone has seen one quite like it.I’ve looked online and poured through my gardening books, but so far it remains a mystery plant in our garden.

If you have any information about this plant, will you please let us know about it?

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What is this plant?

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by Eliza Osborn

I’d written about the aromatic garden before but for a little more information you might want to check out an article I’d had published recently.

You can see it at: http://ezinearticles.com/?8-Great-Plants-For-an-Aromatic-Garden&id=6582569

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by Eliza Osborn

Potted Rosemary

Rosemary is one of those wonderful smelling herbs that is also beautiful and so useful in the kitchen when cooking with fresh herbs. Isn’t it great to know that Rosemary is extremely easy to grow? It is an evergreen, perennial plant that needs plenty of sunshine, 6-8 hours a day, well drained soil and don’t let it get cold, as in 35′ or less. That’s why mine is in a pot, because it has to come in for the winter. I prune it back in the autumn, a few weeks before bringing it in, so that  it doesn’t take up so much room in the house. When it does come inside, it needs to have as much light as possible, and don’t over water it. It’s a Mediterranean plant and likes it a little on the dry side.  If, however, you live where you can plant it into the ground (zone 10-11), then it can become a pretty good sized shrub.

It can be pruned but doesn’t need to be. It responds very well to pruning though and can even be used in a topiary. You can prune it just to shape it or to keep it within a certain size and that can be done pretty much any time. The bits that are pruned off can be dried and used for seasoning in cooking. Also, just handling Rosemary makes your hands smell oh, so good.

To use in cooking, either strip the leaves off the woody stem and put into recipes, or put a whole sprig in and remove it later. Rosemary has a strong flavor so it doesn’t take much to use as seasoning. It’s really good used to season olive oil or vinegar. The flavor also works well with other herbs such as , chives, oregano, garlic, parsley, sage and thyme. So experiment with it and see how you like it.

Why don’t you add Rosemary to the list of  the herbs you should be growing.

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by Eliza Osborn