An herb garden makes a home. Herbs signify to me that I’m grounded, here to stay and “sit a spell.” I’ve always planted a garden, with herbs first, in whatever home I found myself. This holds true from the first, married couples’ apartments housed in old WWII barracks behind what is currently Moody Library on Baylor’s campus, to assorted parsonages, language school in South Africa, and to my current home just off of Lakeshore Drive in Waco, Texas. The picture above is twenty year old me with my first adult garden at said “barracks!”
The minimal, essential two herbs for my taste are spearmint and parsley, paramount for Lebanese cuisine! The next in priority are basil, thyme, and oregano. I currently have all the above plus dill, tarragon, a variety of mints, rosemary, hyssop, rue, lemon verbena, sage, comfrey, chives, catnip, and skull’s cap. The only non-perennial or non-selfseeder among the bunch is basil, which I plant each year.
Not only do I cook with fresh herbs, but I also:
1. freshen indoors with bouquets and sachets;
2. add to bath water for a good, healing soak;
3. apply medicinally;
4. brew a pot of tea, stir up a mocktail, or concoct a whole pitcher of refreshing punch;
5. use as a mosquito and fly deterrent on my back porch;
6. and companion plant to nurture more fruit.
Did you know that companion planting basil next to tomatoes enhances the flavor of tomatoes, but the strong basil scent also attracts pollinators which feed on aphids and repel fungal diseases? I’ll devote a whole blog to this phenomena at a later date, so stay tuned!
Which herbs will you plant this year?
Whoever plants a garden, has never worked alone;
The rain has always found it, the sun has always known.
The wind has blown across it, and helped to scatter seeds;
Whoever makes a garden, has all the help he needs!
Whoever makes a garden, should surely not complain,
With someone like the sunshine, and someone like the rain;
And someone like the breezes, to aid him in his toil,
And someone like the Father, who gave the garden soil.
Whoever makes a garden, has, oh, so many friends;
The glory of the morning, the dew when daylight ends.
For rain and wind and sunshine, and dew and fertile sod;
And he who makes a garden works hand and hand with God.
Shelia, once again… I love your writings!
I’m sure you are familiar with the John Denver song, “ Inch by Inch and row by row”!!! Tom sang it so many times !
Now there is a new Amy Grant done that is good too. Brian played it at their church last Sunday, “Trees We’ll Never See”.
Love you!❤️
Oh, I’ll have to look up the words to the Amy Grant one. I’ve saved some Columbine seeds for you and will bring them on Saturday. I’m so glad you’re enjoying my writings. Please share with your friends and encourage them to sign up for the monthly newsletter. If there is any topic you’d like me to research and write about, please let me know. Can’t wait to visit with you!