Saturday, May 4, 2013

Herb Garden

Planting season is upon us. While Bob works in the garden out in the way back, I have been starting an herb garden. (click on the pictures to get the full view) A good herb garden should be convenient to the kitchen, and we are lucky enough to have a nice bed by the porch just steps from the kitchen. I tried to think about what herbs we use the most in cooking and I want to experiment as well. Along the back I have chives, purple basil, garlic chives and English thyme then some irises we transplanted from the back yard. in the middle we have a clump of basil, Thai basil and purple basil, along with some Greek oregano. Finally, in the front parsley, cilantro, sage and bee balm. In the green pot we have rosemary. Off to the side, we have a piece of concrete that we salvaged from concrete my father poured in 1970 when my Dad put in palm trees . My hand was so tiny! The palm trees have been removed and we are still deciding on what to put in their place. Fruit trees are leading the race. Behind it you see the base of my Grandmother's bird bath. My grandmother has such an incredible green thumb and we were very close. I never had the heart to get rid of the base so it has become a planter for some golden lemon thyme. I wanted something that would creep down the sides and thyme fits the bill perfectly. Finally, I have some mint, grapefruit mint and lemon balm in a container. Mint can really take over so its great to keep it contained in a pot.

Many of these plants were purchased at the local farmer's market with a few from Home Depot. I try to support local growers when I can!