herb garden

I look forward to hearing more. I’m curious how the sage collection performed over time…

-- GardenMentor, Seattle, WA (zone 8/9), www.gardenmentors.com & www.gardenhelp.org

Nice.
the photos are beautiful as well

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I Love the variegated sage….What variety is that?

-- Xploreorganics, 5b Canada, LFD 06-20

This is the first year so I’m not sure if the sage will over winter or not, it grew very well over the summer and the plants got huge! There are 2 variegated sages, one is tricolour, the other is golden. oth are simular in taste, texture and habits.
Thanks
sib ;)

Learning so much about veggie and herb gardening … wow.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Thanks for sharing. A few things I’ve learned over the years:

1. Those tiny sage plants are likely to get to be 4-5’ wide. You might replant with long-term growth in mind to give them room.

2. Lemon Balm: can become really weedy. If you get seedlings, consider removing them. Often seedlings don’t maintain the best fragrance and taste.

3. Lemon verbena: Nothing like it. I prefer it in cooking over lemon grass and lemon balm. It’s a slice of heaven. (May not make it through rough winters or will act like an herbaceous perennial rather than woody perennial)

4. Purple sage has really pungent sage flavor. I cut the amount used in recipes if I harvest from purple.

5. Chives. Be careful not to let them go to seed. I’m still battling seedlings from my own “go to seed” problem a couple of years ago.

Enjoy & thanks! I can’t wait until its basil-growing season again in Seattle!

-- GardenMentor, Seattle, WA (zone 8/9), www.gardenmentors.com & www.gardenhelp.org

lots of information here!
thanks everyone

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I have learned the hard way gardenmentor not to let most herbs go to seed. I had an incident with horehound about 5 years ago, afterwhich i eliminated the plant and any trace I could find (this is back when my garden was raised beds) I still see errant seedlings now and again (I kill them quick!). Chive flowers get beheaded as soon as i see them, on a side note they dry remarkably well! When we moved in years ago, the grass between our driveway and the neighbours feild was throughly infested with chives, we mowed them over with the grass but they are still there just not nearly so many, apparently they don’t like being 4” tall! Because of the exposure out here(really bad wind and lack of protection on my part), sage in the past hasn’t made it through the winter, I know my boyfriend has some impressive typical sage bushes at his house that has been there for years. Although I should say that both the sage and the rosemary were both alive still last week when I was out there.

In general I try not to let my herbs even flower let alone seed, I just look for flowers and cut/pinch or even shear them back. I seam to recall that when you let herbs flower they loose their flavour also, or its not as strong?
Thanks
Sib ;)

That’s an interesting question about flowering herbs losing flavor. My experience has been that they are most flavorful as they flower, but I can’t say for sure that’s the case. Certainly if they’re putting energy into flowering, they’re depleting resources elsewhere, but where…hmmm…I’m going to think/research on this one…thanks for the challenge!

-- GardenMentor, Seattle, WA (zone 8/9), www.gardenmentors.com & www.gardenhelp.org

Agreed…in my experience, the herbs are at their most flavorful right at the verge of blooming.

My culinary herbs I don’t let bloom, or only barely bloom before I behead them. The medicinal and ornamental herbs I let flower since they are there mostly for ornamental effect. Lady’s mantle get ugly after barely a week of blooming, and rue seed pods are neat for the first few, but the tiny yellow blossoms are fun.

My lemon balm was getting a bit out of hand at the end of last season; I’ll have to take care to keep it trim this year!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Hi,
I have an “Herb Garden” and then I have them growing in different beds for different “effects”.
I do have all the herbs i can find, not always using them for cooking, but enjoying the looks, smells and the diversity.
I have been growing sage for many years, and even managed to harvest some after frost.

As well, as a lot of herbs are low maintenance,so they are perfect for “xeroscaping”.

Follow your Bliss!
Eklectic

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Hi. Your garden is beautiful. I would like to see more pictures.
Also, you seem to be a good person to ask. I’m designing the gardens around a newly constructed house. I’ve had gardens for many years, ornamental as well as vegetable and herb. My new gardens will be mostly edible landscaping with berries, herbs and some annuals to fill in. My question is, other than rosemary, are there any evergreen herbs that would make a good landscape plant?
Thanks in advance.
Christina

-- www.funkychickenartproject.com

sage is ever green aswell. Where are you located? that may limit plantings. I assume you’ve let everything settle eh? Otherwise you’ll end up with sunken borders :S
Sib ;)

Christina, there are tons! It depends on the light exposure, height, and overall shape and color you’re after…and of course, your planting zone.

Lots of sages are great for year round color. Mine just reappeared from melting snowbanks this week, still in full leaf.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Hi again,
I’m in north Georgia where we have mild winters compared to a lot of places, but my sage doesn’t winter over at all. It dies back to the ground and reappears in the spring. My rosemary manages through the winter very well, and the range of sizes and colors is variable, because I have a lot of space since I’m doing paths and plantings. No grass.
How can I find lists of evergreen herbs? Do you know of a list on the web? I order from catalogs often, but they don’t say what they look like over the winter, and my experience is proving that my guessing system is lacking and I’ve been gardening for 30 years! I just want this garden to look good through all 4 seasons, because it’s so close to my new house.

Thanks for suggestions in advance.
Christina

-- www.funkychickenartproject.com

Hi,
I am further north than you and my sage overwinters quite well and I do not much it: I am a lazy gardener.

But I remember what it looks like in the Spring and how the first year I was going to dig it out, then forgot about it and when I came back to it, it had new shoots all along those “dead” branches. And it has been going for 7 years now.(one of the plants we dug up when we moved).
My lavender is doing quite well, so is the thyme.
I do harvest in the middle of winter (as I need it)by digging in the snow.

I have some new sage plants in a new bed, it is covered by snow now but I am looking forward to see how it fares.

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Don’t forget lavender as an “evergreen”... or “evergrey”. Also, thyme is a nice edging evergreen. Pineapple sage and lemon verbena can remain evergreen in milder environments. Also, some oreganos. Parsley also overwinters well even if you get a bit of a freeze.

-- GardenMentor, Seattle, WA (zone 8/9), www.gardenmentors.com & www.gardenhelp.org