Herbs on the Move

I like to use fresh herbs and used to plant a lot of them—not just variety but quantity. I’d plant Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley (curly and flat leafed) Cilantro, Basil, Sage, Tarragon, Dill, Chamomile, Mint, Lovage, Lavender, Chives, Fennel, Hyssop, and Bergamot.

Sometimes, I’d plant them in with the veggies, sometimes in their own spot close to my kitchen door, and one year, I tried planting them a strawberry pot at the suggestion of one of our local nurseries.

They did great in with the veggies, but I sort of forgot about them because they weren’t in my daily path. And, when they were in the plot close to the kitchen, the neighborhood cats seemed to use it as their sandbox. I could never keep the strawberry pot watered thoroughly enough, and the herbs died within weeks. Sigh.

I decided to plant the chives, hyssop, bergamot, and mint in with the flowers in the fragrant garden. It’s sunny and they like it there. I may need to move the chives again, however, because Monty thinks it’s his personal duty to keep them “watered.”

And, I’m taking a cue from my aunt on the rest of the herbs. Last year when I was in Norway, she had a big glazed pot of just a few herbs – thyme, parsley, and rosemary in a sunny spot on the patio. She said she’d bring the pot in the cellar for the winter and everything did fine. So, this spring, I found a big glazed pot and planted just a few herbs – the ones I really use frequently – and stuck them in. My plan is to take the glazed pot inside in the fall and keep the herbs going through the winter. I had luck wintering over my scented geraniums in glazed pots last year, so I’m hopeful about the herbs. I'll keep you posted.

What’s working in your herb garden?

Hard to Grow Cilantro

I have adopted my friend Sally’s rule that if something comes into your consciousness or life three times, you must pay attention. That happened last night with Cilantro. Yep. The herb. A few weeks ago, I read a post in The Garden Buzz about how persnickety cilantro is to grow. My friend, Jen, came for dinner earlier in the week (black bean nachos). She brought cilantro for the nachos and we talked about it as we wandered around the gardens. She, too, mentioned that she’d heard cilantro was hard to grow!

Last year, I helped plan and plant a salsa garden at the church. It was a community effort of planning, planting, watering, and harvesting. We planted tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cilantro and we had bumper crops of everything—including cilantro. In August, we made salsa from our harvest and people brought their favorite salsa recipes. (We had a salsa band, too.) It was SUPER fun! Later in the year, I harvested the cilantro seeds (coriander), sat on the front step, and packaged them for the church’s fall plant swap. They went like hot-cakes!

And, that brings us to last night. Dayna and I were hanging out by the grill and I noticed a parsley like leaf in the fragrant garden. So, I picked it and popped it in my mouth. It wasn’t parsley – it was cilantro! Growing where I hadn’t planted it! Looking around, we saw two or three other little cilantro plants coming up! We concluded that some seeds from last fall’s sorting adventure must have gotten loose and sown themselves in two of my gardens!

I’m not sure, yet, what I am supposed to take away from this trio of cilantro conversations. Maybe I’m supposed to add cilantro to my list of favorite volunteers. Maybe it’s that cilantro isn’t that hard to grow after all. Maybe it’s an omen that my lupine seed sorting from the other night will yield a bumper crop of lupines next year. I’m going to keep my eyes, mind, and heart open to the possibilities.