As I mentioned, my education in herb cookery started slowly. I was always an avid gardener, so years ago I put in a basil plant or two and some dill and chives, and that's still a good way to start. My serious interest in herbs took hold when I visited the herb garden at Caprilands in Coventry, Connecticut. This extensive garden, fueled by the enthusiasm of the late Adelma Simmons, actually contains many different kinds of herb gardens: one that attracts butterflies, an all-gray one, a garden full of scented geraniums, and another with herbs for drying. At Caprilands, my sister and I enjoyed a meal in which herbs were used in each course, and Adelma came around while we ate to talk about which ones we were enjoying. That trip to Caprilands opened my eyes to the vast world of herbs and their many possibilities.
Since then I have visited many public herb gardens, and I highly recommend them to other interested gardeners and cooks. Visiting these gardens is a great way to learn to identify the appearance, smell, and flavor of individual herbs. This country has hundreds of beautiful public herb gardens. Try a visit to our nation's herb garden in Washington, D.C., at the United States National Arboretum, or to the Cloisters, with its wonderful medieval garden, in New York City. Or sample herbs at the magnificent formal herb gardens at the Missouri and Chicago botanical gardens and the historical gardens at Old Sturbridge Village and Monticello. All grow a wonderful range of herbs and usually provide a guide to help you identify them.
Once I had a working knowledge of most of the herbs, I found I needed the help of creative cooks to explore herbs in the kitchen. For every one way I thought of to use an herb, someone like herb maven Carole Saville or Rose Marie Nichols McGee (who was raised in the shadow of Nichols Garden Nursery, a well-known herb supplier) had created ten. And in the hands of master chefs such as the late Tom McCombie of Chez T.J.'s in Mountain View, California, and Ron Zimmerman of the Herbfarm outside Seattle, Washington, dishes came alive with herbs.
A small collection of herb containers adorns my rose patio. The pineapple mint, sage, and lemon balm shown here grow well in all but the hottest humid climates.
There are dozens of varieties of thyme and I chose six different ones to set off my bird bath. In the perimeter beds I planted chives, scented geraniums, golden sage, and a selection of salad greens. To unify this little garden I included the showy, but decidedly not edible, tall graceful foxgloves and blue star creeper (Laurentia fluviatilis) in between the boards.
Both Carole Saville and Rose Marie McGee grew demonstration gardens for this book to put their creative information together and show us how simply and elegantly herb gardens can be created. In the process, they shared much information on how to maintain and cook from these gardens.
One final comment before we proceed. You might be totally un-acquainted with some of the herbs covered here. In my research I was struck by how much of our available information and our emphasis on growing and cooking herbs comes from Europe. This is a wonderful bank of knowledge, but it excludes the many cultures around the world that season their foods with native plants. These so-called exotic herbs have a place in the new world cuisine, and I have included them here. I know you will find them as exciting as I have.
Golden sage, chives, French thyme, Spanish lavender, and rosemary in containers greet visitors to my garden. In the beds curly parsley, winter savory, Oriental chives, oregano, and flowers line the walk.
how to grow an herb garden
Jim Wilson, owner of Savory Farms wholesale herb growers, came to visit me one day, and as he walked up my herb-lined front path, he became completely engrossed in the plants before I could usher him into the house. He kept leaning down and rubbing his hands over the foliage. "Your thyme and tarragon grow so much more lushly than ours," he said. "We have problems with nematodes and wilt diseases." He was clearly envious of the 'Greek' oregano. Jim, probably best known to most gardeners as the one-time Southern host of the Victory Garden television show, grows his herbs in humid South Carolina in a climate very different from that of dry California. As we renewed our old friendship, the subject of herbs came up again and again, and we compared notes about the different species and how they grew in the different parts of the country. How we see, say, lovage and angelica grow to seven feet tall in New York, yet only to three feet tall in Texas; how scented geraniums are perennial and five feet across in San Diego but grow as annuals only two feet tall in Idaho. Despite the differences, though, we were struck by how most gardeners can grow most herbs and how all can have a wonderful time doing it.
Growing Herbs
The majority of herbs are perennial plants that need six to eight hours of sun daily, very well drained soil, little fertilizing, and spring pruning for renewal. In areas of the country where the ground freezes, most might need only mulching, although tender herbs such as rosemary and lemon verbena must be brought inside in the winter in cold climates. Alternatively, they can be treated as annuals and replanted every spring. In arid climates they need irrigation (drip irrigation is ideal) and should be washed down occasionally to prevent spider mites.
In hot, humid climates, where plants are bothered by nematodes, fungus diseases, and high heat, perennial herbs can be planted every year in a new area of the garden or in containers. New research indicates that marigolds planted among herbs helps repel nematodes from plants in the ground. Where garden soil is poorly drained, containers can be a solution. Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, authors of Southern Herb Growing who are based in Texas, have had much success avoiding many diseases and mitigating the extreme heat by growing their herbs in raised beds and by mulching the plants with small-diameter gravel, sometimes called chicken scratch. The gravel helps promote drainage and reflects summer heat, thereby keeping the soil fairly cool.
The annual herbs, such as basil, dill, chervil, and cilantro, are grown in a somewhat different manner, as they need annual planting and better soil than the perennials.
In most cases, there are solutions to most cultural problems that might arise with herbs, and even gardeners with no yard at all can grow a few herbs on a sunny windowsill.
Herb plants can be planted in a simple dooryard cluster, in a flower border, in containers, or in a traditional formal knot garden, so-called because the plants are laid out to form intricate patterns when viewed from above. As a rule, because they need similar growing conditions, annual herbs are at home in a bed of annual flowers and/or vegetables or clustered together. Perennial herbs grow best surrounded by other perennial flowers and herbs. For ease of maintenance, the informal cluster of perennial herbs is hard to beat. But, if a formal knot garden has always been your dream, be prepared to give continual care. The plants will need constant clipping to look their best. Whatever your choice regarding garden design, the most important factor concerning your herb garden is how close it is to the house. All the herb authorities I know agree that the closer your herbs are to the kitchen door, the more you will use them in your cooking.
A harvest of unusual culinary herbs (right) includes a red monarda flower, lavender, scented geraniums, golden oregano, and rose hips.
The herbs—nepitella (bottom left cornet) and chives (center)—grow in a border of edible flowers including nasturtiums, violas, calendulas, and arugula. All thrive in full sun and moist, organic soil.
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