Plant Talk

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme....and Basil, Chives and Lemon Verbena

Need a starter book on growing and using herbs, or one to stir your imagination? From Shakespearan gardens to herb jelly, Herbs! Creative Herb Garden Themes and Projects (by Judy Lowe, Cool Springs Press, $19.95) offers an abundance of concise, useful information.

Those humble chives and parsley growing in our gardens have quite a history..herbs are not only aromatic, flavorful, and sometimes beautiful, but also medicinal, cultural, historical, ritualistic and even literary. 

From Biblican mentions of dill and coriander to a design for a Peter Rabbit herb garden (pole bean tepee, plenty of lettuces, and comforting chamomile for tea), the book is light, fun, well-illustrated and might well spark ideas about how to use herbs you grow already. And if you want to add more herbs, the color encyclopedia of the easiest/most useful herbs will help you choose which deserve garden space. Recipes range from bread-and-butter pickles to pizza and ginger peppermint tea.

If you simply want to know how to make potpourri, use lemon balm, or wonder about the medicinal uses of parsley (it's chewed to clear the smell of alcohol from the breath and helps settle the stomach; parsley root is a laxative) you'll find the information here.

If the book has a fault, it's the wide variety of topics and approaches, from Shakespearian gardens to herb jelly; of course, that's a reflection of its subject and the roles herbs have played in human life for centuries.

"I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows" (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

"She was the sweet marjoram of the salad" (All's Well That Ends Well)

 

 

Herbal Cookery Updated in a Gorgeous New Cookbook from England

The Brits are still making beautiful books, thank goodness. Heavy, quality paper, lovely design, and detailed color drawings make Jekka McVicar's first cookbook a pleasure to handle even if you never cooked from it. But you will, for who can resist recipes like Lemon Verbena Creme Brulee, or Mum's Mint Sauce? From ideas on how to use up excess arugula (pesto) to a clever and aromatic way of baking fennel bulbs, the cookbook is practical as well as pretty.

This woman knows whereof she writes, for Jekka has loved and studied herbs since before she started school. She's won 14 gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show, and Jekka's Herb Farm  offers the largest collection of herbs in the UK. This is Jekka's first cookbook, with 250 recipes made from her 50 favorite herbs culled from the 650 different varieties of culinary, aromatic, decorative and medicinal herbs she grows and sells. From angelica to wild strawberries (Wild Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar/Wild Strawberry Shortcake....) you'll enjoy Jekka's wisdom and creativity, as well as all her ideas on how best to put what you grow to good use. Okay, I'm off to whip up a batch of Zucchini, Dill and Parlsey Pancakes...only 2 T. of flour; like most of the recipes in the book, the food is simple, tasty and reasonably healthful... Jekka's Herb Cookbook is published this month by Firefly Books Ltd. and it seems to me a bargain at $29.95, hardcover.

 

Diggin' It

A "To Do" list is a gardener's constant companion, particularly in early spring when chores are as numerous as slugs on a hosta. It's always fun, and sometimes inspiring, to hear what other gardeners are up to.. so please chime in with what's top of your list these days.

Here's what I'm working on this weekend:

 I'm finally planting the bulbs I bought from B&D Lilies at the F&G Show which were sprouting in their bags and desperate to get in the ground. I popped the double Oriental 'Lodewijk' (left) into pots on the deck to be seen and smelled close up; the half dozen Asiatic, June-blooming 'Kentucky' (below) went in along a new little evergreen hedge where I hope their melon color will shine.

 

I seeded a bunch of Dianna's purple poppy (P. somniferum 'Paeoniflorum') along the sides of my gravel driveway where the plan is it'll be happy enough in the sun and drought to re-seed itself. Yes, this is the opium poppy that put Dorothy and friends to sleep in "The Wizard of Oz',  a dark, ruffled beauty with gray-green foliage. I also tossed out seed given to me by friends for a giant pod poppy that is supposed to be great in flower arrangements....

More time consuming is pruning back my lavender hedges by nearly 2/3 to keep them from splaying and becoming woody. The bonus to this job is the intense, summer-redolent scent of the foliage as you clip it. I'm also pruning hydrangeas, cutting out about a third of the old canes on the mop heads (H. macrophylla), while cutting back the entire 'Annabelle' plant, since it blooms on new wood and tends to get leggy.

Most fun is planting baby lettuce starts,  sweet peas, purple-podded peas, 'Cascadia' snow peas, and herbs like lemon verbena, Greek oregano, cilantro and mint, safely secured in a pot to keep it from taking over the garden. 

All the promise of spring in a dozen sweet peas just starting to climb their cage, and plenty of colored little lettuces, arugula and spinach. The lettuce will be ready to start snipping in just a few weeks, and the sweet peas, with a little encouragement from the weather, should bloom by mid-June.

 

Salsa Verde

Quick while your herb garden is still going strong, make some of Alice Water's fabulous salsa verde. I'm addicted to it, and stir up a batch most evenings. It's bright, fresh taste and vivid green color spark a risotto, make plain pasta memorable, and turn a simple skillet of roasted potatoes into a feast.

Water's original recipe calls for just parsley, which is reassuring because it means you can make salsa verde year-round. But the flavor is much more interesting if you use a mix of herbs. I've been experimenting, and haven't hit on a bad combination yet...mint and lemon verbena seem essential to the mix. Lime works as well as lemon.

Here's Water's recipe, with modifications, but try out what you have fresh in your garden...I never use capers in it, just because I don't have them on hand, and I'm a little more generous with the salt..

Salsa Verde
Combine in a small bowl:
1/3 cup coarsely chopped herbs, including parsley, mint, basil, rosemary, lemon verbena
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, chopped very fine or pounded into a puree
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh-ground black pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil

Mix well and taste for salt. Let the sauce sit for a while to develop the flavors.

Herbal Wisdom

 I'm absorbed in a new book by Judy Barrett with the clearly descriptive title "What Can I Do With My Herbs?" (Texas A&M University Press,  2009).  It's hard to find - Seattle Public Library has a few copies.... it's worth hunting down.

I love to grow herbs, but except for chives, parsley, basil and cilantro, they're mostly ornamental because I've been short of ideas on how to use them. Not any longer.

Every entry in this pretty little book includes a history of the herb and cultivation information. But it's Barrett's abundant creativity and practicality that makes the book so worthwhile. Take scented geraniums. She suggests drying their leaves and crumbling them into a bowl for the simplest potpourri ever, or crushing leaves onto the floor and vacuuming them up to freshen the air. Toss a mesh bag filled with leaves into the dryer to scent your linens, or bake them into cookies or cakes. Barrett iincludes a recipe for scented geranium lemonade and a cooling tea. I took her advice and planted garlic near my nasturtiums to repel aphids - so far, so good....

I always grow lemon verbena just to enjoy the foliage's intense citrus scent...after reading this book I plan to use these shiny leaves as a  substitute in any recipe that calls for lemons, brew it into a soothing tea, dry the leaves in the microwave and make sachets.......the book is a convenient size, is made of lovely paper and offers color drawings like the one below to go with all the homely advice....