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Spring for herbs - literally! Local nurseries are stocking up and preparing for the spring rush, ready to open their doors soon. On your first yearly nursery visit, be sure to look for herbs that you can integrate into your kitchen garden. Herbs growing close at hand in a kitchen window are a delight but be sure they have enough light and moisture. Better yet, grow them outside. They are easy and fun. I tuck mine in between the perennials, especially near the poppies. They fill in the space created when the flowers die back after blooming. I especially like mint. Did you know that mint comes in many scents and flavors? While working in my garden I can smell lime, orange, strawberry and even chocolate. Keep a basket of various mint sprigs on your kitchen table. Pick off a few leaves and add them to your iced tea or water. Sprinkle them on ice cream or sorbet. Yum!! At the end of the growing season, cut and bundle, then hang upside down to dry. Some dill, mint or oregano will add a fresh scent to the air naturally. So get down to that nursery where you saw those herbs and treat yourself to plants that will open your senses of taste and smell. Good luck. -Pat, NY
Don't forget that many of the most interesting varieties of herbs are sometimes easier to find as seed or live plants via mail-order. With the advent of the Internet and online shopping, the universe of herbs available to anyone with a credit card is practically limitless. Following is a short list of four of my favorite semi-unusual herbs, and these are not often found in nurseries, so mail-order is the best way to acquire them.
Chocolate Mint. Like fine wines, members of the mint family often intimate or suggest exotic flavors far off the beaten path of their fundamental character. So it is with chocolate mint. Candy fans know that mint and chocolate are a match made in Heaven, and thanks to the wonders of botany and the hard work of hybridizers, these two flavors are woven together elegantly in this most beguiling member of the rather large mint family. Complex, with more than a hint of cocoa, chocolate mint is a wonderful addition for ice cream, cakes, pies, mousse, and fresh strawberries with whipped cream. What's more, it is extremely easy to grow. Start seeds indoors the first year, then transplant to a sunny spot in the garden and nature will take good care of it. As long as winters aren't too harsh, it should re-grow the following year. In fact, members of the mint family can become invasive over time, but it's hard to think of such a delicious plant as a pest. Mints do not grow true from seed, so look for an online source of live plants. Alternatively, if you know someone who already grows a particular mint you like, simply ask for a few cuttings. A few years back, I swapped some zucchetta rampicante seeds for a few lemon mint cuttings with another gardener whom I met online. Despite spending 3 days in the mail wrapped in a plastic sandwich bag, the sprigs survived just fine, and I still have lemon mint growing around my compost pile.
Lemon thyme. Thyme has become one of my favorite herbs, and lemon thyme in particular is a treasured cultivar. Thyme is a savory herb, and the slight citrus nuance of lemon thyme is just enough to brighten its personality, making it suitable for fresh use, in a cool summer potato salad, for instance. Once established, thyme will grow with little care in climates as cold as USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 4.
Purple Ruffles basil. A feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds, Purple Ruffles basil is not to be missed. A bit more pungent than Genovese style basil, it packs a flavorful wallop. Basil is very sensitive to frost, so be sure to start seeds indoors and transplant them into the garden after all danger of frost has passed.
Borage. With silvery-green leaves and pretty blue flowers, borage is a colorful addition to the potager. Indeed, Louisa Jones, potager writer extraordinaire expounds on the importance of borage in French vegetable gardens. Borage leaves have a flavor reminiscent of cucumber, and can be used in salads, cold cucumber soup, or as a refreshing addition to a glass of iced tea. Additionally, it is said to have a beneficial effect on tomatoes and other vegetables, when grown in close proximity. I have also observed that Borage flowers attract bees and other beneficial insects like few other plants can. Borage is easy to grow from seed, and produces its ephemeral looking flowers through most of the summer, so it's a great way to add the cool, relaxing look of blue to your kitchen garden.
-Diggity
